The actor who is hijacking festival prizes

Kumanovo "wakes" albanian theatre, Musa Isufi, winner of the best actor award

By Milena Selimi / Koha

Milena Selimi "I love theater and all my work that until now has been to contribute for my beloved town Kumanovo. There is nothing more beautiful than to see the spectator who wants to communicate with the actor through the show. I thank the jury who trusted me in my role. With the establishment having a theater in our town I believe that people who believe in the art of theatre and actors will achieve their greatest goals. We will live to educate and cultivate the next generation of spectator, who tomorrow will reflect and think through the language of theatre" - these are the first emotions that you receive from a reticent actor who works a lot, Musa Isufi.

Milena Selimi

An award who is fully deserved is a part of Musa Isufi's artistic biography. Winner in the category of the best actor in the Nationwide Festival that was held in Ferizaj's theatre, with the role Kipci in ''Live Corpses", the actor once again showed us his artistic potential and power, that keeps rising.
Participation in the 40th festival was presented infront of the public in Ferizaj with an excellent performance from actors that exceeded all expectations. A nailed spectator for about 50 minutes, who sees in a mirror what is happening with his daily life. Consciousness of guilt and dilemmas faced in a closed cycle, which narrows further from the betrayal of friends, human selfishness, the desire for power and temptation for glory. Applause from the spectator are not accidental. Perhaps this is the thing that the author Shkëlzen Halimi and the director Zijadin Murtezi were looking for, a challenge that can already be called successfully passed. Kumanovo Theatre, expertly shows us reflection and thoughts of the theatre. After all, isn't this the mission of the theatre, far from the theatre of replicas for replicas and comic situation? To lead us to consciousness to find the lost ideal. In fact is there ideal,or is it erased? Is there passion? Is there any value in the thoughts of an itellectual that searches for the light like Diogenis in a world full of haters, ugly moral where unfortunately, according to an unwritten rule, the innocent takes the blame and has only one ideal, to provide a little roof on his head without hurting anyone.

''Live Corpses" is a rare premiere in Albanian language that was displayed on September 20. 2008 at the Centre for Culture in Kumanovo. Three main actors, Musa Isufi (Kipci), Mendim Murtezi (Hajni) and Sefedin Shabani illustrate the lost moral of a society including the albanian one. An important parallel withdrawn in theatre and outside the theatre. Actors- performers are the ''Live Corpses" of this evil society, that for so many years give out their contribution in one city, to which the theatre was denied, this holy temple of words and thoughts. "You have to believe that these are the actors who have played in basements and closed places, to keep the word and the theatre alive"- said in the debate after the show, director Zijadin Murtezi. Their sacrifices to keep the passion alive were rewarded several times in their important participations in national and international festivals and with valuable awards.

Ideals for still existing are continuing to be extinguished, and the conscience doesnt light up, neither wakes nor kills. Obviously the emotions gather that on stage they come to us powerful by actor Musa Isufi. Do we have to become unconscious to save the existence?

With a highly professional performance, with expressive details, finding acting's way infront of spectator we bring to live many parallels, that thanks to Musa Isufis's high- skills in acting they come in different vocal registers. With a clean stage diction, with one albanian word that sounds powerful, the revolt of a betrayed intellectual to us it seems like cutting the stage in half. A drama which wont remain only inside of the city, but gets an universal sense for the time in which we live. With excellent movements the actor faced us with life and death. His every movement talk about pain and extinguished pain. Hands that convey stage elegance, portrait's mimics, lifeless legs nailed in the wheelchair, shoes thrown away from his tired physical body, his cold toes nail you into the spectator's seat. What happens on stage? Am I the "lost" one? The play breathes in a big movement of motion- words and the power of the actor Musa Isufi. He becomes a stockholder of the space in the stage and from a 'corpse' he becomes 'alive' who protests and raises up the question "Where will our society go"? We will continue the path of betrayal, or we will seek the salvation of the soul into the valuable and useful work?

"Nothing can stop the theatre in the city of Kumanovo. I live and breathe for the Theatre, as me also many other actors like Mendim, Sefedin and director Kushtrim Bekteshi, etc. I believe and have faith that his future will be in professional high levels, with new actors who graduate in acting and with several showdowns of theatre that we created all these years".

Trusted sources close to the government cabinet show that very soon the city of Kumanovo will be able to have an albanian theatre, after all the efforts and insistence the local artists made. And only then our hard work and our efforts we made all these years will get rewarded.

Musa Isufi is an example as an actor who gave us hope that even the albanian theatrical art of Kumanovo can bring artistic high- levels. He inspired us with his courage to continue the beautiful art of word, even though we are in bad institutional conditions. The award in Ferizaj's Festival ranks in dignity with his other prizes like: "Special award of the festival" in the "Albanian theatre festival" Debar 2008 with the role of Kipci in the play ''Live Corpses" and "Best Actor of the festival" in the play "Outside fall snow" in Debar 2002 with the role named Kiço, author Vincenzo Salemme and directed by Nehat Memeti. Musa Isufi