Professor Marina Katnić-Bakaršić (Bosnia and Herzegovina), producer Jana Bäskau (Germany) and writer Ana Stojanoski (Macedonia) are members of the jury of the International Theater Festival MESS Competition Program. Eleven performances from eleven countries are competing for festival awards, the famous Golden Laurel Wreaths.

 Marina Katnić Bakaršić, PhD (Sarajevo, 19^th June 1960) is a tenured professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo and the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo. She teaches Stylistics and Discourse Stylistics at the Department of dramaturgy. She has published twelve books, of which one is an e-book and two are co-authored. She has authored a hundred and eighty different scientific and expert papers, translations, criticisms and reviews published in different journals, almanacs and papers both at home and abroad. She is the recipient of several awards, most notably the 2008 Grozdanin kikot Award for Drama Education. She has been the corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina since December 2018.

Ana Stojanoska graduated General and Comparative Literature at the Faculty of Philology “Blaze Koneski” in Skopje (2001). She completed her postgraduate studies in theatrology at the FDA, where she received her master’s degree (2003) and her doctorate (2007). She worked as a researcher and coordinator at the Institute of Theatrology at the FDA (2001 – 2011). Actively engaged in research and study of drama and theater. She specialized in theatrical museology. She wrote several novels and plays, about a hundred studies and essays published in Macedonian and foreign periodicals, as well as co-author of several theatrical monographs. She also writes theatre reviews.  In 2019 she became a member of the Writers’ Association of Macedonia. She is a member of several associations and organizations focused on research in literature and theater. Her poetry and prose have been published in several Macedonian and international journals.  She writes constantly, not wanting to “mold” into any genre (scientific or literary), so she writes prose, poetry and theatre plays.

Jana Bäskau studied German and English at the Universität Rostock and after an engagement as press officer at the Volkstheater Rostock – theater studies at Humboldt Universität Berlin. From 1999 to 2011, she worked at the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz Berlin, first as dramaturg and production manager, later as executive producer for Touring Management & International Relations. She also worked as a producer at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, HAU Hebbel am Ufer, and Diehl+Ritter, a Berlin cultural office operating internationally. For Tanzkongress 2019, she acted as project manager and executive director, followed by an engagement as executive producer at the 2020 edition of Tanz im August and as interim project manager for the Creative Europe project Big Pulse Dance Alliance. From September 2021 to March 2023, she worked as head of artistic administration for the Tanzkongress 2022. Currently she is operating as a freelance artistic producer based in Berlin.

On Sunday, 8^th October 2023, at 21.00 o’clock the jury will announce the laureates and recipients of Golden Laurel Wreaths for the best performance, the best director, best actor as well as other theater awards.

The tickets for the 63^rd edition of the International Theater Festival MESS are available online, via the www.kupikartu.ba ticketing system. The Festival opens on Saturday, 30^th September 2023 with the Ukrainian performance Caligula at the National Theater Sarajevo.