Approximately 15 local kids from as young as 6 to young teenagers formed a group to prepare a play with the leadership of Kristijan Ugrina (Croatian actor and a Member of the Zagreb Youth Theatre). It is an annual engagement within the Mali Grad Faros and Mali Grad Jorha Festivals, which gains popularity among local kids as they participate in creating the play, rehearsing it and perform it live on the island, all during a rather short period of a few weeks.
This year, they were rehearsing in front of the Općina (Municipal House) every evening for an hour, so I had the opportunity to watch Mr. Ugrina managing all those kids and actually doing something creative with them, while having fun and making it fun for the kids at the same time.
I was always curious about his motives. As I understand, the course is free for the local kids, so there is no direct financial reward for Mr. Ugrina´s time. And yet, he is bringing something rather unique to the island. Using his talent and knowledge, he is exposing children to theatre and acting through a direct experience, which from a perspective of a parent on an rather isolated island is pretty great.
And then, as I made a conclusion about Mr. Ugrina being one of the coolest guys of the summer, it turns out he is not only doing it for the fun of hanging out with young creative minds (called kids), but he is actually donating the whole money they made by selling tickets for their performances to the Red Cross of the Hvar island to help those in need.
Now, that is something!! Mr. Ugrina is one seriously cool gentlemen!!
Thank you Mr. Ugrina, you are a true inspiration. In times, where there is a serious lack of role-models for the kids, your honest and loving dedication makes all the difference in our lives.
(all photos: from the personal FB page of Mojca Šegvić)
