Curriculum Vitae
Jelena Gasic,
E- mail/ treehousecentre@gmail.com
Occupational Therapist (Special Pedagogy, Dep. for the Blind and Partially Sighted), Director, Workshop Leader, Administrator, Actor (F), Musician (MD)
Jelena Gasic has been working professionally in British Educational Theatre since 1989 and has specialised in Educational Theatre with a particular focus on using multi-arts as an educational tool with children and young people from as early an age as possible. Freelance work in the UK includes projects with Roundabout TIE at Nottingham Playhouse, Portsmouth City Arts-Travelers Project, Half Moon YPT, National Youth Arts Festival, Royal Festival Hall, Southwark MENCAP, Fast Forward disability project, Redbridge Drama Center’s School’s with special needs Residencies, Allchange Arts, Chisenhale Dance Studios, Treehouse Centre and more.
She is the Founder/Artistic Director of Treehouse Centre (est’1990) based in London Borough of Southwark (LBS), where the company has developed a strong reputation for under 5’s educational multi arts play, school’s TIE drugs awareness and anti-violence programmes, educational arts projects, ‘out of school’ youth arts workshops/performances and individually tailored workshop strategies
Treehouse projects have included working with special needs groups, young travellers, young women, young offenders, secondary, primary and nursery schools.
Since 2000 her focus has been the situation in the former Yugoslavia, and the education system particularly in Serbia.
Jelena is the founder and director of NGO,“Our World -Nas Svet” set up in 2001, a mobile team of arts workers who design and run educational arts projects in collaboration with schools, colleges, youth and community groups nationally and internationally.
In 2006, in Belgrade, Serbia, she has set up Treehouse Storytelling Centre.
Up to date, the centre has devised and adapted many stories for children of all ages, narrated simultaneously in English, Serbian and French with music, colourful scenery, masks and puppets.The program of the Centre offers regular language courses and a variety of arts workshops & courses ( music, movement, puppetry, drama, creative writing and visual arts and crafts).
PERSONAL DATA
EDUCATION
Elementary school – Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Bloomington Indiana, USA
High school – Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Music school: eight grades, piano & 6 grades guitar – Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Belgrade University -Special Pedagogy, Dep. for the Blind and Partially Sighted -diploma (1986)
WORKSHOPS & COURSES 1984-1990
Movement and Performance for the Disabled – Juliana, Yugoslavia
Movement and Performance – Juliana, Yugoslavia
Evolutionary Origins of Movement for young adults with learning difficulties – Hat Dance House, Wilbur, Holland
Storytelling Through Movement – LOUISE MUTTEN, Wilbur Holland
Contact Improvisation – HEIKE PAVICEVIC, Amsterdam, Holland
Working with Body in Educational Therapy – Amsterdam, Holland
Vocal Movement Improvisation – JODY GILBERT, Amsterdam Holland
Vocal Movement Improvisation – HANS BURNS, Amsterdam, Holland
Movement Improvisation – JODY GILBERT, Amsterdam, Holland
London, G. Britain:
City Literary Institute -courses over a 4-year period:
Japanese Theatre Technique – LORNA MARSHALL
The Physical Actor – LORNA MARSHALL
Stylized Theatre – LORNA MARSHALL
Actors and Their Masks – LORNA MARSHALL
1st Year Mime – RONALD WILSON, JOHN JAMES, LORNA MARSHALL
Japanese Theatre Technique – LORNA MARSHALL
Working on Text – JOHN JAMES
Speaking Well – JOHN JAMES
Masks Unlimited – LORNA MARSHALL
Directing physical theatre – LORNA MARSHALL
Buto dance – LORNA MARSHALL
Physical Acting – Theatre Blic
Storytelling -Anja Dashwood, LSMM
Johsi Oida, acting – Sadlers Wells
London School of Mime and Movement -2 years course
Out of school hours learning -LBSouthwark Business Course
Projects in Serbia / from 2000 /
“Silences” multimedia project (included an exhibition of oil portraits, performance and creative workshop for children)
Belgrade Cultural Centre June 2000- director and performer
Balkan New Movement “Dreaming about the Balkans” -show performed at Edinborough Theatre Festival 2001- movement director
Nine months educational arts project “One world our world” with IDP’s age 8-13 and 13 -18 from collective centres in and around Kraljevo, funded by Norwegian People’s Aid
- project coordinator and director of four shows devised and performed during the project in Belgrade Student Cultural Centre, Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad and Kraljevo Theatre (2001/02)
Educational Arts Project for Internally Displaced Young People integrated with local youth from and around Kraljevo, funded by Fund For An O pen Society, ECHO and ICMC- September 2001/ 02-project coordinator and director
DRUGS PREVENTION PROJECT FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS-in Belgrade, funded by Fund For An Open Society
2002 -project coordinator and director (final performance and video presentation at the Student Cultural Centre in Belgrade)
Balkan New Movement “Fairies Dance “, National Theatre Belgrade, Edinborough Theatre Festival 2002 – movement director
Educational arts tutor for secondary school holiday program in Vrnjacka Banja (summer 2002) -Department for Education and Sports -Youth Section
Performing arts tutor- International School of Belgrade
- Co-director, Christmas production BFG (2003)
Drama, Music, Movement and English workshops for children 2- 8 years old in Sports Centre Pinki, Zemun (2004)
Educational arts director, final production director “Open Wings” at Brcko Summer School 4 in Bosnia (2004), funded by AYUSA
Project coordinator-Drugs prevention project for primary/secondary schools, parents and teachers in partnership with Belgrade Criminal Police and the local Municipality of Zemun, funded by the UK DFID as part of Project for Social Policy Reform in Serbia (2004/05)
Co-director of Vanguard (2006), the regional youth forum (Southeastern Europe) on reducing drug related harm and HIV/AIDS.
Founder / Artistic director of Treehouse Storytelling Centre in Belgrade, Serbia (2006), (www.nassvet-eduarts.org)
Projects in Britain over the years have included:
1999
Treehouse Theatre Centre
LBS Educational Arts Drugs prevention project
Walworth primary and secondary schools
Co-director
Treehouse Theatre Centre
Co-director/performer
Theatre in Education production – anti-violence programme
For LBS primary schools
3 month run
‘Mary Maria Marina’
Treehouse Educational Arts
Performer/Workshop Director (4 schools)
LBS Infant School’s Carnival (anti-violence)
Burgess Park
Workshop Leader
Aylesbury Youth Club
Christmas project for young people with learning difficulties
Project co-coordinator
After schools programmes for young people with special needs, young women’s group, young travelers, estate based young people’s groups
1998 Treehouse Educational Arts-Project Director
Streetsense ’98
Anti-violence performance based projects with
LB Southwark’s schools (4 secondaries/10 primaries)
Treehouse Educational Arts
Project Director
Narconscious ’97 & ’98
Drugs awareness performance based 1-year projects with
LB Southwark Schools (4 secondaries/12 primaries)
Treehouse Youth Arts
Workshop Leader
Summer Project
National Youth Arts Festival,
Co-director anti-violence youth production
‘Who shot the Deputy’
1997
Youth production – Caribbean Calypso adaptation
of Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’
National Youth Arts Festival Ilfracombe, Devon
Co-director
‘Boom Sha ka la ka and the ghost in the wall at Sheepstow Hall’
Cockney musical youth production
Bacon’s College,
Workshop leader/director
Promenade production’2001 scavengers’
Partners in Prevention
Workshop director
Young offenders project, Romeo and Juliet’
Fast Forward special needs project
Young people with severe/multiple disabilities
Anansi story
1996
Project coordinator
Irish Travelers project
New Kid in Town
Warwick Park Secondary School Danny Day’s Big Day (drugs project)
Treehouse Youth Arts -after school project
Production Empress’ Child (under 8′s)
1995
Road safety programme for 26 nursery schools in LBS
Under 5’s pre-school project for parents and children with special needs
Roundabout TIE at Nottingham Playhouse for 25 schools in Nottinghamshire-drugs project co-director
1994
Dance /drama workshop leader
Portsmouth City Arts-Youth Theatre Travelers Project
Half Moon YPT- Youth Theatre Project
