Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Introducing Varja Đukić, Actress, Author, and Manager of the Karver Bookstore

Varja Đukić was born in Zagreb, Croatia in 1962. Her elementary and high school education was completed in Podgorica, and in 1984 she graduated from the Faculty of Drama in Belgrade, Department of Acting. She was a member of the National Theatre of Montenegro until 1990, and from 1999 to 2001 worked as an assistant for Acting at the Faculty of Drama in Belgrade. Since then she has been an independent artist in Podgorica until the foundation of the Karver bookstore in April 2005 which she currently manages.

She has had roles in plays of JDP (Yugoslav Drama Theatre), Atelje 212 (Atelier 212), BDP (Belgrade Drama Theatre), CKZD (Center for Cultural Decontamination), Dah teatar (Breath Theatre), Pozorište dvorište (Theatre-Courtyard), independent productions – in Belgrade, and in plays of CNP (Montenegrin National Theatre), Barski ljetopis (Chronicles of Bar), Budva grad teatar (Theatre City Budva), Zetski dom (The House of Zeta) – in Monetengro.

For the movie “Variola Vera” she received the prize for the best debutante in 1982. Also she was awarded the Oktobar prize for the final (graduation) role in a play, and the prize for the best student. Then, prizes for acting accomplishment: Sterija prize, two prizes Ardalion for the best actress in Serbia and Montenegro, prizes in Vršac, Zrenjanin, prize of the UDUCG (Association of Drama Artists of Montenegro), prize of the Montenegrin National Theatre, etc.

She is the author of two radio-dramas and radio-plays for the RTS (Radio and Television of Serbia) in Belgrade and author of the play “Tebi iz jučerašnje” for in Belgrade. This play is about the life of Marina Tsvetaeva and it was played in Podgorica, Cetinje and Herceg Novi. It was a pretext for the book “Pozorišni geto” (Theatrical ghetto) that was published in 2000 by CDNK (Montenegrin association of independent writers). This book is an essay on creation and realization of the play based upon motifs, documents and poetry of Marina Tsvetaeva.

She lives in Podgorica and has two sons, Mihailo (1986), who’s currently a student of molecular biology on the PMF (Faculty of natural sciences and mathematics) in Belgrade and Jakov (2000) who’s in the second grade of elementary school “Štampar Makarije” in Podgorica. She says “They are my treasure.”