1

Application for accreditation of prior learning for the

doctoral level of candidate Berislav Cimerman

I have a MA degree in psychology, and I have been

extensively trained during my study to conduct scientific
research and write research papers, do counseling work, as
Which specific well as professional orientation and selection. I am trained
knowledge do
you have that to work with people with psychological and clinical
enables you to problems, as well as with children with special needs. I am
complete the
doctoral studies? trained to conduct various testings and evaluations, and I
How have you also learned how to use expert literature in foreign
acquired that
knowledge? languages (in Croatian, English and French). During my
teaching period on the Academy of Arts in Osijek I learned
various artistic practices and procedures, as well as new
approaches to actor’s pedagogy (which I will elaborate
later). From that time I actively do artistic work as play-
writer, director and theater pedagogue.

Although I have a MA degree in psychology, the artistic field

that I am most involved is in the realm of performing arts, more
specifically, theater. The practices or the disciplines that I perform
on a regular basis are directing, play-writing and dramaturgy and
How would the interdisciplinary area of actors’ pedagogy which combines
you describe teaching with artistic work and science as well. From the 2010
the artistic onwards, I am the most prolific and diverse play-writer in Croatia. I
field that you
have written (drama text and most of the libretto) and directed
are involved
with? musical “The Mjuzikl: Mikeshky Blues” in 2014.
Youtube link to: Prologue with English translation (please press CC icon)
mobile phone: Youtube link to: First part
+385976086136 Youtube link to: Second part
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com I also did a world première adaptation of the Aldous Huxley’s novel
www.Facebook.com/ “Brave New World”, and I have written and directed the only
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cabaret play in English in Croatia, “Cabaret Croatia”.

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 2

In addition to that, I have written and directed experimental mono-

play “Equally Dispersed Insomnia” (“Pravilno raspoređena
snomorica”) which inquiries the potential and possibilities of scenic
speech, and co-directed and co-written a comedy “Slavonic
Triptych” (“Slavonski triptih”) (Youtube link to the play recording), as well
as a play for children “How Did Children Help the Elf?” (“Kako su
djeca pomogla Vilenjaku”) in which project I was co-writer and co-
director. I have also written a puppet play “The Beauty and the
Beast – Director’s Cut” (“Ljepotica i zvijer – redateljska verzija”) and
I have written and directed an experimental play “Fantasmia –
Poetic Theater in Shadows” (“Fantazmija – poetski teatar u
sjenama”) which combines shadow theater, “black” theater (UV),
puppetry, drama theater, and musical.
(Youtube link to excerpts from the play)

One of the reason for creating play “Fantasmia – Poetic Theater in

Shadows” was the intention to question the role of dramaturgy in
relation to the poetry as a drama template and the use of modern
How would
theater techniques, as well as to articulate one specific artistic
you describe
the artistic research question: how discrete and unnoticeable can be
field that you dramaturgy interventions for spectators to feel that they have
are involved watched a theater play, and still them be able to create his or hers
with? own story line in a way that they are, de facto, authors in the same
capacity as the author of the play himself. I have also written music
and text for one song that is being performed in the play and the
poetry used as a drama template of the play is from my poetry
collection which should be in the print by the end of this year. I was
also an assistant director in the production of the play “Three Penny
Opera” (“Opera za tri groša”) (Brecht – Weill) in Croatian national
theater in Osijek, which was the biggest project of that theater in
history.

During my work at the Academy of Arts in Osijek I was a guest

lecturer of psychology of artistic work for musicians, visual artists
and actors. For each of those three study curriculum I created three
different programs of teaching in relation to the requirements of the
specific artistic field. Since the formal name of the subject was
“Psychology of upbringing and education” (as is stated in the
mobile phone: documentation I enclosed with this accreditation), because the
+385976086136
psychology approach towards artistic practice and problems still
e-mail: does not exist in the University of Osijek program of education, I
abcdtrupa@gmail.com
was the first psychologist on the Academy of Arts in Osijek who
www.Facebook.com/
ABCDTrupa implemented these specific programs for the artists.

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 3

If you ask how is this even possible, I will try to explain this
situation in the part of this accreditation text which relates to the
issues or obstacles I had when being active in the field in question,
and the way I have dealt with them.

In addition to that, I was an assistant professor on acting classes on

the final year of BA study of acting. One semester I was also a
guest professor on MA study of acting where I taught techniques of
debriefing, stress reduction and exiting the role for actors. When I
was creating my teaching program and practice I tried to bring the
best of the two world together – science and art because I was
inspired with the fact that some major authors in both areas, such
as Carl Gustav Jung vis-à-vis psychology, and Konstantin Sergejevič
Aleksejev (also known as Stanislavski or Stanislavsky) in the field of
actors' education, saw the inevitability of merging psychology (or
How would science in general) with acting sometime in the future, and vice
you describe versa. The result was the creation of original approach to theater
the artistic and pedagogy for actors which tends to combine the best of both
field that you worlds – theater and psychology, which I use when working with
are involved
with? students of different age, theater experience and interests.

When I work with actors or acting students I apply various methods

and techniques from the realm of psychology which help actors to
create their stage character - especially with an aid of different
theories of personality. For instance, I adapted standard semi open
clinical interview for client assessment in a form that is suitable for
the actors to work on their character. In addition to that, my
associate, actress and puppeteer Aleksandra Demše (MA level in
both areas), and I derived a special method from other theater
approaches that is applicable in almost any situation or context
which is related to work in theater, staging a play or even work with
general population. For instance, to work with people who do not
have theater aspirations whatsoever, but want to address some
issues related to their personal growth or even some problems they
have.

mobile phone: We named this method “Balance”, and the idea for it came from the
+385976086136
work of French artist and teacher of South American origin Mario
e-mail: Gonzalez and his practice in “le théâtre masqué”, as well as some
abcdtrupa@gmail.com
practices of the late French artist and professor Jacques Lecoq.
www.Facebook.com/
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Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 4

Docent Željko Vukmirica (associate and tenure professor), with

whom I worked as an assistant professor on the Academy of Arts
Osijek, is a certified teacher of the method formed by professor
Mario Gonzalez, and he has a license to apply this method of when
working with students. He introduced me to this system, but Ms.
Demše nor I are licensed, and therefore we do not apply this
particular method in our pedagogical work. Nevertheless, we
discovered that the application of some practices that share the
same basic principles as the methods of professor Gonzalez can be
much wider that just creating a “commedia dell’arte” character. For
instance, the “Balance” helped people who participate in the
practice for various reasons by increasing their self esteem, feeling
of the body and even reduce some of their fears or phobia (fear of
open space, fear of room full of people, etc.).

How would To be frank, I cannot state with certainty which are the exact
you describe psychological mechanisms which propel the “Balance” to such
the artistic positive outcomes for the practitioners; I presume it has something
field that you
are involved to do with the fact that the attention span of the performer or
with? participant is simultaneously being focused on other participants
and their actions, as well as on one’s inner psychological and
physiological processes. Clearly there are some elements of the
basic psycho drama situations when people practice “Balance” and
it certainly helps them to better understand other people’s actions,
emotion, motivation and decisions. Therefore the “Balance”
certainly can be very fertile ground for further explorations, not just
in a form of artistic research for which I am advocating with this
application, but from the psychological point of view as well.

In my opinion, maybe there are some epistemological similarities

between, for instance, acupuncture methods of healing and the
“Balance”: even though modern medicine accepted acupuncture
practices long time ago, the scientists still can not explain in full the
principles through which acupuncture heals patients other that it
has something to do with electric impulses of the body,
electrodermal activity or skin conductance response. However, the
mobile phone:
+385976086136 principles of the acupuncture are very well explained in the system
of ancient Chinese medicine via energy meridians and other
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com terminology which is foreign to modern scientists and to their
www.Facebook.com/ approach of scientific investigation.
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Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 5

Of course, such system does not exist in the realm of arts, nor can
ever be introduced as a complete, systematized index of knowledge
which can cover the ground in all aspects and areas of artistic
theories and practices. Nevertheless, that does not mean that some
approaches to investigation and research are without heuristic
value; on the contrary, I believe that non-mediated cooperation of
artistic theories and practices, through their thorough investigations
enriched with science methodology and inventory of hypothesis
and facts, could open whole new chapter in the way we gain our
knowledge.

I mention this because one of the core problem of the approach

that I am trying to implement into theater practices (and maybe
theory as well) is basically epistemological in its nature. Psychology
and theater are much more divided than one could imagine when
glances through the literature and today’s achievements in this
field. Very few psychologist in history acted in creative capacity in
theater (compared with doctors of medicine, most famous of whom
What artistic
is Antun Pavlovič Čehov/Anton Pavlovich Chekhov). And even when
issues have
you specifically they did act as an artists, they seemed to forget that they are
worked with trained psychologists and identify themselves exclusively like
in the artistic artists (Serbian film director and screenwriter Srđan Dragojević is
processes
you have one such example).
accomplished?
Something similar concluded Ms. Tomlinson in her doctoral
dissertation from 1990: “A limited number of dissertations apply the
theories found in the psychological field to the theories developed
in the acting field, and only one dissertation could be considered
relevant to this particular dissertation. William Jaeger's ‘The
Application of the Psycho-Analytic Theories of Karen Horney to the
Stanislavski System of Acting’ is a 1964 dissertation which sought
to prove that Karen Horney's psychological theories could provide
techniques to ‘fill in the gaps’ in the acting principles of Constantin
Stanislavski, as well as prove a positive relationship existed
between the theories of Stanislavski, in general. (…) The author
recognized: ‘No system is equivalent to a life reality, including
Horney's, and that by definition the unconscious is no longer
unconscious when it is brought to consciousness, it is still clear that
mobile phone:
+385976086136 the system which offers the closest parallel to the actual emotional
behavior will serve both the artist and the scientist better than no
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com system at all.’ (Tomlinson, R.J.: An application of personality
www.Facebook.com/ theories developed by Gordon W. Allport to the process of character
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analysis, University of Florida, Gainesville, 1990, p. 28-29).

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 6

And as for the literature coming from the “opposite direction”, that
is, from artistic or drama teaching side, Tomlinson concludes after
thorough investigation of the matter: “What of the books which
approach theatre as a performance vehicle? Do they use
psychological elements as a part of their acting theories? (…)
Acting texts reveal more than just a step-by-step approach to the
craft of acting. As one author put it, they belong on the fiction
rather than the non-fiction shelves. He continues: Not because they
are full of lies, but because they are full of poetry, mysticism,
anecdote and drama. Acting is the kind of subject that encourages
a highly impressionist style of writing. Rather than talk about what
it is, writers tend to describe what it does” (Tomlinson, R.J., 1990, p.
35-36).

In my opinion, there is no need for this big hiatus, since there really
is something that is best in both worlds and that can be brought
together. Psychology could not go places in which art lives, and it
What artistic
issues have would not be able to visit those spaces for a long time. For
you specifically instance, psychology can not fully explain a metaphor. Of course,
worked with this is the case if we exclude, e.g. the theory of constructivism and
in the artistic
processes other similar concepts which are certainly not romantic enough to
you have be a base for meaningful use of metaphors in a, let’s say, love
accomplished? poem. It is so simply because science still in-comprehends that it
does not have to explain such phenomenas – bringing them closer
to human experience in order to enrich artistic practices will do for
now.

Therefore besides the “Balance” method, my associate Ms. Demše

and I use some other “tools” and practices in our work because the
successful application of the “Balance” must come from the utmost
respect of the free will of the participants. They have to be
motivated and willing to participate in this practice, and I must
emphasize that it is a principle I respect in full when doing any kind
of work related to theater or art in general. So if participants do not
want to engage in “Balance”, for whatever reason they have, there
are many other methods and practices that we can focus instead.
One of them is a very simple yet effective method of creating a text
mobile phone:
+385976086136 that can be used for stage. I call it a transposition of meaning by
sudden change in perception, which is just a wise psychological
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com name for very simple exercise.
www.Facebook.com/
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Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 7

The participants choose one spot in the room and they describe it
with any words or sentences they want (the first ones are usually
the best). Then they move closer to that specific spot and do the
same, and after yet another turn they come as close to the spot as
it is possible. They take their time looking at the spot; after a while
everyone who was motivated to participate would experience
sudden change in perception – the spot will “transform” itself into
something else (scrubbed peace of paint on the wall could now
become a “giant spider in search of his antipode”). Participants will
describe in their own words this transformation, and in a matter of
minutes they will have their own text.

With further enhancing or adaptation and interventions into the

dramaturgy of the combined texts of all the other participants, it
can be very powerful tool for creating a real play (we used this
method to make a play “Six characters have found authors” and
the film “Chudo_vishta, listed in my CV Youtube link to the film). Of
course, if there is a time for the preparation, this principle can be
used on a more abstract level, for instance, on some ideas, events,
What artistic
issues have or even feelings - I can provide participants with technique they can
you specifically use for creation of more complex texts, as well as for memorizing
worked with the text for stage performance with a very useful “plasticity”
in the artistic
processes characteristics of the learned material. That means that if
you have something is out of place on the scene, or something happens or
accomplished? changes suddenly, the performers are able to say their lines no
matter what. The bottom line of all of this exercises is that the basic
principles of perception or memory, as psychology understands this
phenomena, can be put in artistic context in order to facilitate this
creative process.

As for the “Balance” method (for which Ms. Demše as collaborator

on its creation gave consent to enter in this artistic research
project), it is very difficult to vividly explain its basic principles,
because the nature of the method requires practical exercise and
many repetitions to be fully grasped. For instance, one can describe
swimming as physical activity in which person propels itself through
the medium of water with a cyclical and repetitive movements of
hands and legs, but person who never swam could not experience
the real feeling and benefits of swimming. Of course, same as in
mobile phone:
+385976086136 professor Gonzalez’s approach, at the core of the “Balance”
method is the principle of the, surprisingly, balance; the balance
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com between performers, the balance between the performers and the
www.Facebook.com/ audience, and even the balance of the inner emotions or moods of
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the performers as well.

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 8

Those principles are quite similar to some postulates of acting as

Michael Chekhov formulated them: “But the actor, who must
consider his body as an instrument for expressing creative ideas on
the stage, must strive for the attainment of complete harmony
between the two, body and psychology.” (Chekhov, M.: To the Actor:
On the Technique of Acting, Harper Paperbooks, New York, 1993, p.
1).

Yet, the balance is a dynamic process which can never be really

achieved on stage nor in real life (it is “just” an ideal), so there is a
need for constant adaptation towards the idea of balance, and the
only way it can be attempted is via principle of reciprocity. For
instance, if the two performers are equidistant from each other in
relation to the center of the stage, when one performer takes one
What artistic step back, the balance is disrupted and the other performer has to
issues have take action if he wants to regain the balance. At the beginning of
you specifically practicing the “Balance” method, performers are standing at the
worked with
in the artistic edge of the circle (like in sessions led by professor Gonzalez) which
processes they perceive as detached from the surface and standing on just
you have one sharp spike which supports the circle in his center.
accomplished?

They are in constant eye contact, and obviously if one performer

makes one step back, the other has to make one step back too,
otherwise the circle will lose its balance. It is the most simple
situation of the exercise, later the performers step up to make their
own études because the practice can include music, objects, and
more performers (who can, eventually, make their own play and not
just use the “Balance” as preparation for the already written piece)
The difference between the Gonzalez’s method and the “Balance”
is that his approach is directed almost solely to making a stage
character according to the tradition of “commedia dell'arte”, and in
my opinion the “Balance” has much broader field of application. For
instance, the “Balance” can be used when performers want to work
on a dance or physical theater play, puppeteers who want to make
a puppet play and even musicians or singers in opera in musical
mobile phone:
+385976086136 can use it too. In addition to that, “Balance” does not negatively
interfere with any of the existing systems or teachings of actors’
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com education; if someone wants to combine it with Michael Chekhov
www.Facebook.com/ techniques it is fine, as well as with concepts of Jerzy Grotowski or
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Eugenio Barba or any of the systems that are in use.

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 9

So, the basic principles of the “Balance” method, like the

reciprocity, constant eye contact of participants and a circle as the
imaginary object with its own balance, are a firm ground for
widening the practice to almost every possible imaginable theater
practice or situation. Of course, something is lost in transition from
the original concepts of professor Gonzalez and the “Balance”, the
main part are maybe firm rules which actors must follow if they
want to create an authentic “commedia dell'arte”. Our approach is
much more plastic and allows the participants to explore their
creativity on a maximum scale.

When working on a dramaturgy and creation of the texts for the

play “De iure vs. de facto” (Youtube link to recording of the play) as an
assistant professor on the Academy of Arts Osijek (Croatia), I
discovered that this project grown to be excellent example of the
interdisciplinary (pedagogy, play-writing and science) nature of the
What artistic drama or actors’ teaching. During the two semesters of the final
issues have academic year for the class of students on BA level of education,
you specifically
worked with docent Željko Vukmirica and me worked on developing of students’
in the artistic skills as actors, but some of them we also assist in creating their
processes own texts that were written accordingly (or, maybe a better term is
you have
accomplished? “organically”) with the character they were to embody (six texts
wrote students by themselves in co-authoring with me, and I wrote
the other half). The play “De iure vs. de facto” had premiere in
Croatian national theater in Osijek, and it was performed on the
important Croatian festival “Osijek’s Summer of Culture” (“Osječko
ljeto kulture”) and on the Festival de la Cité in Lausanne,
Switzerland.

So I presume that this example can, up to a certain point, help me

to draw the contours of the artistic field that I am involved in – the
pedagogy of actors’ education on one side (or work with actors in
general, for instance in director-actor relation), the play-writing as
an artistic discipline on other side and the underlying application of
some concepts from modern psychology as my addition to the
picture. Therefore I can say that I have worked in depth in the
space within those contours, especially for the fact that that I am
mobile phone:
+385976086136 the only psychologist in Croatia who works in theater in creative
capacity and who tries to incorporate some of the wast knowledge
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com base of psychology into the process of creating the stage character
www.Facebook.com/ and actors’ pedagogy.
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Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 10

In this way I try to fill the gaps in the education of the actors, and I
mentioned earlier huge importance of the personality theories for
actors, which are crucial for them to be able to create stage
character. Such approach is similar to Tomlinson’s findings as well:
“Little emphasis is placed on teaching the actor to analyze a
character or learn (except through observation) of the psychological
nature of people in general” (Tomlinson, 1990, p. 36).

Therefore, I introduced to students of acting on Academy of Arts

Osijek eclectic approach of combining several personality theories:
defensive mechanisms of personality (which can clearly depict
particular character in just a few strokes on the stage) come from
What artistic Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, then there is Adler’s fictional final
issues have goal which can be a key to understand character’s motivation and
you specifically anima and animus concepts of Carl Gustav Jung which can help
worked with
in the artistic actors to understand the drama tension between the characters of
processes different sexes. Of course, the list could go on, it depends on the
you have goals of particular curriculum.
accomplished?

Other than already mentioned projects, I applied similar approach

when Ms. Demše and I were working with the amateur actors in
Donji Miholjac (“Drama Laboratory of Donji Miholjac”, “Dramski
Laboratorij Donji Miholjac DLDM”) on the play “Six Characters
Found an Author” (“Šest lica pronašlo autora”), on the project of
musical “The Mjuzikl – Mikeshky Blues” for which some participants
wrote their own tunes and lyrics, as well on the film and acting
workshops for Cultural and Film Center “August Cesarec” in Zagreb
(“Centar za kulturu i film “Augusta Cesarca”) which resulted in a
short experimental film “CHUDO_VHISTA” for which the pupils aged
12 to 16 wrote their own texts and created the director’s concept of
the scenes they performed in. The film entered in the official
competition on “The Days of Croatian Film” (“Dani hrvatskog filma),
a central film summit of domestic films which will be held later this
mobile phone:
+385976086136 year. The participants in the projects I am describing were educated
by Ms. Demše an me about the the complex, yet very natural link
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com between the stage (or film) character and its corresponding text,
www.Facebook.com/ which concepts they applied with great success.
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Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 11

Now I will try to explain the underlying idea for this Application for
accreditation of prior learning in order to accomplish artistic
research for the doctoral level studies. As I have already
mentioned, one of the most important themes in my work is the
concept of the stage character. It is a very complex concept, and it
has and will include the whole spectrum of definitions and practices
according to them, and even meanings, since there hardly is a total
consensus about what really is a stage character. Of course, I am
not imagining that I can solve this conundrum (at least not by
myself:)), but I am certain that there is a huge field of research that
is yet to be plowed, so my suggestion is simply aimed towards
further investigations of this area. For the sake of this argument, I
will impose the usual definition of a character in psychological
terms which almost all of my students have came up at the
beginning of the academic year: it is an assemblage of the
What artistic attributes or features that make up and distinguish any individual
issues have from the rest of individuals. Now, with stage character, things
you specifically
worked with
become a little trickier…
in the artistic
processes For instance, does the same stage character of Hamlet appear
you have
every time on a stage, or it is inherently different with every
accomplished?
embodiment? If it is the same, which could make sense since all the
performers read more or less the same text upon they work on their
stage character, what about the personality of an actor and his
character? Should he submerge his character into the stage one, or
should he build entirely new one with the only thing he has on
hands, and that is his personality? And then, in any of this cases,
what is the inner relation between the actor and the stage
character he embodies, how much the stage character “borrows”
from his host, or how distant is the stage creation from the
performer? Could it be that they are not in any kind of relation? Or
the actor changes with time due to his roles?

We see that these only few questions opened the doors to a whole
new world of exploration. In my opinion, a good starting point for
addressing this issues is the space I outlined in the beginning: the
mobile phone:
+385976086136 intersection between the artistic practice, learning and science.
Since I am not an actor, the artistic practices with which I can
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com contribute are play-writing and directing, and I can do my share
www.Facebook.com/ also in regards to the learning process.
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Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 12

But the real challenge is the way to incorporate science in this

interdisciplinary mosaic and yet not to be caught in the web of
epistemological entrapment which usually leave us on either side of
the fence – in the science “boot camp” or in the artistic playground.
My proposition is to implement the method of “Balance“ with a
purpose of catalyst on one side, and facilitator or, even better,
“alchemical” glue on the other side of the complex processes that
are involved in this puzzle.

One of the specifics of the “Balance” method for which it can be

suitable for this task is the another important principle, and that is
neutrality. The starting point in the “Balance” method is neutral
one. The circle, clothes in neutral colors, lights which are focused
just on the circle, and even the use of masks if necessary (but not
commedia dell’arte type of masks), all of this is aimed to help the
participant or the performer to have a neutral starting place. From
that point, there are literally endless possibilities of creating any
type of performance, or stage character.
What artistic
issues have Of course, this process takes some time, and it requires somewhat
you specifically “acquired taste” of the participants because it is probably very
worked with
different method than the ones they have experienced in their
in the artistic
processes artistic practices, but the “Balance” is also self-regulatory process
you have of anti-hierarchical structure; no one is the boss in the “Balance”,
accomplished? there is only one external coordinator of the exercise who is
basically in charge of technicalities. Now the earlier described
psychological or psycho drama processes probably kick in, for the
benefits such are, e.g. better feel of one’s own body or
understanding of other people’s actions, motivations and emotions.
Bearing that in mind, the “Balance” is a great tool for start of the
work on stage character, because the actor or any other performer
can try to fully grasp himself in relation to his character, and, what
is also very important, in relation to other characters or partners on
the scene and the audience as well. Maybe this intention and the
collaboration of the “Balance” method with other psychological
tools of is best summarized in the Robert Benedetti's discussion of
the acting process "Zen in the Art of Actor Training": “The best
training is not experienced as training; rather it is the unconscious
and automatic by product of a compelling aesthetics inquiry. In the
mobile phone:
+385976086136 very effort to discover how a play or scene works, how a character's
mind works, how human behavior itself works, we end up learning
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com to act! (according to Hobgood, B. M.: Master Teachers of Theatre:
www.Facebook.com/ Observations on Teaching Theatre by Nine American Masters,
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Southern Illinois University, Carbondaleu, 1988. p. 104).

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 13

Therefore the creation of the text is also only logical step forward
for the development of the stage character in case that the actors
wish to work on entirely original play. The less they say, and the
more the stage character speaks, the better. Therefore I would
recommend the “Balance” method to everyone who is interested in
play-writing. From my experience I can say that, frankly, I would not
be able to write so many plays in various genres and with totally
different stage characters if I were not experience the basic
principles of the professor Gonzalez’s methods which enable me to
work on development of the “Balance”. So the “Balance” still helps
me in a ways I could not even imagine they are possible.

If we add to that picture the psychological tools I was writing about

earlier, like the adjusted clinical interview for thorough work on the
stage character, or the concepts derived from personality theories
What artistic for practical use, we get very powerful epistemological mechanism
issues have for addressing the problems of creating the stage character. Of
you specifically course, it is not some Holly Grail of actors’ pedagogy, Stanislavski
worked with
in the artistic often writes about the importance of the biography of the stage
processes character, but I noticed that the application of the interview makes
you have the analysis of the character much easier for students, in contrast
accomplished?
to invention of the whole stage character’s biography by
themselves. And not only that, they can wrote additional
“authentic” lines of the character with ease if they are motivated to
do so or if those lines are needed for the play - they can even
make their own new and original text as well.

After all, clinical semi open interview was constructed as a powerful

triage tool for the psychologists and psychiatrists who have to
make important decisions about their clients or patients in a narrow
period of time. In short, about real people with real problems.
Which leads us to another important topic, and that is the nature of
the stage character. In his book “Subject as a Guest: Small
Hermeneutic of the Drama Character” (“Subjekt kao gost: mala
hermeneutika dramskog lika”) Croatian professor emeritus and
renowned scholar of the theater Vjeran Zuppa collects the changes
mobile phone:
+385976086136 of views on the stage or drama character throughout the history,
and one of the ideas he suggests is the possibility that the stage
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com character is a creature of language which has the ability to
www.Facebook.com/ interacts with a performer or an actor (Zuppa, V.: “Subjekt kao
ABCDTrupa
gost : mala hermeneutika dramskog lika”, Durieux, 2014., Zagreb).

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 14

According to this view, the stage character can in fact have some
features of a living being, or at least the actor or performer can in
some way interact with it (or, in this case, him or her). It is
interesting how professor Zuppa attaches language as the “birth”
place of the stage character, because in that way he indirectly and
unknowingly argues for the methodological justification of the
“Balance” method and the creation of stage character with its
strong ties with the drama text, i.e. language.

Finally, in connection with the problems of the stage character,

there is a matter of authenticity that needs to be addressed also.
“Art is a lie that makes us realize truth” is a saying of Pablo Picasso.
As theater is also an artistic area, this can be applied to acting and
theater in general. And common knowledge on almost every acting
school is the fact that professors or teachers often refer to acting as
What artistic an art of deception, misguidance of the audience or simply hoax
issues have with noble intentions. I wrote about that in the prologue to the
you specifically musical “The Mjuzikl – Mikeshky Blues”:
worked with
in the artistic
processes “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, admired audience and
you have respectful pūblicum, welcome to the theatre! As I can see, you have
accomplished?
nothing better to do tonight than to sit here, without constraint,
careless, and now you are curiously expecting the start of a - hoax!
Because actors, or for that matter, people of the theater, devoted
their lives to deceiving you. You know, they rehearse, meticulously
prepare, create and polish deceptions you cannot even imagine,
just to show you ‘reality’ in a way they want to. And you, wetter
knowing that or not, laugh, grieve or feel compassion with them
because you often believe in this fraud of theirs. Alas, some lies are
quite big, maybe bigger than life itself, so huge that they can
destroy all the other misconceptions ... Except for, maybe, wisdom.
But only if they are noble. All the world's a stage, and all the men
and women merely players, wrote a long time ago one of those
men of the theater. Does that mean that we all lie? But, where does
the truth lie then? Hmmm …”

mobile phone:
+385976086136 If we assume that there is a truth in such understanding of acting,
what happens then with a use of new technologies like are 3D, 3D
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com live streaming, 3D laser mapping and scanning or the inevitable
www.Facebook.com/ penetration of virtual reality in all the artistic fields, from which not
ABCDTrupa
even theater can be immune in not so distant future?

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 15

If we have a primal layer of “lie” which acting creates per se, then
this “lie” is taken to the next level because of the new technologies
which are nothing else than a hi-tech art of deception of our
perceptive apparatus in order to make it create senses that we will
interpret as “real”... Whatever that really means.

What about the actor in relation to drama character in this

constellation? We have maybe just begun to understand the
original question of the nature of that relation, and yet the theater
is on the verge of another Copernican turn. The first one went
relatively well when the sensory deception of the fast moving
images, which is more popular by the name of film, stormed into
town. It opened whole new world for the actors and possibilities
never imaginable before, along with the birth of new genres, acting
philosophies and practices, schools and academies, and, last but
not the least, enormous economical effect as well.
What artistic
issues have Again, I see the “Balance” method as a control mechanism or some
you specifically
kind of artistic etalon. Because it works on the principles of the
worked with
in the artistic balance between the actors, them and audience and even the
processes balance within the performer. If, for instance, the technology of
you have virtual reality could provide a feed-back to the performers whether
accomplished?
they perform live or just rehearsing with the recorded, or in some
other way kept virtual reality information of the “real” performance,
the “Balance” method could in fact serve as the artistic etalon for
performers. Or the coordinate system to help them find the right
responses to various stimulus, feedbacks and contexts. In addition,
maybe we are closer than we think to the day when viewers of
some theater work in the media of virtual reality could directly
intervene in the performance by choosing the different outcomes of
the actions actors take on “stage”, and the interesting question is
how can feedback of these decisions influence the actors?

Needles to say, the role of acting teachers could change a lot,

because the direct spacial contact between professor and the
student maybe will no longer be necessary, and the temporal
aspect is maybe also questionable, because the “virtual” characters
mobile phone:
+385976086136 could be propelled with artificial intelligence in order to make direct
interaction between all the protagonists any time and any place.
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com This can also be applicable to performances which can be
www.Facebook.com/ “timeless” not just as they being filmed or televised, but rather live
ABCDTrupa
in every noticeable way.

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 16

Will then, if we use the concepts of Alain Badiou, every

performance and interaction between the actors and the audience
literally, not only as a philosophical possibility, be a “(…) temporal
rupture, spanning as much an instant as an eternity, and is such
properly pre-subjective. For this rupture is the inter-time of the
event itself, the cut which intervenes between times, cleaving the
old (the decaying past) from the new (the eternal present which is,
properly speaking, the 'truth' of the past)” (according to Ling, Alex:
Badiou and Cinema, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2010,
p. 137). Could anyone then be able to state with certainty that the
actual actor of flesh and blood is standing before the audience, or is
it just another deception with, let us hope, noble intention? Will
then any theater act be really an internal “temporal rupture” with
no real meaning to when it actually happened?

All of the mentioned possibilities related to technical and

What artistic informatics (r)evolution can be also the parallel line of artistic
issues have
you specifically investigation and research, depending of the factors like budget,
worked with technical equipment of the institution on which research has been
in the artistic conducted, its strategic guidelines and similar circumstances.
processes
you have
accomplished? In any case, I believe that I managed to somewhat depict the
artistic field of my interest and the types of research that are in my
opinion important for further development in the field. Or, as
Tomlinson concluded in her doctoral thesis upon the analysis of the
literature written prior to 1990: “Perhaps the most important
conclusion demonstrated by this review of literature is the
realization that implementation of the use of psychological studies
by the major actor training programs and many acting theorists is
lacking” (Tomlinson, 1990, p. 51). Lastly, I could only say that I
concur with this conclusion, and add that, unfortunately, no
significant improvement on that field has been made since 1990.
But then again, it is a wonderful opportunity for progress in this
area.

mobile phone:
+385976086136

e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com

www.Facebook.com/
ABCDTrupa

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 17

Now I will address the matter of the role of art in society, and the
social issues I have encountered in my work as an artist, theater
pedagogue, psychologist and the producer of works of art. In order
to avoid usual phrases about the importance of the art in, or for,
any society, I would like to address this issues on the basis of my
work, realized projects and personal experience. First, as you can
notice from my CV, I decided to solely dedicate myself to the art
and pedagogical work relatively late – I had 39 years when I begin
to work on the Academy of Arts in Osijek. Nevertheless, I lived with
art and theater all my life, from the days in primary school till now.

Even though I enrolled on the study of psychology at the Faculty of

Philosophy of University of Zagreb, I took the “listeners index” for
the study of comparative literature (it was basically permission to
attend lectures on that study program there, but without the right
What is your to pass the exams). So I pretty much followed all the study program
perspective there, along with my psychology study, and I also went to classes of
in regards to the Croatian language and literature but merely in informal
the role of art capacity. During my studies, I began to work for newspapers, first
in society?
for the Zagreb correspondence of the Voice of Slavonia daily (“Glas
Slavonije”), and soon afterwards for the Morning Paper daily
(“Jutarnji list”) where I was the the editor of the culture section.

During my work in editor capacity in newspapers, I also covered

theater as a critic because I loved it (not sure whether the actors or
directors shared the enthusiasm for my texts), so I stayed near the
theater and people of the theater till the day I begin to work in that
area as a professional (all along that way I was always scribbling
something, poetry, wanna-be dramas, etc.). Soon I found out that it
was the right decision, because the thrill of creation something for
the stage was enormous, as was the work with students, especially
when I realized that I really can give something back to them, not
only as a play-writer, but as a psychologist regarding the
educational gaps I was writing earlier.

But, nothing is perfect so my cooperation with Academy of Arts in

mobile phone:
+385976086136 Osijek ended a little bit sooner than I could anticipate in the
beginning. To avoid arguments in the style “he said, she said”, I will
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com just state few facts as explanation for that. I already mentioned that
www.Facebook.com/ to this day the Academy of Arts in Osijek does not have a
ABCDTrupa
specialized psychology program for the artists.

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 18

So, basically, I was breaking the law (or at least some regulations of
the University of Osijek) when I was teaching different students of
art (actors, musicians and visual artists) about the psychological
tools which they can efficiently use in their practices. Beside that,
docent Vukmirica and I realized two plays with students of acting
that are, in my opinion, very important for this institution: “De iure
vs. de facto” and “Brave New World” (based upon the novel of
Aldous Huxley) which was world premiered right on the Academy of
Arts. (Youtube link to the recording of the play)

But, those projects were ignored completely, and the overall

atmosphere on this institution was not inclined towards close
cooperation of psychology and arts, to say the least (maybe you
will notice that these plays are not in the video section of the
Academy of Arts web page). Nevertheless, very soon my colleague
Ms. Demše and me formed ABCD Troupe, an independent artists
association through we realized most of the projects I wrote about.
What is your
perspective Since then we make few projects, like the comedy “Slavonic
in regards to
the role of art triptych” (“Slavonski triptih”) and the play for children “How Did the
in society? Children Helped Elf” (“Kako su djeca pomogla Vilenjaku”) in such a
way that we can perform them almost anywhere, so we toured all
over Croatia, especially in a villages and small cities that rarely
have an opportunity to see theater show, and in some places we
brought the first live performance ever.

All this activities we were performing along our pedagogical work

on the field as well, mostly with children. Since we are totally
independent from any funding whatsoever, (the only funding of the
Republic of Croatia came through the project “Book, Music, Puppet,
Film-I’m acting!”, but the next year they changed the propositions,
so we were not eligible to apply any more), we are very well
acquainted with the fact that independent cultural practices are
important factor in any society, but also it is very hard to survive
with such work.
(You tube link to the documentary with English translation; please press CC icon)

So, not to write more lapidary than needed, the social issues we
mobile phone:
+385976086136
encountered in our work were sometimes almost to steep to
endure, but somehow we managed. We are glad that we did,
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com because we get responses from the audience and practitioners in
www.Facebook.com/ our workshops all the time on how much our work is important to
ABCDTrupa them.

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 19

For many of them do not have sufficient means to participate in

cultural practices, whether as audience, or as an active participant,
so maybe biggest dilemma we came across when working on
terrain is how to bring some artistic, cultural or educational content
to such communities without sufficient funds. All I can say now is
that we really try, and for the most part, we somehow succeed.
Only now I can say that for me art, culture and artistic practices are
the most important thing in society, because there can not be any
progress without culture and art; in fact I believe that culture and
artistic practices are the generators of any kind of progress – from
economical to social in a way that society can not have any values
without art and culture.

In relation to that, I will mention an anecdote which happened in

What is your 2016 when we performed “Cabaret Croatia” for tourists near the
perspective city of Skradin on the Adriatic coast. One of the spectators was a
in regards to gentleman from Sweden who works as a manager for Volvo. He
the role of art wanted to talk with performers and me after the show, which, by
in society?
the way, he liked a lot, and he told us that he works in one small
city or village in Sweden (I forget the name of the place) where
Volvo build factory.

One of the reasons, supposedly, for the decision that they build it
there was the fact that this municipality has a lot of cultural
activities and programs, so the workers of the factory can benefit
from that. It is a very interesting attitude (of course, if I
remembered the story correctly), because here in Croatia things
are not looking good for the arts and culture, especially an
independent one. At a time when social tendencies in Croatia and
neighboring countries appear similar to those which predominated
prior to the war of 1991-1995, and political processes worldwide
are, increasingly, being represented in a narrative way and
subjectively, there is an urgent need for art and expression which
can look totalitarianism in the face. I believe that only art can
perform a masterful exposition of the power of media and public
mobile phone:
+385976086136 opinion over the truth and social values, and offer a starting point
for critical discussion of such contemporary phenomena as “fake
e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com news”, twitter feeds and mass media manipulation, which can
www.Facebook.com/ transform a logical, thinking person into “an enemy of the people”,
ABCDTrupa
as Ibsen taught us.

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level
 20

Of course, there are many more topics which could cover this areas,
for instance, the relation between the institutional and independent
culture, but I will try to summarize all those issues into just nine
lines. Some time ago I was thinking about problems of the arts and
What is your artists, cultural practices and politics, and it came to me that
perspective maybe we all need some kind of manifest or help with dealing with
in regards to all of this; and there it is, my proposition of the art manifest. Of
the role of art
course, it is open for discussion, that is why I wrote it. And with this,
in society?
I will finish. Finally…

Artistic manifest:

1) Everyone has a right to be an artist.

2) No one has a right to call himself an artist.
3) Everyone has a right to call someone an artist.
4) No one has a right to obstruct art.
5) Everyone is obliged to help art in best of one’s ability.
6) No one’s opinion is final in relation to art.
7) Everyone is entitled to an opinion about art.
8) No one, who is practicing art, can rely on public support.
9) Every form of public support for art is more than welcome.

mobile phone:
+385976086136

e-mail:
abcdtrupa@gmail.com

www.Facebook.com/
ABCDTrupa

Berislav Cimerman Application for accreditation of prior learning for the doctoral level