Photo by Modestas Andriuška

Justas Tertelis (b. 1981) is a playwright, director and actor on stage as well as screen. He writes plays for both radio and theatre, actively participating in various national playwriting contests, where he has won multiple awards. Tertelis is one of the most positive authors of Lithuanian theatre. Employing gentle irony, his works delight in the paradoxical beauty of our environment and everyday life instead of criticizing them. The author’s texts are usually staged by youthful Lithuanian theatres which support creative collaboration: the laboratory theatre Atviras ratas (Open Circle), the Art and Science Laboratory, the Keistuolių Theatre, Menų spaustuvė (the Arts Printing House) and others. The author himself is open to experiment and (auto)biographical creative work, searching for a modern theatrical language for young people. One of his most recent plays, Tik suaugusiems (Adults Only, 2019), is a social creative work about children written for adults, revolving around people (“parents”) trying to raise new people in today’s society. 

Tertelis’s first play, Vienaveiksmė mono pjesė PRAdedančiam aktoriui (PRA) – (One-Act Monoplay for an Aspiring Actor, 2007) focuses on the experience of a young actor – his fears, illusions and thoughts as he takes his first steps on the stage. The witty, open monologue received instant success. It is regarded as brilliant material and is still well-liked among young actors as well as directors working with them.