ТЕАТРАЛНА ДЇЯЛНОСЦ ЯКИМА ОЛЕЯРА
THEATRE WORK OF JAKIM OLEJAR

Summary/Abstract: This paper highlights the significance of Jakim Olejar for the development of amateur dramatics among Ruthenians in Vojvodina. Although he was better known to the Ruthenian public as a teacher and a children’s author, his contribution to the development of the theatre scene in Petrovci and Đurđevo is also noteworthy. The first document on the Vojvodina Ruthenian theatre dates back to 1913. The only evidence that Ruthenians performed theatrical plays before the First World War is an invitation to a performance of two one-act plays in Kucura, Jeronim Lucik’s “Do not curse” and “The witch doctor”. After 1918, with the creation of the new state, there was a need for Ruthenians to change their approach to the theatre, and from then on it would be at the top of interest and involvement of the Ruthenian public. A review of the plays directed by Olejar makes it evident that he was an exceptionally prolific director, having directed 35 plays. Collaboration with Petro Riznič and Irinej Timko contributed to the development of his theatre work, as evidenced by awards for plays he directed later on in Đurđevo. His theatre work spanned two particularly significant periods for the Ruthenian community in these areas—first, the interwar period, when the cultural and educational identity of Ruthenians in Yugoslavia was forming, as well as the period after the Second World War when Ruthenian culture was further institutionalized. This fact seems crucial to understanding of Jakim Olejar’s role in the development of Vojvodina Ruthenian theatre.

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