Venue: Slovenian Youth Theatre
Address: Vilharjeva 11, 1000 Ljubljana
Town: Ljubljana, SI

The Slovenian Youth Theatre or Mladinsko Theatre (Slovene: Slovensko mladinsko gledališče) was founded in Ljubljana in 1955 as the first professional theater for children and youth in Slovenia. It is situated in the Baraga Seminary, which was built by architect Jože Plečnik in the center of Ljubljana. In the 1980s, it became a center of theatrical research and politically-engaged theater. It is known for a wide range of innovative poetics of different directors and an ensemble energy, a Peter Brook-like approach to acting with a laboratory for theatre research for actors, directors, choreographers and musicians to research, develop, and create. Mladinsko Theatre was founded in 1955 by Balbina Baranovič, the directress who also founded the first experimental theatre company in Slovenia. Throughout its history, the theatre has collaborated with the theatre reformers that shaped the Slovenian theatre during the second half of the 20th century. The Mladinsko Theatre's development progressed with contemporary theatre practices of the reformers of the Slovenian theatre during the second half of the 20th century, including directors Žarko Petan, Mile Korun, Dušan Jovanović, Ljubiša Ristić, Meta Hočevar, Paolo Magelli, Janez Pipan, Vito Taufer, Tomaž Pandur, Eduard Miler, Matjaž Pograjc, Martin Kušej, Dragan Živadinov, Emil Hrvatin, Tomi Janežič, Matjaž Berger, Jan Decorte, Diego de Brea, Jernej Lorenci, Ivica Buljan, Silvan Omerzu, Oliver Frljić, Borut Šeparović and Damjan Kozole. In the early 1970s, Slovenian playwright Dominik Smole became managing director of the theatre and ensured that the Mladinsko presented artistically demanding youth performances. The Mladinsko was on the theatre margin, which allowed many different creative energies to congregate there. The political powers deemed the theatre unimportant, which enabled organizational and programmatic changes to be made. The 1970s also marked a time of crisis at the Drama Ljubljana (the Slovene National Theatre, L