Theatre of Yugen is developing a new theatrical work inspired by Homer’s The Iliad in collaboration with director Dijana Milosevic (Belgrade), founder of DAH Theatre, and playwright and Yugen Artistic Associate Erik Ehn (Dean of Theater, Cal Arts). Theatre of Yugen’s ensemble will team with young actors in an investigation of the increasing wartime practice of using child soldiers.

Dijana Milosevic is the artistic director of DAH Teatar and Research Center located in Belgrade, Serbia. Founded in 1991, they were preparing their first production when Slobodan Milosevic began moving forces into Bosnia. Dah Teatar took their production to the streets and during the bombing of Belgrade, used it to discuss personal issues that arrive in wartime – causing a therapeutic as well as political effect. She is also the founder and artistic director of Art Saves Lives, a theatre-in-education project that serves at-risk youth throughout Southeastern Europe, working with both children and adults who've been personally affected by the war. Ms. Milosevic has also served as artistic director for the International Meeting of Theatre Workshops in Belgrade and has collaborated with the Magdalena Project, an international network of women in contemporary theatre. She is the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Otto Rene Castillo Award for Political Theatre.

The ensemble will look to Homer’s The Iliad, the ultimate bible of war, to provide a foundation for the theatrical base of the project, while an examination of our current era’s culture of child armies is the particular focus of the work. Associate Ensemble Member John Oglevee will serve as composer and lead musician for the Rock & Noh band.

The Iliad Project is generously funded in part by The Flintridge Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund/Grants for the Arts, and Multi-Arts Production Fund (a program of Creative Capital, supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation).