Georgji Paro educates ULV theater
Campus Times
April 23, 1999
Georgji Paro, a 65-year-old native of Croatia, and the director of
the Croatian National Theater, has returned to La Verne to share his theatrical
knowledge with the students. While here Paro teaches two theater classes
along with directing the spring play "An Italian Straw Hat."
With his checkered shirt that reminds one of the fashions of the '70s
and his wild, white hair, Georgji Paro, director of the Croatian National
Theater, looks like what most people would imagine an artist to look like.
Paro is a visiting professor at the University of La Verne this semester,
and is teaching two classes and directing a play.
Because of the intensification of the Kosovo crisis and the developments
which led to the NATO-bombing of Yugoslavia in the last weeks, Paro, who
is Croat, informed the University community about the origins of the conflicts
in the former Yugoslavia on March 25, the second day of the NATO-attacks,
and on Monday participated in a teach-in about the crisis.
Before Croatia gained independence in a bloody civil war in 1991, it
was part of the Yugoslav federation.
Paro, who comes to ULV every year for approximately two months, was
born on the Croatian island of Pec in the Adriatic Sea on April 12, 1934.
His family came from Italy to Pec in the sixteenth century, and Paro proudly
emphasized that his last name can only be found on the Croatian island and
in the Italian town from which his ancestors originally came.
After he participated in plays during his time at high school, Paro
studied at the University of Zagreb, today's capital of Croatia, and got
his master's degree at the Academy of Theatre Art in Zagreb. In the early
1950s, Paro directed his first professional play.
So far, Paro has performed in nearly 180 plays. "I also was working
in the movies as a screenwriter and directed opera," said Paro.
Since he has the feeling to share his efforts immediately with the audience,
he likes theater much better than the movies. "[Theater] makes me being
present, I am emotionally involved," he said about his devotion to
theater arts.
His position as head of the Croatian National Theater is elected every
four years and was formally appointed by the Croatian prime minister and
cabinet every four years.
Before the Croatian independence, "theater was controlled ,but
not that much censored" by Yugoslav communist officials, said Paro.
Paro was asked nine times to join the communist party, but he always
refused. Not being in the party "made my life a little bit harder,"
he said, adding that he always tried to be independent. By not joining any
party after the Croatian independence "did not affect my position."
Despite domestic and international criticism about democratic deficits
of the new Croatian government, Paro pointed out that there have been no
attempts to influence his work thus far. Since the National Theater plays
on a high artistic level in the tradition of Croatian theater, "no
show is based on daily politics," said Paro, but other theaters in
Croatia "cover almost everyone [in politics]."
The first time he came to the United States, Paro was an exchange student
touring from coast to coast. On his trip, he met David Flaten from the Theater
Arts Department, and the two have since kept in touch.
On several occasions, Paro performed at various universities in Southern
California. Since the late 1980s, he came to ULV through an invitation by
Flaten.
As part of this exchange, Paro organized visits for ULV students to
the Croatian city of Split, where they participated in workshops. "It's
necessary for the artists to travel and present their work," said Paro.
His contract with the Croatian National Theatre allows him to come to
ULV every year. The plays in Croatia continue during Paro's absence. This
year, "some problems are waiting for me home," said the director.
This semester, Paro is directing the French farce "An Italian Straw
Hat," which will be performed on campus on April 23, 24, 29, 30 and
May 1.
"I like to do comedy," said Paro. "A farce shows the
direct reaction of the audience. It is very demanding."
Paro never directed "An Italian Straw Hat" before. "I
feel I'm cheating, I feel bad about it," said the director about his
principle to never direct the same play two or three times.
Paro said he is very satisfied with the actors at ULV. He said that
professional actors in Europe lose some of their freshness due to a hard
training, while American actors do not lose theirs. "Either they [act]
excellent or bad," said Paro, while European actors usually never act
bad but are never excellent.
According to Paro, the biggest difference in directing in Europe and
America is the repertoire. While European directors prefer classical plays,
American theaters perform more contemporary plays. "Directing here
is much more life-like," said Paro.
Paro has no problem directing in English. He no longer considers English
as a foreign language. "I dream in English," said the director.
Obren Milanovic, a freshman theater major, who will play Achille in
"An Italian Straw Hat" and attends one of Paro's classes. "He
gives you your freedom and lets you develop your own vision," said
Milanovic. "He is one of the greatest men I have ever met," said
Milanovic.
Describing Paro's style of directing, Milanovic said that he expects
professionalism and is very demanding. In comparison to other directors,
"Georgji [Paro] doesn't want to work with a formula ... once you have
it, he lets you play.
"His expectations of La Verne are not less than of his own theater,"
said Milanovic.
When asked about the ongoing wars in the Balkans, Paro shook his head
in frustration. During the civil war in Croatia, the National Theater in
Zagreb became the target of Serbian attacks.
"It had the aura of national heritage," said Paro. In 1995,
the theater was hit by missiles and 17 people were injured.
However, the war could not stop Paro from performing plays. In case
of an attack, actors and audiences were evacuated into the cellar.
The crisis in Kosovo was not surprising for Paro. "From 1991 on,
there is a war moving from one state to another," he said. "The
international community took time to identify who's doing it," said
Paro with reference to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
Expressing his feelings about the NATO-attack on Yugoslavia, Paro said,
"I think war cannot be just, but when it comes to ... genocide, you
have to put an end to it. I hope the war puts an end to Milosevic or people
like him."
Still, Paro does not want to judge over the guilt of the Yugoslav president.
"I don't know if he is a war criminal," said Paro.
Paro suggests that, at the end of the war, Milosevic should be handed
out to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which should judge
whether or not he is guilty. "Unfortunately, we haven't had this [with
Saddam Hussein] in the Gulf War," said Paro.
He said that NATO-attacks on Yugoslavia and the crisis in Kosovo could
have been prevented.
"We tend to not remember what happened," he said in reference
to the suggestion of the Slovenian and the Croatian presidents in 1991 to
form a Yugoslav confederation, which was rejected by Milosevic. "Maybe
this could have avoided the war."
Milanovic, an ethnic Serb who still has many relatives in Yugoslavia
and the Serbian part of Bosnia, said that he is too professional to care
much about the fact that Paro is in favor of the NATO-attack. "Politics
and art have no place together," said Milanovic. "He never judged
me and I never judged him."
Milanovic, who said he considers Paro to be a friend, said that they
sat down and talked about the crisis in Kosovo and the attack on Yugoslavia.
"He is very knowledgeable about Serbian history," said Milanovic.
Right now, it might look difficult to find a solution for the problems
on the Balkan, but Milanovic said he has a strong belief that theater has
the power to bring people together again.
"It can open their eyes ... theatre expresses in a surreal world
what you want to convert in the real world," said the actor.
Indeed, the relationship and the respect between Paro and Milanovic
gives hope that Kosovo-Albanians, Bosnians Coats and Serbs will live in
peace together again one day.
