The Borštnik Ring Jury

Ljerka Belak

Actress. Upon concluding her studies at the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana, she worked in Celje People’s Theatre from the 1970/71 season and then in Ljubljana City Theatre from the 1993/94 season until her retirement. She also worked outside her home theatres (Mladinsko Theatre, Slovene National Theatre Nova Gorica, etc.). Throughout her acting years she collaborated and acted on radio where she created roles in over 200 radio plays. She was also a highly popular actress both on TV and the film screen, including roles in some twenty teleplays out of which many were awarded. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Student Prešeren Award, the Prešeren Foundation Award, the Sever Award, the Borštnik Award, the Gracious Comedian Award at the Comedy Days in Celje and the Borštnik Ring (2015).

Blaž Lukan

Assistant professor in the Department of Dramaturgy and vice-dean at the University of Ljubljana, Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (UL AGRFT). He works as a practical dramaturg in theatre and in film, writes theatre reviews and introductory texts for publications of plays and texts of Slovenian and foreign authors, as well as scientific papers in the field of dramatic arts and performance art theory. He was artistic leader of the Experimental Theatre Glej (1985–88) and Celje People’s Theatre (1989–93), co-selector of the International Puppet Festival Puppets (2000, 2002) and selector of the Maribor Theatre Festival (2002, 2003). Between 2008 and 2012 he was president of the Association of Theatre Critics and Researchers of Slovenia. He has written several books including Theatre Dictionary for Young People (1996), We Search for Theatre (2000), Slovenian Dramaturgy: Dramaturgy as Theatre Practice (2001), Still Lives and Grimaces: Theatre Expressions (2007), Performative Writings: Deliberations on Performance and Theatre (2013), Considering Everything: Theatre Reviews 1993–2013 (2015) and co-edited the books The Dynamic of Changes in the 20th-century Slovenian Theatre (2010) and Free Hands: An Anthology of Theoretical Thoughts on Slovenian Theatre 1899–1979 (2012).

Vlado Novak

Actor. In 1974 he graduated in the first degree at the Economic-Commercial High School in Maribor. That same year, he enrolled at the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana. He performed his first role in professional theatre – Cosimo de Medici in Brecht’s Gallileo – in 1972 in the Slovene National Theatre Maribor (SNT Maribor). In the 1976/77 season he was member of the Primorsko Drama Theatre in Nova Gorica and in the 1977/78 season he became a member of the Drama of the SNT Maribor. He graduated in 1995 and that same year became a member of Celje People’s Theatre. The following year, he returned to the Drama of the SNT Maribor as acting artistic leader for half a year upon which he went on with his actor’s work in the same theatre. During his time in the Drama of the SNT Maribor he created over 70 roles, mostly as dramatic protagonist. Throughout his long and rich theatre, film and TV career he received numerous awards, including Borštnik Awards for acting (1989, 1993, 1995, 1995, 2004), the Prešeren Foundation Award, the Jury Award at the Croatian Drama Festival Marulić’s Days in Split, the Glazer Diploma, the Glazer Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Borštnik Ring (2014).

Matjaž Zupančič

Playwright, director and pedagogue. Following his studies of directing at the University of Ljubljana, Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television (UL AGRFT) he continued his studies in London. Upon his return, he was the head of the Experimental Theatre Glej in the 1980s. He has been active as a director at home and abroad since 1981. The basis of Zupančič’s artistic opus are his theatre directions, which he constantly intertwines with playwriting. He is one of the most frequently staged Slovenian authors abroad. His directions of his own and other playwrights’ texts provided him the presence at prestigious European festivals and stages (Yugoslavia With the World, Bonner Biennale, Avignon, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Ex Ponto, Sterija Theatre Festival, etc.). He has received numerous awards and acknowledgements for his works both in the international and domestic context. Among other awards, he is a five-time recipient of the Grum Award for the best play. He is professor of theatre directing at the UL AGRFT.

Alja Predan

Dramaturg, translator, and theatre expert. Among other positions she has held, she was artistic director at Primorsko Drama Theatre in Nova Gorica (PDG), dramaturg in Ljubljana City Theatre (MGL) and director of the Theatre and Dance Programme in Cankarjev dom Congress and Cultural Centre. She has been the artistic director of the Maribor Theatre Festival since 2009. As editor of the MGL Library, she published thirty books from the field of drama and theatre theory and history. She has taken part in various juries at local and international festivals. She was curator of the Slovenian Focus at the 7th Contemporary Drama Festival in Budapest and the curator of the Slovenian Focus at the 6th Contemporary Drama Festival in Bratislava. She is a member of the Slovenian Association of Translators, the vice-president of the national section of AICT/ IATC, as well as a member of ITI Slovenia and the Slovenian Association of Dramatic Artists. She is a recipient of the 2012 Glazer Credential for creative work in the domain of culture in the city of Maribor.