| This professional repertory Theater for children was founded, in 1977, by Slobodanka Caca Aleksić, Manager and Stage-Manager, and Branislav Milićević - Branko Kockica, actor, singer and composer, and playwright. Initially, the Theater did not have its own stage and it performed its plays in different halls and that is why it was then called the Little Traveling "Puž" Theater. As of February 1988, "Puž" Theater has had its stage, at 21, Božidara Adžije Street.
The Theater is called "Puž" (Snail) because a snail carries its shell with it and feels everywhere at home. On weekends (on Fridays at 18 p.m., on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m., 13 and 17p.m.), the performances are played on its own stage while, on other days in a week, it has guest performances, so that the Theater, annually, plays about 270 performances on its own stage, and about 30 guest performances. The target audience groups are the children from 4 to 10 years of age but since, on weekends, the tickets are sold over the counter, there is something for the parents as well in every performance. That is why the first slogan of the Theater is: "The performances are exclusively for children and adults." Each performance has a concrete message, (Hansel and Gretel: "Love is more important than money", Four Pigs: "Brothers who stick together are invincible", etc.) and that is why the second slogan of the Theater is: "A vitamin for the soul".
The Theater does not have a repertory company and recruits the authors and actors subject to the requirements of a project. The performances are played by actors, with the occasional use of huge puppets (grand-guignoles). The auditorium has 228 seats (212 and 16 auxiliary), out of which 180 are in the parquet circle, and 48 on the balcony. "Puž" Theater has a modern lighting and sound equipment as well as a small carpentry workshop.
In the past years, the Theater has won a series of awards. Only at the Yugoslav Festival of Children’s Theaters in Kotor, “Puž” participated six times and won a total of 18 awards: twice Grand prix of the Festival, three times the Award of the Town of Kotor, and as much as four times the Award of the Children’s Jury, as well as numerous awards for acting and others. |