Meet Joana Knezevic | Actress, director, performance artist & educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Joana Knezevic and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Joana, why did you pursue a creative career?
When I was ten-year-old actress and started to discover the world of theater art and acting I clearly remember why I decided to pursue my acting career. The reason behind it was simply to make people laugh and to make people happy. As I matured and matured, it was clear that I wanted to tell the important stories of people whose voice is unheard. Giving people hope to forget or to solve their problems and be able to talk about them out loud was my goal when I entered the Academy of Performing Arts. Story and people are always behind my art and huge love for humanity.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a female artist, I am focused on topics that are related to the female body, about discrimination in the female artist world in the 21st century. Besides that, I like to perform stories related to my faith using Biblical stories or a biographical approach according to the Saint’s life and death.

I’m proud that I’m still alive as a freelancer (laughing). Last year I did one of the most exciting projects in my entire career in collaboration with Croatian artist Antonio Grgic. This project was part of the 59th October Salon in Belgrade, Serbia. I performed every night on the main street called Knez Mihailova Street in Belgrade for 46 nights. Each night I created another performance that started exactly at 09:45 pm. This was a magical experience for me and the audience because I spoke about 46 different topics that are urgent in this world.
To be honest with you, it was not easy at all to be where I am today in my professional career for many reasons. As a kid, a girl who was born with a cleft lip in Ex Yugoslavia and pursuing an acting career – that was a tough decision. It was not easy convincing people at my audition (for the Academy) to accept me just because I have a birthmark above my upper lip. That was always the first thing that they saw and after that, they’ve spoken about my talent. I was proud to be the first woman who would present the cleft lip community publicly. My mother supported me with many surgeries and education so everything was easier having her on my side. Without God and faith, I would probably be and do something else. However, I know that every person is unique and has a story to tell. So let’s talk about it. I overcome challenges with the need to let stories go out. I just simply couldn’t imagine my life without theater. It was my necessity like breathing. Thank God not anymore.
I learned that the most important part is the journey, not the results. Being present in every moment of my life is still something that I work on. I always teach my students to NEVER GIVE UP!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I was born in Yugoslavia, today my country is Serbia. I consider myself Yugoslavian. Saying that, I would bring my friends to the seven-day trip through Ex Yugoslavia. Novi Sad is the city where I grew up and I would bring a friend to the Exit festival. We would eat at the local night street markets, and we would dance at the old fortress all night long. The capital city of Serbia – Belgrade has a beautiful Orthodox Christian church ordained to St.Sava. and this is something that everybody should visit and take some quiet time for praying or just simply to see the beautiful architecture and mosaics. The next stop is Croatia and Zagreb. There are outstanding international restaurants with good prices in the Upper city. The Museum of Broken Relationships is something interesting to visit and think about your partner and life. Very often I go to Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially Bratunac, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and Mostar…great food, people, coffee, and sweets. I couldn’t avoid Montenegro with its beautiful Adriatic sea, lakes, monasteries, and churches. To meet with my tradition and history I will bring a friend to Kosovo and Metohija. Visiting female monastery Brnjak, buying handmade sweaters, honey, painted icons…For drinks, the best red vine is definitely in Orahovac.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The most important person in my entire life is my mother Marija who has supported me and my work since I started being on stage. She believes a hundred percent without hesitation and that support means a lot to me. I want to dedicate my shoutout to theater director Milan Pletel Plendza, who taught me the work ethic at an early age! That means discipline, creativity, hard work, and number one – education.

Michael Alvarez theater director from the States is my brother from another mother. We found and recognized each other at CalArts in 2015. Since that time we constantly work together and support each other. Without his brilliant ideas and trust my acting in English would be very different. We found the same artistic approach and we challenged each other every single day.

The actress Mirjana Karanovic was my mentor at the Academy Of Performing Arts in Serbia and she taught me the magic of acting and beauty of transformation on stage. My big respect to her who always believes in me and my creative soul.

Huge shoutout to my creative team, who is always with me. Without them, everything would be more complicated and not the same of course. Their names are Katarina Rankovic – pianist, composer, sound designer, and film and video director Hadzi Aleksandar Djurovic.

Many people influenced my work. They are all part of my life and my soul.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joanaknezevic/

Twitter: @KnezevicJoana

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4Pha0dD33n875HSB66_Z4A

Image Credits
Milena Popovic Michael Alvarez Sarah M. Golonka Jelena Mijic