Nikolina Vujić
The art of being. Upravo to za mene znači pjevanje i scena. Biti prisutni i spremni da pružite sve ono što zaista jeste. Muzika me naučila da budem prirodna, iskrena i da njegujem svaki trenutak u svom životu. Jer poput tona ili pjesme, sve ima svoj kraj. Muzika me naučila kako da budem samouvjerena i nikada ne odustajem. Pokazala mi je šta su to prave i iskrene vrijednosti. I smatram da ako vam je nešto nadohvat ruke, iskoristite priliku i radite ono što istinski volite i prema čemu osjećate najveću strast.
Muzika mi je oduvijek bila bliska. Ispunila je svaku česticu mog bića i postala sastavni dio mene. Vjerujem da dobro poznajete osjećaj leptirića u stomaku kad se zaljubite? Pomnožite taj osjećaj sa deset i možda ćete tada shvatiti kako se ja osjećam kad sam na sceni.
Veliki broj živopisnih i jedinstvenih iskustava, projekata i izvedbi svrstao me među vodeće izvođače u Sarajevu, mom rodnom gradu. Zahvalna sam na svim prilikama i iskustvima koja su me vodila do otkrića mog istinskog poziva i želje da se bavim pjevanjem i muzičkim teatrom.
Vjerujem da je odluka da se posvetim muzici i sceni donesena kada sam upisala Srednju muzičku školu u Sarajevu (2007. godine). Veliki broj TV emisija, pozorišnih predstava u Sarajevskom ratnom teatru, muzičkih natjecanja i filmova su razvili u meni interes prema umjetnosti, u prvom redu pjevanju i glumi. Studirati uporedo dva odsjeka (teoriju muzike i flauta) u srednjoj školi bilo je izazovno ali i jako inspirativno za razvoj mojih talenata i vještina.
Naredno poglavlje u mom životu me jako radovalo a podrazumijevalo je studiranje na Muzičkoj akademiji u Sarajevu (2011. – 2017. godine). Ono je proširilo moje vidike i probudilo u meni interesovanje za istraživanjem i potrebom za novim iskustvima. Sva prethodna iskustva koja sam doživjela u toku osnovne i srednje škole bi se mogla uporediti s avanturističkom živopisnom slagalicom. Posljednji i najvažniji dio te slagalice pronašla sam u toku studija na izbornom predmetu Muzički teatar. Profesorica Alma Ferović-Fazlić me odabrala da tumačim glavnu žensku ulogu u mjuziklu “Grease” Sandy Olsson (2013. – 2014. godine). Ovo je bilo moje prvo iskustvo u muzičkom teatru i u pripremi mjuzikla. Od svog ranog djetinjstva i nakon gledanja mjuzikla “Čarobnjak iz Oza” maštala sam o ovoj prilici i zamišljala da ću jednoga dana kao Dorothy pjevati, glumiti i plesati na velikoj sceni. San male djevojčice se ostvario i 2014. godine sam uživo nastupala u mjuziklu Grease na sceni Narodnog pozorišta Sarajevo. Ova izvanredna prilika mi je ukazala da posjedujem veliku strast i ljubav prema muzičkom teatru, kao i talenat. Scenu sam shvatila kao svoje igralište, mjesto na kojem je sve moguće. Kao što i jeste.
U toku priprema za ulogu Sandy Olsson, nisam mogla ni pretpostaviti da ću narednih godina dobiti igranje u čak 7 predstava muzičkog teatra – Cabaret (2014, ansambl), Footloose (2014, glavna uloga Ariel Moore), Dirty Dancing (2015, ansambl), Flashdance (2017 – 2018, glavna uloga Alex Owens), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2018, glavna uloga Olive Ostrovsky), kabare predstava Moja pjesma (2019, vokal) i Spring Awakening (2020, sporedna uloga Ilse).
Uloga Alex Owens u mjuziklu Flashdance, je uticala jako pozitivno na mene u pogledu na moje samopouzdanje, vjeru u svoje mogućnosti i talente. Bila je to i najizazovnija uloga kao i zadatak u tom periodu mog života. Rad na ovom mjuziklu me ponovo podsjetio da su scena i nastupanje na istoj (uz pjevanje, glumu i ples) upravo ono što najviše volim i prema čemu osjećam najveću strast. Sjećam se da sam jednom u toku procesa izjavila da mogu zamisliti sebe da svaki dan idem na probe i igram predstave. Tako se osjećam i danas.
Mjuzikli Flashdance i The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee zauzimaju posebno mjesto u mom srcu upravo zbog uloga koje sam tumačila te samog procesa stvaranja predstave.
Mjuzikl The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee je bio jedinstven jer je okupio 16 glumaca i muzičara iz različitih dijelova Bosne i Srbije. Nakon sedmodnevne radionice, naš muzički producent Ryan T. Nelson i reditelj Aaron Thielen objavili su spisak uloga sa našim imenima, a mene su odabrali da tumačim glavnu ulogu, Olive Ostrovsky. Ovaj mjuzikl je uticao jako pozitivno na mene i motivisao me da se dalje razvijam kao umjetnik ali i kao čovjek. Samo izvođenje ovog mjuzikla je za mene predstavljalo najljepši poklon i probudilo još jaču volju za ostvarenjem snova i vjerom da ću jednog dana nastupiti na još većim scenama poput Broadwaya.
Pored muzičkog teatra, posljednjih pet godina radim kao profesor muzike, muzikoterapeut i jazz pjevačica (bend – Sarajevska jazz gerila) i kantautorica.
Moj plan jeste da zauvijek slijedim svoje srce i strast koju osjećam prema muzičkom teatru i pjevanju.
Nikolina Vujić
The art of being. That is what performing on a scene and singing means to me. Wide awake and open to give all of who you really are. Music taught me how to be real, how to cherish every single moment in my life. Because like a tone or a song, everything has it’s ending. Music taught me how to stand on my two feet and never give up. It showed me that there is no mistake of being who you really are and being vulnerable. So, if something is within your grasp, take the chance, do what you truly love and feel passionate about.
Music was a part of me long before I was a part of myself. It has filled every ounce of my being and it is inseparable from who I am. You know that feeling of butterflies when you fall in love? Well, multiple it with ten and maybe then you could imagine how I feel when I am on a scene performing.
Number of colorful and unique experiences, projects, and performances placed me among the top performers in Sarajevo, my home city. I am grateful for all the opportunities that came my way and made me see even clearer that when I am performing music I feel most alive.
I believe that the decision of committing myself to music and scene was made when I enrolled into Music High School in Sarajevo (2007). A great number of TV shows, theater plays in Sarajevo War Theater, music competitions and acting in movies, led me to discover my natural and pure interest for art, especially for singing and acting. Studying two departments (music theory and flute) in high school was really challenging, but also inspiring and opened new ways to develop my talents and skills.
I remember being thrilled by the next big chapter of my life, which was studying on the Music Academy in Sarajevo (2011 – 2017). Studying at the academy broaden the horizons of what I have already known and awakened me with questions and interests about the unknown. All the past experiences during my elementary and high school, could be compared to an adventurous vibrant jigsaw. But the final and the most important piece I found was on the Music Academy in Sarajevo when I started the Musical Theatre course. The main professor Alma Ferović-Fazlić organized an audition and she chose me to play the lead role in the musical “Grease” Sandy Olsson (2013 – 2014). This was my first experience in the musical theatre and in preparing a musical. From my early childhood and after watching Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz” I always dreamed about singing, acting and dancing on the big scene. The dream of a little girl came true and I was performing live on a scene of the National theatre Sarajevo. It meant so much to me and I knew from the first rehearsal that I want to be in the musical theatre world and that that is my true passion and calling. I felt the scene as my playground, a place where everything is possible. So it was.
While I was rehearsing for my big moment as Sandy Olsson, I wasn’t expecting that I will get the opportunity to perform in 7 more musicals – Cabaret (2014, ensemble), Footloose (2014, lead role Ariel Moore), Dirty Dancing (2015, ensemble), Flashdance (2017 – 2018, lead role Alex Owens), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2018, lead role Olive Ostrovsky), cabaret show My Song (2019, vocal) and Spring Awakening (2020, supportive role Ilse).
Through the experience of playing the lead role, Alex Owens in the musical Flashdance, I have left my comfort zone, especially in terms of dancing, and departed from the things I was afraid of. It was the most challenging role and assignment in that time and it stopped me doubting myself and my capabilities. Again I have found happiness and joy doing the thing I love the most – performing on the scene. During this musical I said “I can imagine myself going to the rehearsals every day and performing like this for the rest of my life”, and I feel the same way today.
When I reminiscence about Flashdance and following The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee musical, I can say that both of them have a special place in my heart because they have inspired me and challenge me to grow and move past my limits.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was unique because it gathered 16 actors and musicians from different parts of Bosnia and Serbia. After the seven-day workshop, our music producer Ryan T. Nelson and director Aaron Thielen announced who got which role, and they chose me to play the lead role, Olive Ostrovsky. This musical affected me in a positive way and it motivated me to develop myself even further as an artist and person. The magical experience of performing the show was the best gift for me and with it came even stronger will to pursuit my dreams and to believe that someday I will perform on even bigger scenes like Broadway.
Besides musical theater, for the past five years I am working as a music teacher, music therapist, jazz singer (band – Sarajevo Jazz Guerrilla) and as a singer-songwriter.
My plan is to always follow my heart and the passion I feel towards musical theater and singing.
