MEET OUR MENTORS
Introducing the team of dedicated mentors of the Atelier Programme.
Ivor Martinić
was born in 1984 in Split. He graduated in dramaturgy from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb. As a dramaturg, he has collaborated with theaters in Zagreb and Rijeka. He regularly works with the drama program of Croatian Radio, where all of his plays have been performed. He writes plays, radio dramas, and screenplays. His most well-known plays include Drama about Mirjana and Those Around Her, premiered at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre in February 2010; My Son Walks a Little Slower, premiered at the Zagreb Youth Theatre in 2011, directed by Janusz Kica; It’s Fine While We Die in Order, premiered in September 2019; and Son, Mother, and Father Sit at the Table and Remain Silent, premiered in 2025, both at the Zagreb Youth Theatre and directed by Aleksandar Švabić. His plays have been translated into about twenty languages, and he has received numerous awards.
Maria Milisavljević
is an internationally acclaimed playwright and translator. Her plays have been translated into English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Serbian, Bulgarian, Japanese and Korean. From 2013 to 2020, she was writer-in-residence at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, Canada. Her plays have been performed at renowned European theatres such as the Deutsches Theater Berlin, the Burgtheater in Vienna and the Residenztheater in Munich, as well as internationally, including theatres in New York, London, Tokyo, Brazil and Mexico. In 2013, Maria Milisavljević won the Kleist Prize for Young Playwrights for her play BRANDUNG. Her play BEBEN was nominated for the Mülheimer Dramatikerpreis 2018 and won the Heidelberger Stückemarkt Autorenpreis 2017 and the Else Lasker Schüler Stückpreis 2017. Among the authors whose works Maria Milisavljević has translated into German are Anne Carson, Sam Max and Gracie Gardner. In addition to her literary activities, Maria Milisavljević successfully completed a PhD in English Cultural Studies. She is also a founding member of the German Association of Theatre Authors (VTheA) and co-founder of the artists' collective Ministerium für Mitgefühl (www.m-f-m.info).
Biljana Srbljanović
is an author, playwright, and tenured professor at the University of Arts, Belgrade, where she chairs the Department of Dramaturgy. She is a PhD student in Dramatic Arts, Media, and Cinema Studies. A Fulbright alumna (2002/2003), Srbljanović lectured at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and has been a visiting professor at institutions in Vienna and Milan. She has written over 10 plays, translated into 25 languages, and premiered globally, winning multiple awards, including six Sterija Awards and the Joakim Vujić award for lifetime achievement. Srbljanović created the influential TV series Open Doors and co-hosts the long-running Serbian podcast Pleasure in the Text, analyzing contemporary cinema. For over a decade, she has edited programs at Heartefact Fund, an independent cultural organization, and serves as a jury member for a major regional competition for socially engaged plays. Srbljanović is an advocate for LGBTI+, women’s, and minority rights, earning numerous honors, including the French Order of Arts and Letters. She has written for outlets like Le Monde and Der Spiegel and was the first godmother of the Belgrade LGBT Pride in 2014.
Bernhard Studlar
was born in 1972 in Vienna, Austria. He studied at the University of Vienna (Theatre Studies) and at the University of Arts in Berlin „Szenisches Schreiben“ (Playwriting). Bernhard Studlar won several prizes and grants for his literary work. He has been working as a playwright, dramaturg, tutor and director in theatres and universities inAustria, Germany and Switzerland for more than 20 years. His plays have been translated into several languages as English, Italian, Czech, Polish, French, Slovak or Turkish. His play “Lohn der Nacht” (Wage of the night) won the prize of the Austrian Theatre Alliance in 2020 and had its world premiere at the Bregenzer Festspiele in August 2021. His latest play “Der erste Stein” (The first stone) had its world premiere in 2023 at Schauspielhaus Salzburg. In 2005 he founded the intercultural playwrights-project WIENER WORTSTAETTEN, that he is still leading as artistic director. WIENER WORTSTAETTEN is a unique, intercultural playwrights-project which encourages discussion and networking between Austrian and international authors. Based in Vienna an international network has been created over the years to establish intercultural exchange and a centre for contemporary European drama in Vienna.