The puppet show "Ronja, the Robber's Daughter" on The Theater for Children and Youth (TDM) from Skopje won four important awards at two theater festivals in Serbia.

On that occasion in "Morning Press" we talked to two actresses from the play, Matea Jankovska which plays the main role of Ronja, for which he received two international awards and Angela Dimitrova. The two young, talented and promising actresses, employees of TDM, talked about their love for the profession, their successes, but also about their dreams and goals for future engagements and professional projects.

- I have many unfulfilled dreams. My goal is actually to constantly dream, to never stop and I think that is the task of every artist, to set new goals and never lose the love and passion that they bring to the art. I want to constantly research, create and never lose my zeal - says Matea.

- I think that desires change, we have specific goals and we want to do new things as much as possible, new experiences, both in theater and on film. So, for example, the puppet theater and the play "Ronja, the Robber's Daughter" are a new challenge and a new open world for me, which I had not even imagined before. All the time there are new dreams, unfulfilled, but also ones that have come true for us, such as employment in the Theater for Children and Youth, fulfilled roles - said Angela.

Puppetry as an integral technique of theater art is not studied at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in our country, yet the actors who deal with this specific technique are very successful in it and together with the Theater for Children and Youth have won numerous domestic and international awards and recognitions .

– Mastering puppetry is really very difficult. Working with puppets requires a lot of work, effort and investment, and it's a shame that we don't have such a course at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, at least as an elective. We in the theater learned from scratch, without any previous experience.

Me in particular, my first puppet was in the play "Podrum", I played the role of the punk and I was blown away. I didn't know how to do it, if I would manage at all and if I would achieve any result. Fortunately, the show went great, but a new show came, that is, a new doll, and I had to start all over again.

It is a technique that is constantly learned, because each doll is different, has its own story and requires a different approach, there is a doll that is led by one person, but there is a doll that is led by many people - explained Matea.

– Synchronization in puppetry is the most important. They must all be in sync and breathing as one, especially if there is a puppet being moved by multiple people. It requires a lot of concentration, dedication and a lot of practice.

The moment when you're behind the puppet, you're not aware of how it looks from the other side, from the audience's side, it's very different from live theater and the moment when you don't know if what you're doing is good or not, it makes you feel insecure, like nothing yes you didn't. That's why it means a lot when you have colleagues on the side, who will tell you that what you are doing is good and that it looks great - says Angela.

Matea and Angela feel like part of the whole, that is, the team, which is responsible for the success achieved by this special puppet show "Ronja, the Robber's Daughter".

- I am very happy and very proud of myself and the whole team. We really invested a lot of love and a lot of sweat during the creation of the play and I am very glad that the audience, i.e. the jury saw all that and at the end of the day awarded it.

We all love the play very much, and I think we play it with the same vigor and enthusiasm, regardless of whether it is in regular repertoire or at a festival. The success of the play does not bind us, it only gives us motivation to continue at the same pace - says Matea.

- The secret of the play is the collective play, we all play for each other, we all work together. The whole performance, everything we use, all props and scenography is made of natural materials, and that makes it special and beautiful - says Angela.

You can see more of the conversation with Matea and Angela at the following link: