Romanian Theatre Research Articles

Aesthetic Perspectives in Romanian Theatre at the End of The First World War

Aesthetic Perspectives in Romanian Theatre at the End of The First World War

Anniversary of Romanian Theatre. Brief Retrospect

Anniversary of Romanian Theatre. Brief Retrospect

1. The Acting Student’s Choreographic Training. Several Cognitive Objectives

Abstract Dance is an artistic genre that is more and more frequently used in theatre productions. The syncretism of theatre and dance can take many shapes, from inserting dance sequences in dramatic performances, to new artistic genres, such as dance theatre. Due to the fact that they offer manifold innovating possibilities for artistic expression in a greatly audience-oriented universal language, theatrical forms that include dance, and especially the artistic genre of dance theatre are increasingly often put on stage by directors who work in Romania. Thus, training actors in the area of dance at a high level of performance that allows them to approach these types of syncretic artistic genres becomes a priority for the Romanian theatre school. The director, one of the stakeholders in higher education theatre schools, is the one who decides both the form of a performance and an actor’s involvement (or lack thereof) in that certain performance. Limited or stimulated by the actor’s training level, the director is also a beneficiary of the education the acting student receives in drama school. This study aims at identifying the opinions of ten Romanian directors on the matter of the choreographic categories and skills the acting student acquires during his years of training at a higher education institution. We have used qualitative methodology research, based on semi-structured interviews, applied to a cross-section of ten directors from Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Constanţa, Craiova, Iaşi, and Tg. Mureş. This article tackles the issue of cognitive didactic objectives and students’ cognitive competencies that have been emphasized during the conversations with the aforementioned directors.

Romanian Theatre Criticism during the Stalinist Era. Construction and Deconstruction of the Critical Discourse

Romanian Theatre Criticism during the Stalinist Era. Construction and Deconstruction of the Critical Discourse

Evoluţia relaţiilor culturale romano-slovace in localitatea Nădlac, judeţul Arad. Societăţile şi asociaţiile culturale in perioada 1802–1918 / The evolution of cultural relations between Romanians and Slovaks in Nădlac, Arad County. The societies and the cultural associations from 1802 till 1918

The Slovaks came in Nădlac in 1802–1803. They always kept in mind the preservation of their ethnic and cultural identity. Both Slovaks and Romanians in Nădlac have set up cultural and economic associations and societies in order to contribute to the economic well-being of the population, also being involved in the local cultural activities. ASTRA from Sibiu had a subsidiary in Nădlac. “The Society for the Romanian Theater Fund” was also supported by many people from Nădlac. The Slovaks have been active in the Slovak People’s Circle (Slovenský ľudový kruh). Economically speaking, several banks or credit institutes founded on ethnic criteria functioned in Nădlac.

Contribuția Primăriei municipiului Timişoara la dezvoltarea mişcării teatrale interbelice timişorene / The contribution of Timișoara City Hall at the developement of the inter- war local theatrical movement

Between the two World Wars Timișoara City Hall administration undertook considerable eorts in order to support the theatrical local movement, the goal being the bringing into existence of a permanent Romanian theatre in Timișoara.After proposing to create a Romanian theatre for Banat and Arad, with the headquarters at Timișoara and failing in the attempt to colaborate with the theatrical troupe lead by Avram Nicolau, because of the failure to comply with contractual clauses, the administration of the City Hall, respectively the Local Council, came with the initiative of achieving cultural areas with a permanent Romanian theatre along the Romanian borders, for the support of the Romanian culture. The intercession failed, firstly because of the financial dificulties and given the conditions, the decision makers of Timișoara City Hall supported the creation of a cultural area only in the west part of the country. But again, the lack of financial resources and, in our opinion, the lack of a determined support from the central cultural authorities, baulked this important project too. It has to be emphasised the fact that the City Hall of Timișoara showed its availability to support a permanent Romanian theatre to play in the most important cities from the west part of Romania.The numerous intercessions of the municipality leadership in order that the city benefit by a Romanian theatre troupe had a relative success in 1927, when the National theatre from Craiova evolved in the city for a year, putting on valuable plays, with material and moral support from the Timișoara City Hall.these efforts continued and in the forth decade of the 20th century, when the City Hall offered essential facilities to the theatrical troupe lead by Maria Cinsky Nicolau, but again the collaboration ceased because of the failure of the leadership of Teatrul Banatului (the name of that troupe) to comply with contractual clauses.In 1937 they decided to initiate a collaboration with the Romanian Theatre Patronage Committee from Arad, in order to assure a Romanian theatre season, but the performances were to be held by the National theatre and “Regina Maria” theatre and not by their own theatrical troupe.It has to be pointed out the fact that the decision makers of the City Hall intended the foundation of a valuable theatre, with quality actors, as prestigious as those from the national theatres from Bucharest and Cluj. The intention was also to form some original actors from Banat, to back up a permanent Romanian theatre at Timișoara.At the same time the theatre had to have an important educational role, especially for the young, aiming to shape a numerous theatre connoisseur audience. There had to be staged valuable educational plays, both from Romanian and universal drama.But the financial dificulties and the lack of a determined support from the central authorities, obstructed the foundation of a permanent Romanian theatre in the capital of Banat region. Under the circumstances, the City Hall gave a series of payment facilities (lighting, heating, display tax exemptions) for some famous theatre troupes (Bucharest National Theatre, Cluj National Theatre, „Bulandra” Theatre, “Cărăbuș” Theatre lead by Constantin Tănase, etc.), which played a series of plays in Timișoara between the two World Wars.Of financial support and other facilities from the City Hall benefited also Hungarian and German theatre troupes, which also played numerous plays. The intention was to maintain a Hungarian permanent theatrical troupe, attempt that failed because of the economic crisis.Thus, despite of the failure registered with the foundation of a permanent Romanian theatre at Timișoara, failure not to be blamed of, the Timișoara City Hall supported the local theatrical movement both from material and moral point of view, which made possible that valuable plays to be staged in the city.

The Communist Party Effect: Romanian Theatre Under the "Auspices" of Censorship

The Communist Party Effect: Romanian Theatre Under the “Auspices” of Censorship Isabella Draghici (Bucharest)

Elements of Ethics and Aesthetics in New Romanian Theatre

Young Romanian theatre artists are very concerned to address issues from the recent past and in using collaborative art to educational and therapeutic ends. The implications of the increased ethical consciousness in their work is addressed here by Cristina Modreanu, who focuses on the productions of directors Gianina Cӑrbunariu and David Schwartz. She analyzes the relationship between ethics and aesthetics in contemporary work against the backdrop of post-Communist Romanian society and in a global context, as well as the dynamics connecting the new wave of Romanian theatre to internationall tendencies in contemporary art, as observed by authors such as Jaques Rancière and Claire Bishop. Cristina Modreanu's doctorate on Romanian theatre after 1989 is from Bucharest University of Theatre and Film, and she has also developed the subject in lectures at Tel Aviv University and Plymouth University. A Fulbright alumna and former Visiting Scholar at New York University, Performance Studies Department, Modreanu currently lectures in Contemporary Performance at Bucharest University. Her publications include articles on Romanian and Eastern European theatre for journals such as Theater, Theater der Zeit, and Alternatives Théâtrales, and for the anthology Romania after 2000: Five New Plays, edited by Martin E. Segal.

(Ship)wrecked Shakespeare in Romanian Tempest s

Increasingly popular on the Romanian stage post-1989, The Tempest has become fertile terrain for exploring the current function of Shakespeare and theatre in the country. Comparing two 2009 productions, directed by Cristi Juncu and Cătălina Buzoianu respectively, this essay discusses the rediscovered topicality of Shakespeare, the reworking of The Tempest into concept productions, and the negotiation of collaborative authorship. Juncu kept his Tempest sparse, using sound to construct the spectacle of the storm off-stage, and reducing the island to a sand-box infused with a specific blend of domesticity and dreamlike metamorphosis. Conversely, Buzoianu's production was criticised for being too busy. High-tech projection screens framed a high-concept journey through the history of human violence, heavy with unsubtle analogy and plagued with interpretive inconsistencies. As with Prospero and Ariel's magic, these productions explored collaborative theatrics, with authorial attribution being given wholly neither to Shakespeare nor to either director or translator. Unburdened with the ideological baggage of other plays The Tempest here represents a "new world" for Romanian theatre, in which to explore such matters - theatrical and political - previously missed.

The Old Road Rapidly Aging

Romanian theater scholar Cristina Modreanu discusses the primary model of dramaturgy, classical texts presented in a realistic style, has evolved after 1989 in Romania to accommodate new visual styles of avant-garde directors. Modreanu describes directors such as Mihail Maniutiu, Alexandru Tocilescu, Gabor Tompa, Victor Ioan Frunza, and Alexander Hausvater as artistic “survivors” of the old regime, while Silviu Purcarete represents the present and future of Romanian theater.

The Censor's Verdict

Tom Sellar interviews Romanian theater scholar Liviu Malita, who has recently unearthed records of theater censorship during Ceau escu's communist regime. Malita discusses his research at the Archive of the General Directorate for Press and Printing (DGPT) and the relationships between dissident playwrights, apologists, and censors throughout the 1980s. He also considers the work of Romanian dramatists who continue to examine the psychological consequences of self-censorship and reform after the 1989 revolution.

Silviu Purcărete's World

Critic Andrea Tompa discusses the work of Romanian director Silviu Purc rete in the context of contemporary Romanian theater. She gives particular attention to his productions Pantagruel's Cousin and Faust, and examines Purc rete's approach and influence with regard to his contemporaries in Romania and in Europe.

In Cinderella's Shoes

Romanian theater critic and scholar Marian Popescu discusses the challenges faced by Romanian playwrights, directors, and other theater practitioners since the fall of communism. He details the struggles that artists and institutions have had to address and adjust to since the end of the Ceaucescu regime, as well as efforts of Romanian artists to create new forms and engage in the world theater scene.

Une Lettre Perdue: de la Roumanie du dix-neuvième à la Grèce du vingtième siècle

Nineteenth-century Romanian theatre vacillates between vaudeville and historical drama, reflecting the ideological dichotomy of its time, seeking a balance between the Western world and its national identity. After the struggle for independence, the political and social changes influenced a new generation of writers-playwrights who came into conflict with the choices of the (provincial) bourgeoisie. Ion Louca Caragiale is one of the most important representatives of this generation. In The Lost Letter he reveals the bankruptcy of the political system and transfers on stage “the suspicious' activities of the members of a society in the middle of a moral crisis. The play was first staged in Greece 75 years after its Bucharest premiere and the critics discovered the resemblance of its characters to their Hellenic counterparts. The common historic course of the two countries as well as the Hellenic descent of its author contributed to the creation of dramatis personae who surpassed the narrow local boundaries and were incorporated into a Balkan perspective.

Romanian Theater and Drama: Turning Point '74

Romanian Theater and Drama: Turning Point '74