Who Is Tanja Pjevac

Tanja Pjevac (born in Novi Sad on 2 September 1980) is a Serbian stage, television and film actress. Since January 2018 she has held a permanent position in the drama company of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad.

The wider public knows her for the role of Jagoda in the television series “Državni posao” (Government Job) and for the role of Snežana in the 2023 film “Manja”. Even so, she said in one interview that she prefers stage roles to film and television work.

She won the “Zoranov brk” award in 2020 at the International Theatre Festival “Days of Zoran Radmilović” in Zaječar. Little is known about her private life, which she keeps strictly separate from her public work.

Early Life and Childhood

Tanja Pjevac was born in Novi Sad, where she grew up and completed primary school and gymnasium (secondary school). The city where she grew up has remained present in her later work.

She developed her love of theatre as a spectator. In an interview with the portal “Hoću u pozorište”, the plays she singled out from her youth were productions of the Serbian National Theatre: “Putujuće pozorište Šopalović”, “Mera za meru”, “Murlin Murlo”, “Mrešćenje šarana”, “Posle pola veka”, “Gospoda Glembajevi” and “Mačka na usijanom limenom krovu”. She watched some of them at almost every performance whenever she could.

Education

She enrolled in acting after the third year of gymnasium. According to one biographical source, she went to the entrance exam almost as a trial run, expecting to have the chance to try again, but she was admitted on her first attempt.

She studied at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, in the class of Professor Mihailo Janketić. According to the Serbian National Theatre, she graduated in acting in Serbian in 2003 in the class of professors Mihailo Janketić and Jasna Đuričić.

She still remembers the advice of her professor from those years. According to her, he used to say that if he failed to make good actors out of his students, he would at least make good audiences. Another piece of his advice was to first master the basic theme to the point of virtuosity, and only then allow yourself to improvise.

Early Career

According to the Serbian Wikipedia, she first took the stage while still in school, in the role of the Lawyer in the play “Trajkovići” at the Terazije Theatre. This was followed by the role of Juliet in the comedy “Mera za meru” (Measure for Measure), directed by Dejan Mijač at the Serbian National Theatre, which premiered on 22 December 1998, and by the role of Nina in the play “Kokoška” directed by Jagoš Marković at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre in 1999.

Also listed are the role of Anđelka in the play “Ranjeni orao” directed by Ivan Cerović (2001) and the role of Carlotta in the play “Kazanova” directed by Đurđa Tešić (2002). She played in William Shakespeare’s comedy “Mera za meru” at the Serbian National Theatre, the same institution where she would later receive a permanent engagement.

She regards the role of Bulka Josimova in the play “Ravangrad”, staged by Dejan Mijač at the Serbian National Theatre on 17 December 2002, as the most important job of her early career. As she herself explained, she went to the audition for a smaller part, but Mijač, seeing her talent and eagerness to work, gave her a more significant role and developed it further.

That success opened the doors of Belgrade theatres to her. In Novi Sad she also took part in the play “Ćelava pevačica” (The Bald Soprano) by Eugène Ionesco, directed by Jelena Balašević in the 2009/10 season, alongside her colleague Jovana Balašević.

Rise to Popularity

She won over television audiences in the middle of the first decade of the 21st century. According to biographical portals, she appeared in the comedy series “Ljubav, navika, panika”, which Pink Television aired from 2005 to 2007. It was followed by the series “Stižu dolari”, in which she played Marija Roza (2006), and “Agencija za SIS”, in which she played Leposava (2007).

In 2008 she appeared in the series “Vratiće se rode” and in the film “Nije kraj”, and, according to biographical portals, also in “Kafanica blizu SIS-a”, “Bližnji” and “Čitulja za Eskobara”. The film “Čekaj me, ja sigurno neću doći” was made in 2009.

Her most recognizable television role came in the series “Državni posao”, where she plays the cleaning lady Jagoda. The interview on “Hoću u pozorište” noted that it is precisely as “Aunt Jagoda” that audiences remember her best. She has also appeared in the series “Neki bolji ljudi” (Svetlana, 2020), “Toma” (a nurse, 2021) and “Radio Mileva” (2021).

She received a permanent engagement in the drama company of the Serbian National Theatre in 2018. At that institution she played in the play “Golmanov strah od penala” (The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick) by Peter Handke, directed by Ana Đorđević (2021), and the role of the Widow in the play “Poslednji balkanski vampir” by Dejan Dukovski, directed by Aleksandar Popovski (2023). She has also worked at other theatres: in “Bog masakra” by Yasmina Reza (Keva, Plus Teatar and Youth Theatre), “Sibila ili Bert” (Aneta, National Theatre Kikinda) and “Loša kopija” (Buka, Cultural Centre of Novi Sad).

Smederevo 1941 and the Zoranov brk Award

A special moment in the career of Tanja Pjevac is the Serbian National Theatre production “Smederevo 1941”. Ana Đorđević is its author and director, and the play is dedicated to the actors of the Serbian National Theatre who were killed in the explosion in Smederevo on 5 June 1941.

The play was performed on 18 October at the 29th International Theatre Festival “Days of Zoran Radmilović” in Zaječar, which ran from 16 to 23 October 2020. The jury then awarded the “Zoranov brk” (Zoran’s Moustache) for best actor of the evening to Tanja Pjevac.

On receiving the award, she said that during the work the actors had access to archives containing data about their fallen colleagues, and that she felt they had done something those colleagues deserved. She also noted that Ana Đorđević combined historical facts with her own imagined possible cause of the explosion.

The Role of Snežana in the Film “Manja”

In the 2023 film “Manja”, directed by Nikola Končarević, Tanja Pjevac plays Snežana, the mother of the nineteen-year-old heroine. The lead roles are played by Nevena Nerandžić (Manja) and Miloš Vojnović (Daniel), and the cast also includes Darko Radojević, Sanja Ristić Krajnov and Ivana Pančić. The film runs 93 minutes and premiered on 23 June 2023.

The story follows a girl who moves with her mother from Zrenjanin to Novi Sad after her parents’ divorce. She is at odds with everyone, and her only friend is Slonče, a boy who has a band and is in love with her.

At the 2023 “Filmski susreti” (Film Encounters) festival in Niš, the audience named Tanja Pjevac actress of the second festival evening for the role of Snežana. She competed with actors from two other films: “Usta puna zemlje” by Mladomir Puriša Đorđević and “Da li ste videli ovu ženu” by Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluščević.

At a press conference she admitted that Končarević surprised her with his choice, because she felt she belonged to the film as an actress but not physically. She described the film as a “Novi Sad guerrilla attempt”, because Novi Sad becomes a real character in it. The festival selector Dejan Dabić judged that the film portrays the drama within a family and within an individual in an interesting way.

Working With Children: The Acting School

Besides acting, Tanja Pjevac also works as a teacher. According to one biographical source, she has worked with children at the acting school “Studio BIS” since 2010. The portal Nova.rs writes that she passes her acting skills on to new generations through an acting school for children, and quotes her saying that children are medicine for the soul.

In a 2020 interview she explained her approach. In her words, the first and most important thing children should learn is to think about cause and effect, to try on other people’s shoes and to understand others before they start judging them. That is why, she adds, she devoted her classes to encouraging those themes and taught children “not to act”.

Greatest Achievements

The greatest achievements of Tanja Pjevac are tied to theatre and film. On stage, they are her permanent engagement in the drama company of the Serbian National Theatre since 2018 and the 2020 “Zoranov brk” award for the play “Smederevo 1941”.

On film, it is the role of Snežana in “Manja”, for which the audience in Niš chose her as actress of the evening. On television, it is her long-standing presence in the series “Državni posao”, where as Jagoda she earned a special place in viewers’ memory.

Private Life

Little is publicly known about the private life of Tanja Pjevac. The portal Nova.rs notes that she keeps her private life strictly separate from the one she lives in the theatre and on film, and that in her rare interviews she sticks to her work and roles.

Details about her family, marital status and children are not publicly known, so this text does not state them.

Interesting Facts

• Her favorite short story is “The Death of Ivan Ilyich” by Leo Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой).
• As her favorite painting she named “The Scream” by Edvard Munch, noting that it cannot be just one.
• Asked about the time of day, she chose dusk over dawn.
• According to biographical sources, she advocates the view that an actor must preserve his or her integrity and choose roles in line with who they are.
• Asked what she would do had she not enrolled in acting, she answered that she has no idea.

Awards and Recognition

• “Zoranov brk” for best actor at the 29th International Theatre Festival “Days of Zoran Radmilović”, Zaječar, 2020.
• Actress of the second evening of the “Filmski susreti” festival in Niš, by audience vote, 2023 (for the role of Snežana in the film “Manja”).

Legacy and Influence

Tanja Pjevac has been present on the Serbian acting scene for more than two decades. Her work is tied above all to the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad, where she first fell in love with theatre as a spectator and later became a permanent member of the company.

Through collaboration with directors such as Dejan Mijač, Jagoš Marković, Ana Đorđević and Aleksandar Popovski, she has built a distinctive acting path. As a teacher she also reaches the youngest, teaching them to think, to understand others and not to act.

Biography – Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Tanja Pjevac?

Tanja Pjevac is a Serbian stage, television and film actress from Novi Sad and a permanent member of the drama company of the Serbian National Theatre.

When and where was Tanja Pjevac born?

She was born on 2 September 1980 in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Where did Tanja Pjevac study acting?

She studied acting at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad in the class of Professor Mihailo Janketić, and graduated in 2003.

Which theatre does Tanja Pjevac perform in?

Since January 2018 she has held a permanent position in the drama company of the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad, and she has also performed at other theatres in Novi Sad, Kikinda and Belgrade.

Which roles is Tanja Pjevac best known for?

She is best known for the role of Jagoda in the series “Državni posao” and the role of Snežana in the film “Manja”.

Which award has Tanja Pjevac won?

She won the “Zoranov brk” award at the “Days of Zoran Radmilović” festival in Zaječar in 2020 for the play “Smederevo 1941”.

Who directed the film “Manja”, in which Tanja Pjevac appears?

The film “Manja” was directed by Nikola Končarević and premiered on 23 June 2023.

Does Tanja Pjevac work with children?

Yes, she runs an acting school for children, and according to one biographical source she has done this work since 2010.

What is known about the private life of Tanja Pjevac?

Her private life is not publicly known, because she strictly separates it from her professional life.

Conclusion

Tanja Pjevac is an actress whose path from a Novi Sad gymnasium and the Academy of Arts to a permanent engagement in the drama company of the Serbian National Theatre has been marked by roles on stage, on television and on film. The 2020 “Zoranov brk” award, the role of Snežana in “Manja” and Jagoda in “Državni posao” are her most visible successes. In addition, as an acting teacher she continues to work beyond the stage.