About Us
Žalia Varna Theatre is 27 years old!
On 20 December 2012, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania awarded Aurelija Čeredaitė a prize for her educational work with children and young people.
Educational performances – see the Events section!
Professional development of Aurelija Čeredėjevaitė/Čeredaitė:
1990 – Took part in a project of the US theatre “Bread and Puppet” (Moscow). Role: Mother Goat.
1993 – Internship at Norwegian puppetry centres and theatres. (Performance of “The Piggy Princess”)
1994 – International project “Drama in School”. (Performance of “The Piggy Princess”)
1998 – Creative laboratory “Performance as Research”. (OSF Lithuania)
1998 – Seminar “Educational Opportunities of Professional Theatres”. (OSF Lithuania)
1999 – Anna Sher Theatre drama laboratory. (OSF Lithuania)
1999 – Uniek Zaken theatre laboratory. (OSF Lithuania)
2000 – Suzanne van Lohuizen’s course for playwrights. (OSF Lithuania)
2002 – 1st World Congress of Arts Therapies in Budapest. Presentation.
2005 – Screenwriting laboratory in Vilnius.
2007 – Psychodrama assistant certificate of the European Institute of Psychodrama.
2007 – Forum theatre for professional actors. (UK tutor)
2008 – IUGTE training for advanced actors, Slovenia.
2008 – International conference “Art – a Space for Learning”.
2008 – International conference “Art in the Education of Prisoners: Sharing Good Practice”.
2009 – International Festival of Puppet Theatres in Charleville-Mézières, France.
2010 – International seminar for advanced actors: improvisation seminar with John Britton (UK), France.
2011 – Presentation at the Klaipėda international scientific and practical conference “Creative Methods in Rehabilitation”.
2014 – “Learning with Puppets”: participation in an international adult learning programme in Santoña, Spain (Grundtvig programme).
2014–2016 – Ethnoculture seminars (LMNUC).
2016 – Conference “Bullying Forecast for Lithuania 2020–2030”.
2018 – Tatjana Kriukova’s seminar “Individual Psychodrama Work and Group Resistance”.
The founder of Žalia Varna Theatre was born and grew up in Klaipėda. In 1979 Aurelija Čeredaitė (Čeredėjevaitė, Gurinavičienė) graduated from the Vilnius State Conservatory (now the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre) with a diploma in drama acting (specialising in puppet theatre).
Course leaders: Dalia Tamulevičiūtė and Irena Bučienė. Stage speech was taught by Stefa Nosevičiūtė, and puppet theatre by Vitalijus Mazūras.
From 1979 to 1993 she worked as an actress at the Lėlė Theatre, and in 1994 she staged the performance “The Robot and the Butterfly” there, based on V. Žilinskaitė’s fairy tale.
At the Lithuanian State Youth Theatre she staged “The Prince Learned a Trade” (1993) and, in 1994, the one-woman show “Elenytė and the Three-Headed Dragon”.
From 1989 to 1999 she was the director of the “Little Pea Boy” puppet theatre at the M. Mažvydas Library, creating 11 performances.
In 1990 she founded the children’s creative “Shadow Theatre” at the Vilnius Teachers’ House, which later moved to the Palace of Pupils.
In 2006 the Ministry of Culture of Lithuania granted A. Čeredėjevaitė/Čeredaitė the status of art creator.
In 2007 A. Čeredaitė obtained the psychodrama assistant certificate of the European Institute of Psychodrama.
Awards:
2006, 2010, 2011 – Three-month educational scholarships from the Ministry of Culture.
2020 – Three-month creative scholarship from the Lithuanian Council for Culture.
2011 – British Council scholarship.
25 October 2003 – won the award for best director at the Alytus puppet theatre festival “Aitvaras” for her original performance “Anthony the Little Mouse”.
2002 – Encouragement prize for the radio play “What Do I Feel?”. Author and director of the play, and performer of a role.
2000 – The play “Dance in a Pot”, also known as “The Dreamy Chubby One”, was included in the collection of best children’s plays, “New Drama Bulletin No. 4”.
1997 – Winner of the children’s playwriting competition organised by the Ministry of Education, with the plays “The Blossoming Clock” and “The Little Doe’s Silver Bell” (medal for 60 years of the Lithuanian school).
1998 – Laureate of the Open Society Fund–Lithuania competition “Creating a Performance for Children and Young People”. Research project “Incubator” (reading to children in classrooms, rehearsals with children, meetings with children with disabilities): the creation of the performance “Children with Emerald Eyes”. (Its creation began at the “Little Pea Boy” theatre of the M. Mažvydas Library.)
1994 – In Rokiškis, the Lithuanian State Youth Theatre’s performance for children “The Prince Learned a Trade” was named the best children’s production of the season at the Rokiškis festival. (Play, direction, acting role.) Composer F. Latėnas, designer R. Čeponis.
1978 – Lithuanian Television award for the best debut of the season. (The role of the sister in the TV drama “Two Handfuls of Small Change”, directed by V. Bačiulis.)
1977 – Diploma winner of the All-Union Yakhontov competition for student reciters.
The leading role of Jurga in the short feature film “Speed Is My God” (1979), which won the main prize at the SVKI festival. Directed by Raimundas Banionis, cinematography by Algimantas Mikutėnas.
Books by Aurelija Čeredaitė/Čeredėjevaitė:
2003 – “Anthony the Little Mouse”: play and teaching material. Gimtasis žodis publishers (puppets created by A. Čeredėjevaitė).
2004 – Book of fairy tales “The Lazy Witch”. Kronta publishers. Translated into Italian as “La strega Pigrona” (Books&company, 2007). Illustrated by K. Kasparavičius.
2007 – “The Hedgehog’s Christmas”: author and reader. Kronta publishers. Illustrated by Ieva Miškinytė.
Productions:
1999 Mira Rothenberg, A. Čeredėjevaitė – “Children with Emerald Eyes”. Set design by Irma Balakauskaitė, music composed and performed by Arnoldas Gurinavičius.
2001 Aurelija Čeredėjevaitė – “The Secret Killer: Drugs”. Set design by Valentinas Antanavičius, costumes by D. Kaušinaitė, composer and performer Arnoldas Gurinavičius.
2001 Aurelija Čeredėjevaitė – “Anthony the Little Mouse”. An original work by A. Čeredėjevaitė; composer and performer Arnoldas Gurinavičius.
2003 – Puppet opera “La Traviata” (with the Music Society). Director Aurelija Čeredėjevaitė, designer Arvydas Nekrošius.
2004 Aurelija Čeredėjevaitė – “The Amusing Opera”. Puppet designers Julija Skuratova and Martynas Lukošius.
2007 Vytautė Žilinskaitė – “The Fourth Pocket”. Puppets: Ligita Skukauskaitė’s creative interpretation of Antanas Jonauskas’s animated character.
2009 A. Čeredaitė – fairy-tale game “A Conversation Worthy of a Hedgehog”. Director and set designer Aurelija Čeredaitė; puppets based on sketches by the artist Ieva Miškinytė; hedgehog puppet maker Ligita Skukauskaitė; music composed and performed by N. Kiseliova-Žukovska.
2014 – “Jonas Basanavičius, the Bearded Crow” (based on R. Daukantas’s book).
2022 – “Legends of Vilnius: Barbora’s Letters”, based on historical events and Aurelija Čeredaitė’s creative interpretation of the letters. Shadow puppets made after Juozas Galkus’s portraits of the Radziwiłł family.
Poetry performances:
2005 Aurelija Čeredaitė – “The World as Birth”. Artist and set designer Dalia Dokšaitė.
2008 Aurelija Čeredaitė – “Barbora’s Letters” (with guitarist Jonas Kublickas, later with musician Nadežda Kiseliova, and at Christmas with the Eklektiškas Bolero ensemble and Arnoldas Gurinavičius on double bass).
2012 Aurelija Čeredaitė – “Love Letters to the Earth” (with multi-instrumentalist Gediminas Sederavičius).
2015 – A performance of music, art and poetry about Napoleon Orda. Pianist Andrius Vasiliauskas.
Revived performances:
2000 – A. Čeredėjevaitė’s “Elenytė and the Three-Headed Dragon”, directed by A. Čeredėjevaitė; composer V. Bartulis, costume designer Dalia Dokšaitė, woodcarver Robertas Bartašius.
Educational work:
Aurelija Čeredėjevaitė has taken part in creative summer camps for children, staged performances in Vilnius schools, and led practical seminars for teachers and drama teachers.
From March to June 2011 Aurelija Čeredaitė took part in the project “KLIK” (Creativity, Leadership, Inspiration, Culture), organised by the Lithuanian Ministry of Education and the British Council, creating a poetry performance about the Hedgehog with children (together with the school choir).
2016 – Creative workshops for children “Legends of Vilnius 2” at the Saulutė Library in Vilnius.
2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2025 – took part in the Vilnius “Culture Night” programme.
Joint projects with:
Lithuanian libraries (“Reading Promotion Programmes”), the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences, students of Vilnius University, the Lithuanian Centre of Non-formal Youth Education, museums, schools and communities.
Public activities:
2006–2010 – President of the association UNIMA Lithuania (the Lithuanian centre of the international puppetry organisation UNIMA).
2004–2006 – Board member (treasurer) of UNIMA Lithuania.
2004 – Organiser of the cultural programme of the psychodrama conference “Moreno Days 4” in Klaipėda.
2008 – Member of the organising team of the international festival “Puppets and Children Smile” in Kaunas.
2006 – Represented Lithuania at the UNIMA World Congress of puppeteers in Tolosa.
2006 – Initiator and one of the organisers of International Puppetry Day at the Kaunas puppet theatre.
2009 – Head of the organising committee of the psychodrama congress “Boundless Dimensions” in Vilnius.