Festival Team
Artistic director Aleš Novak
Producer and Assistant to the artistic director Mojca Kolar
Executive producer and Public relations Daša Šprinčnik
Visual identity designer Trampolin d.o.o.
Festival publications editor Ksenija Repina
Production assistants Nika Škof, Adrijana Kos, Klara Šulek, Nina Slanič
Photographer Boštjan Lah
Technical managers Matic Gselman, Matic Kašnik
Competition Programme discussion moderators Kaja Novosel, Brina Jenček
Competition Programme Selector of the 59th Festival Blaž Lukan
Competition Programme expert jury
Gregor Butala, Darko Lukić, Nikita Milivojević, Natasha Tripney, Barbara Zemljič
The Borštnik Ring Award expert jury
Blaž Lukan, Alen Jelen, Nataša Matjašec Rošker, Aleš Novak, Ana Perne
Artistic Board
Uroš Korenčan, Jure Novak, Nina Kirbiš, Mojca Jan Zoran, Vesna Jurca Tadel, Tomaž Toporišič
Blaž Lukan is Assistant Professor of Dramaturgy and Head of the Department of Dramaturgy and Performing Arts at the University of Ljubljana Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television, where he obtained his PhD in 2006. He works as a practical dramaturg in theatre and film, writes theatre criticism, accompanying texts to book publications of plays and articles by Slovenian and foreign authors, and academic papers in the field of dramaturgy and the theory of the performing arts.
He was the artistic director of Glej Experimental Theatre (1985–1988) and Celje City Theatre (1989–1993), co-selector of the International Puppet Theatre Festival Lutke (2000 and 2002) and selector of the Maribor Theatre Festival (2002 and 2003). From 2008 to 2012 he was the president of the Association of Theatre Critics and Researchers of Slovenia. He is a member of the editorial board of Amfiteater journal.
The Maribor Theatre Festival is the main Slovenian theatre festival, which has been enriching the Slovenian theatre and cultural space for more than half a century. It takes place in the first half of June at the Slovenian National Theatre in Maribor. The programme includes a selection of performances by Slovenian institutional and non-governmental producers in a competitive and accompanying programme, invited theatre performances from abroad, training, workshops and audience development activities, student theatre and professional events in cooperation with Slovenian and foreign co-organisers. It usually lasts for 14 days and is attended by numerous national and international guests, including foreign festival selectors, artistic and programme directors, journalists and other interested and professional public. The festival is financed in comparable proportions by the Republic of Slovenia and the Municipality of Maribor and is independently managed by an artistic director.
In over six decades of its existence, the festival has realised and surpassed the vision of its founders and has become the most important Slovenian theatre event, a promoter of Slovenian theatre creativity and an ambassador of Slovenian theatre in international relations and abroad. It is an important institution for the development of national theatrical expression, a rounded programme structure based on the presentation of current productions as well as on the reflection of relevant theatrical issues and the verification of current theatrical phenomena. It has also always been a central celebration of Slovenian theatre creators. The festival awards prizes for achievements in several fields of theatre creativity, the most prestigious of which is the Borštnik Ring, a prize for an outstanding acting opus.
The Festival's fundamental aim is to select and present the finest achievements of the Slovenian theatre season, to award theatre artists and their creative achievements, to promote and popularise theatre creativity among audiences of all ages, both at home and abroad, to encourage the quality and professional level of Slovenian theatre artistry, facilitate the flow of information and exchange of performances, present foreign theatre creativity and to promote the diversity as well as the coherence of theatrical space and expression.
Festival Borštnikovo srečanje je bil vpeljan leta 1966 na pobudo vsestranskega gledališčnika Frana Žižka, takratnega ravnatelja mariborske Drame, poimenovan kot Teden slovenskih gledališč v Mariboru. Naziv Borštnikovo srečanje je dobil leta 1970, po prvem slovenskem profesionalnem igralcu in režiserju Ignaciju Borštniku. Josip Vidmar, prvo leto tudi predsednik festivalskega odbora, je s tem igralskemu poklicu dodelil častno mesto znotraj festivala. Takrat je bil prvič podeljen Borštnikov prstan, nagrada za igralski življenjski opus. V začetku 70-ih let je nagrade pričela podeljevati strokovna žirija, v tem obdobju festival razvije tudi svojo tekmovalno naravo. Leta 1994 je Rudi Šeligo kot predsednik sveta Borštnikovega srečanja uvedel selektorja tekmovalnega programa, leta 2005 pa je v času predsedovanja Toneta Partljiča sprejet tudi prvi pravilnik o delovanju festivala. Štiri leta kasneje, ko je mandat nastopila umetniška direktorica Alja Predan, se je festival preimenoval v Festival Borštnikovo srečanje in se pričel odpirati v mednarodni prostor. Od leta 2018 je umetniško vodenje festivala prevzel Aleš Novak, ki je festival podaljšal, okrepil njegov mednarodni značaj ter uvedel nekatere nove programske sklope, vključno z dnevom gledaliških ustvarjalcev, usposabljanjem, mednarodnim študentskim gledališčem in razvojem občinstva. Programsko jedro festivala pa ostajata izbora predstav slovenskih producentov v tekmovalnem in spremljevalnem programu.
