Lazar Panev was born in Kyustendil and graduated from NATFA in 2016 in Professor Zheni Pashova’s class in puppet theatre acting. Since then, he has been fortunate to work in theatre and film. Today, Lazar is an actor with the Kyustendil Drama Theatre. A very interesting premiere is coming up for him soon. His film experience is only beginning to grow, but, as he puts it, it is quality experience. He played a role in Yavor Petkov’s film “Danny. Legend. God.” and has a small role in “Monsters”. This year, he appeared in a friend’s short film, “Echo 2” (directed by Yordan Mihaylovski). He has forthcoming screen projects. He has appeared in many music videos and advertisements. Lazar Panev has been part of the Film Academy for Talents’ teaching team for three years.
How did your story with the Film Academy for Talents begin, and what is your role in the team?
It began as a joke, like everything that has happened to me, including applying and being admitted to NATFA. Meeting this team also began light-heartedly through my colleague Tsvyatko Tsenov, whom I have known for a long time. He introduced me to Nataliya Dukova through a performance. Nataliya asked me to cover two classes in Plovdiv, and when that class graduated she called and said she wanted me to become a regular teacher at the Academy. The beginning was quite difficult because I did not have much experience, but with the whole team’s support and guidance I embarked on this adventure. It was wonderful for me because I learn so much from the people I teach.
In this two-way process, what is the most important thing the person standing before “students”, often a mix of different people of different ages, needs to know?
What I have discovered is that students need to be challenged, because acting works with emotions. Every human being carries emotions and uses them in life. The point is to bring them out, master them and be able to use them for this purpose called acting. I always have a structured plan and programme that I follow. The most important thing for me is how a class begins and those five minutes when I want to sense where people are emotionally, what is happening with them, even what the weather is like outside, because that too affects human emotions and sensitivity. In colder weather, people tend to withdraw into themselves and need a little more prompting. Each person requires an individual approach. That is why I was interested in embarking on this adventure. An actor must be a very good analyst and something of a psychologist, which is why psychology is included in the training.
What gives you the most joy when another class finishes its training?
For me, the goal is achieved and the ultimate joy comes when these people are pleased with what they have accomplished and have truly managed to break out of their shell, step outside who they are and become someone else. Seeing the joy in their eyes at what they have achieved is the greatest reward.
Not to mention how great that joy is when it happens with the youngest aspiring actors. After all, I graduated in puppet theatre acting and know how to communicate with children. Working with them is familiar to me; in fact, I do it very well, and it brings me enormous joy. With adults, however, these processes are more conscious. Seeing an adult who has broken through their own barriers, become another character and felt the joy we feel when performing is something different.
What makes you keep teaching these people, challenging them, encouraging them to bring out something different and reveal the actor within?
There are many things, not just one. The joy you see when you achieve something with a group or an individual, when you have helped them break through, leave their comfort zone and respond to a challenge, is like a parent’s joy. Although I am not a parent myself, that is exactly how I imagine it. There is enormous pleasure in achieving something that does not depend on you alone. When you manage to “activate” someone for whom this is not a job but only a hobby, so that they become enthusiastic, give their personal time and succeed in the process, you have sparked their interest, and that really is a wonderful feeling.
If you had to tell your students, is it easier to act in film or theatre?
That is strictly individual and depends on the person. Cinema is the great magnifying glass: everything is very precise in detail and very restrained. In theatre, most genres require a little exaggeration, which some people find easier. I do not think either is easier or harder. It is a matter of proportion, perspective and sound judgement. When you trust the film crew, the process is very different and runs much more smoothly; people are far more committed to it.
How do you complement the other Film Academy for Talents team members? Does teamwork help achieve better results?
In the current format, everyone has found their place, and without deliberately trying, we complement one another wonderfully. Each of us has an individual approach, which matters enormously to the students. Different perspectives are very important in challenging people. All this is subjective, not an exact science. The more perspectives people have, the faster things will develop and the more easily they can form another skill we teach: taste.
What is your message to the people you teach?
I would advise them to keep striving to step outside their comfort zone, because only then is a person truly alive.
