Switching places: Theater projects of Olja Lozica

Abstract

From the very inception of her professional career, the theater projects of Olja Lozica, a Croatian dramatist, playwright and director, display the author's profound artistic commitment to the researching and portraying marginalized social groups and individuals. This paper examines selected plays by Olja Lozica, where she delves into the theatrical exploration of socially vulnerable workers, the unemployed, the powerless, stigmatized minority groups and various forms of disability. It also investigates the multifaceted forms, objectives and impacts of the author's distinct approach to theatrically representing non-normative individual and collective identities. Additionally, the paper establishes connections between the considered thematic layer and some of the principles underpinning Olja Lozica's unconventional, de/ rehierarchized, and open creative process.