The autobiography of the actor Paulin Preka (1935 – 2021)!

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#KinematografiaShqiptare #PaulinPreka #EstradaShkodrane
Paulin Preka (1935-2021)
“Merited Artist”/ “Naim Frasheri Order III and II Class”
One of the columns of Shkodra`s Estrada and Theater.

I was born in Shkodër on 02.02.1935 in a poor family, in a “Jerevi” (floor) house and I grew up among four children, one brother and two sisters, from the income of my father’s arms and the extraordinary cares of my mother, who raised us and educated us with tolerance, and faith in God, with education and love for the good.

In the Civil Registry, I am registered with the name Palok Prek Gjergji but growing up I started to be called Paulin Preka by society, the name by which I am known today by the Shkodra and Albanian public.

As soon as I approached the eighth year of childhood, my father enrolled me in the society of the Cathedral Church of my city. Within that society, Dom Alfons Tracki (a German missionary priest), a master passionate about stage art, took the initiative to stage the melodrama “Seven Dwarves” where one of the seven I was lucky enough to be trusted, and precisely one of the first roles called Knapsi.

The melodrama was very much liked by the Shkodra art-loving public, by the authorities of that time, by the authorities of the Catholic Church, Mons. Gaspër Thaçi, Dom Mikel Koliçi and from the media.

In the evaluation that was given to us during the interpretation: Cesk Jubani and I were evaluated with first prizes. In the satisfaction of this assessment, my passion for the actor and the stage was created, which pushed me for my whole life towards creativity with different interpretations which I am listing in this autobiography.

In the years 1945-1946, at the age of about 11, the teacher Lec Sekuj staged the drama “The Boys of Pal Street / Djemte e Rrugës Pal” by the playwright Austrian children’s play by Ernest Molnar, which was performed by the students of the “Pashko Vasa” school.

In this drama I played the role of Van Daur of the Red Shirts. The main role was played by the talented Cesk Jubani. The drama was received with great success.

In 1947-1948, the “Pioneer House” was opened and the theater district was created along with other districts.
From 1948-1951, our district presented three plays by the Russian author Arkady Gaydar (Timuri and His Squad, Commander of the Snow Fortress, A special mission;) In all three dramas, I was very active.

In 1952, for economic reasons, I was forced to enter work at the age of 17, not as a pioneer, but as a young worker.

In 1953, with great difficulty, thanks to my will I became active near the “House of Culture” and that summer under the guidance of the well-known director Andrea Skanjeti, premiered the first amateur variety show (Estrada at the Window / Estrada ne Pengjere). The show was led by Tano Banushi and me. The show had a lot of humor and success.

In 1953-1954, when the Workers’ Club near the Professional Unions had just been created, I was invited to play a role in the Bulgarian drama “Tractor Drivers / Traktoristat” directed by Violeta Sekuj. With this drama, we competed in the Northern Zonal Meeting where we were declared the winners of this meeting. I was distinguished with an honorary degree for high performance.

At the end of 1954, I was mobilized in the military service and after completing the oath period in the liaison regiment, I retired to the Central House of the Army near the professional Estrada in the role of conferencier which I led until my release at the end of 1956. The year 1957 in the future it was quite busy with activities even though I worked as a carpenter in the woodworking cooperative.

With the House of Culture under the direction of the well-known Andrea Skanjeti, we showed the drama “Youth of Fathers”, a Soviet drama which took first place in the National Amateur Movement. In this drama I was entrusted with the greatest weight of the roles. During this time, the director of the Professional Troupe, Lec Shllaku, invited me to play the role of Abdullah (the son of the vizier of Shkodra) in the drama “Shtate Shaljanët”, a drama that, being performed by the master actors of Albanian dramaturgy, had a surprising longevity.

During the year 1957-1958, with the amateur troupe of the House of Culture, I participated in Carlo Goldoni’s brilliant comedy “Gjorgj Dade”, which was well received by the Shkodran audience as well as those of Korca, Elbasan, Tirana and Durrës, creating the belief that I had to be accepted among the Professional Troupe of the city of Shkodra.

My 23-year-old dream was achieved and with that desire and passion I have been a stage actor for 38 years, both in the theater and in the variety show which was created in the same year that I entered the theater.

After 8 years of working as a drama actor, by the decision of the Party Committee, I became a Estrada`s actor. A year later, due to the difficulty of creating materials, I tried for the first time to come to the aid of the variety troupe by writing my first skit “Bac Byreku” which was played by master Tano Banushi, by Zyl Miloti, Jolanda Shala and Katrina Biga .

All that I write in this autobiography is documented in the Migjeni Theater archives.

So this year I entered the line of humorous authors. From 1967 until the end, hundreds and hundreds of skits, parodies, dialogues and monologues have been written by me. My materials have been liked by my troupe and have been requested and played by the troupes of various districts such as Peshkopia, Kukes, Estrada e Ushtari, Durrës, Berat, Elbasan, Pogradec, as well as the amateur movement of the workplaces of my city and from Mirdita, Lezha, Puka and others.

I created my personality with a unique background of two high schools with night school, but with my intuition and will, with passion and perseverance until the day of retirement. I performed starving, empty stomach, I was poor, with three children, served by thousands of detractors, but supported and encouraged by my old colleagues in age but colossus on stage.

I managed to earn applause and sympathy from the public and from the highest state institutions a diploma, a medal and in 1974 the Naim Frashëri Order of the Class of III, in 1980 the Naim Frashëri Order of Class II, in 1988 the High Title of “Merited Artist”. In 1996, a few months before I ended my professional career, at the Meeting of Professional Bodies in Tirana, I was awarded the “Best Actor of a Career”.

I have tried to be loving with my colleagues for 38 years of my existence, with the collective, with the good and the bad, with artists and careerists, with those who loved me and those who did not love me. I have tried to entertain the poor public of that time but very eager for the pop genre. But the closure was tragic for my Theater, for my audience, for my city.

The events of March 1997 cost a fortune for the whole Shkodra and in the middle of it for the performing arts like many other arts of the city known as the Cradle of Culture.
Around the age of seventy, the impossibility of being exposed to the macabre that I resembled, I took the paths of emigration to be near my own children.

If the needs of my city require it, to fulfill the desire of Shkodra citizens for a quality art in all branches, for the art of the comedy stage, I again, as much as I have left and as far as I know, make myself available. I owe it to the city that raised me and appreciated me with the high merit “Pride of the City”!

By himself – Paulin Preka)

In addition to the activity in Shkodra’s variety show, Paulin Preka has also acted in several feature films such as: The Threat / Happy couple / Postponed wedding!

Published for the first time since v. 2014 on the page “Albanian Cinematography” on Facebook.

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