An amazing nine days

Perfect. That is how I would describe the nine days spent in Timisoara. I am now on a five-hour train back to Craiova, clack-a-clacking through mountains ablaze in fall foliage. And my thoughts drift back to the final show at the National Romanian Playwriting Festival, an almost holy production of Chekov’s Three Sisters, performed by the the National Theatre of Timisoara. Staged at the main Hall of the National Theatre, an ornate proscenium space with red upholstery, gilded box seats, small balconies, and a hand-painted interior dome that reminded me of the Prague Opera House, the temporary stage had been built out over the orchestra seats, so that most of the audience sat on the stage, surrounding the action. The set was simple: Oriental carpets jigsawed the floor, and dozens of tall candles helped illumine a heavy wooden table in the center. The acting and directing were both stunning, and more than once I caught myself holding my breath. It was like the movie Wings of Desire, and we were the ever-watchful angels witnessing the human parade of joy and sorrow, love and loss. In all, I saw 14 plays in Timisoara, and though it was sometimes hard to follow a lot of the action because of my (slowly changing) inability to understand Romanian, the better plays were so visually arresting with such dynamic performances, that the language wasn’t too much of a problem. Quite often, surrealist sets, the use of films (and occasional fireworks), the costumes and sound design overwhelmed the story. And even though some plays were overtly political, dealing with the legacy of communism and the aftermath of the 1989 revolution, more than one Romanian playwright shared with me that this country too often shies away from social or cultural issues. Three nights ago, I had dinner with the director Radul Apostle and the playwright Mihaela Michailov. Mihaela told me that fewer and fewer young people are coming to see live theatre, and I told her that we have the same problem in The States. Here, however, they encourage their youth by allowing free seating to any student showing up for a play, as long as there is space available.
HERE IS A LINK TO THE FESTIVAL'S MEDIA PAGE. COPY AND PASTE IT, AND ONCE YOU ARE ON THE FESTIVAL'S SITE, ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN YOU WILL SEE THE NAMES OF SOME OF THE PLAYS. CLICK ON THE TITLE, AND YOU CAN WATCH A BRIEF VIDEO OF THE PLAY: http://www.tntimisoara.com/media.html
Once again, the generosity of the Romanian people cannot be overstated. It seems as though years of limited resources taught Romanian theatre artists how to create using whatever was available. This has also produced a tightly knit, hospitable artistic community. While at the festival, I met actors, directors and playwrights, not only from Romania, but also from France, Germany, Turkey, the Czech Republic, and the U.S. My meals and hotel were paid for, as was my train ride back to Craiova. I have been asked to teach acting workshops at the university in Timisoara, and a screenwriting workshop in Bucharest next spring, and I have been invited to the Experimental Theatre Festival in Cluj (northern Transylvania) October 19-26, and to the National Theatre Festival in Bucharest November 1-12. It all continues unfolding perfectly.