The Man Behind Acting at the American University in Bulgaria
Arriving with his bicycle for the rehearsal of his students in Dr. Carl Djerassi Theater Hall in Blagoevgrad, Nedyalko Delchev is not your ordinary acting professor. It is a Friday morning, days before some of his students show one of the plays that Nedyalko is directing in the fall semester.
Nedyalko has been a professor at the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) since 1996 and loves his job. He is from the small town of Dimitrovgrad, where the first open-air stage in Bulgaria was created. “The idea of the stage was to have young people, who have just become part of the theatre sphere,” he says.
He graduated from the National Academy for Theatre and Cinema Arts (NATFIZ) as a theatrical director. After graduating from NATFIZ, he studied Theatre Management in the United Kingdom. He later became the director of the theater in Dimitrovgrad and at the same time was a director at the Aleko Konstantinov State Satirical Theater.
At AUBG, Nedyalko teaches three kinds of courses. “The first one is Introduction to Theatre, which deals with theoretical and historical information. The second ones are acting courses, where students show their play at the end of the semester.”
The final course Nedyalko teaches is independent studies which is for the most talented students. “I encourage students, who have shown that they possess qualities, ambition, and interest in making their own projects,” he says.
Ralica Nancheva, who has taken two courses with professor Delchev, says that he is the person that sparked her interest in theatre. “Because of him, I am doing a second major in literature and theatre. I plan to take all the courses he offers,” she says.
Recently in the AUBG community there have been ideas about creating a Film Studies major. Nedyalko has mixed feelings about this idea and believes that if a Film Studies major is created, it should only be allowed to be a second major and not a primary one.
“Of course, students who are interested in this field should have the opportunity to do such a major. But the theatre sphere is very challenging physically and especially psychologically and in the end this hard work is not paid well enough. The consolation price is that if this hard work pays off, it is strongly supported by the audience and you feel utter satisfaction,” says Nedyalko.
He shares that he has never had the passion to become an actor and be in the spotlight. “I have never been an actor. I have taken part in a few movies of few of my colleagues and also in the graduation of two of my foreign colleagues, but nothing more,” says Nedyalko.
When talking about his plans for the future, Nedyalko used a quote from Emir Kosturica’s film “Do You Remember Dolly Bell.” “Every day, I want to become better in every single aspect.”
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Ilina Stoyanova is a sophomore student at the American University in Bulgaria. She plans to take an acting course in the future.
