#tdrst

[teodorastaicu]

Bibliography

Carciumaru, Marin et al. (2017) ‘Amber Deposits in Romania, with Particular Emphasis on Those Located on the Eastern Side of the Carpathians (Bibliographical Considerations and a few Field Investigations.’ Annales d’Universite “Valahia” Targoviste. Section d’Archelogie et d’Histoire, 19, pp. 33-56. [Online] [Accessed on 4th September 2023] https://www.persee.fr/doc/valah_1584-1855_2017_num_19_1_1205

Costin, Claudia (2018) Folkloric Aspects of the Romanian Imaginary and Myth. 1st ed., Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Haja, Gabriela (1999-2001) ‘MANIFESTĂRI TEATRALE FOLCLORICE: ORIGINE ȘI EVOLUȚIE.’ Anuar de lingvistică și istorie literară, Tom XXXIX – XLI ⸱ 1999-2001, pp. 175 – 188. [Online] [Accessed on 31st May 2023] http://alil.academiaromana-is.ro/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/MANIFEST%C4%82RI-TEATRALE-FOLCLORICE.pdf

Maci, Mihai (2021) Diferența o va face cultura. Despre limitele dezvoltării orașelor. contributors.ro. [Online] [Accessed on 30th May 2023] https://www.contributors.ro/diferenta-o-va-face-cultura-despre-limitele-dezvoltarii-oraselor/

Mihai, Daniel (2016) CIULEANDRA – TRADIȚIE ȘI ETIMOLOGIE. CRITERIULNATIONAL. [Online] [Accessed on 1st June 2023] https://www.criteriul.ro/ciuleandra-traditie-si-etimologie/

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. (2022) The Age of Humans: Evolutionary Perspectives on the Anthropocene. [Online][Accessed on 4th September 2023] https://humanorigins.si.edu/research/age-humans-evolutionary-perspectives-anthropocene

Urdea, Alexandra (2018) From Storeroom to Stage. New York: Berghahn Books.

[teodorastaicu]

Reflection on final performance

I was a little dissatisfied with the final performance. I realized that I should’ve allocated more time in the studio as the scores I created weren’t embodied enough and when I performed with an audience those scores were forgotten. The same happened when I played the guitar. I rehearsed a specific guitar song, related to a traditional Romanian song, but through all the tech-runs before the final performance I kept making mistakes. To be safe, I chose to use a song I’ve known for a very long time, on the performance night I just couldn’t remember it and I felt my mind being stuck. I resolved this by continuing the performance, but I felt disappointed with myself for not being able to play the guitar as intended.

This is a project that has a lot of potential in transmitting a message about the environmental crisis we face more and more each year. I believe that with some updates to the presentation section of the performance this can entertain the public in a more compelling way. For future performances I will change the more theoretical parts of the presentation with environmental facts. Some information about the creatures was revealed but only when speaking the text in Romanian. I was suggested to create a third character, that acts as a mediator between the geologist and the creature and provides more information about the myth of the creature. This is an idea I consider as I think it will ameliorate the confusion for those unfamiliar with Romanian customs and the language.

I was satisfied with the engagement the audience had in the beginning of the performance when they reacted in a positive way by laughing, engaging in giving answers to a question I asked, and joining me on stage. As the performance progressed, I became self-conscious, and I couldn’t create the same engagement with the audience as before. For future performances my aim is to embody better the scores I created and apply them to my characters in a cold and systematic way, so I don’t solely rely on my memory. There were several moments when the characters were lost so I rushed through the last section of the performance. When talking about the set and technical aspects, I am happy with the images I created. I would choose different light ques as I feel some sections were too well lit and now, I prefer the stage to be darker. My favorite image was when all reading cards were scattered around the stage and on the astroturf, creating a field full of litter.

[teodorastaicu]

Programme

[teodorastaicu]

Songs

I made use of traditional Romanian songs in my piece specifically those from the North-East region of the country. The songs are used around the holiday celebrating 'Sanziene' that also celebrates the summer solstice. Some of these specific songs are sang solely by women, describing the customs they have around the holiday. They are sang for good luck in getting married.

For the guitar songs, I wanted to use a traditional song adapted for the guitar. According to Costin, C. in Folkloric Aspect of the Romanian Imaginary and Myth, a belief people had was to bury an instrument at a crossroad and wait for three days then take it out the ground and be able to play it to perfection. During those three days the 'Sanziene' entities would appear and dance with the instrument in the sky giving it magical properties. This ritual prompted me to make use of playing the guitar and integrate the instrument in my performance. 'Hora' is a traditional dance and it used to be a social gathering for village people every Sunday. Now the dance is limited to celebrations and the Sunday gatherings stopped happening almost everywhere in the country.

The outlawry song (Haiduceasca) is also used as background music during the performance. It has it's origins in the North-East area and is sang through a wood pipe, predominantly by shepherds.

[teodorastaicu]

Video used for main projections

https://stummuac-my.sharepoint.com/personal/22558085_stu_mmu_ac_uk/_layouts/15/stream.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2F22558085%5Fstu%5Fmmu%5Fac%5Fuk%2FDocuments%2Fnaturesequencevid%2Emp4&referrer=OneDriveForBusiness&referrerScenario=OpenFile

This is a link to the video I used for the main projection. It is composed of several videos to create a sequence that accompanies the performance.

[teodorastaicu]

The PowerPoint presentation slides

[teodorastaicu]

Initial outline and ideas

Theme:

Romanian myth – Sanziene – as a base for exploring modernization, drift from nature, loss of ritualistic practices, identity, womanhood, personal heritage, duality.

The performance:

Laboratory and physical theatre; creation of scores.

An interweaving between presentation and performance. The performer, performance, lecture/work demonstration. Create dramaturgical levels. (Back and forth between demonstration and performance)

Cross over between reality and fiction

Create a significant figure (metaphorical) to follow in their footsteps. The geologist

Extra daily.

Ritual.

Femininity, women traditional songs, the position of the woman in Romanian society

The Romanian myth (iele/ sanziene/ dragaica). Through this exploration of songs, lyrics, and dances.

Loss of ritualistic behaviors in present Romania (the west?). A drift from rural to urban.

Costume change.

Music:

Traditional Romanian songs.

Nature sounds.

Bird orchestra.

Guitar, simple acoustic.

Wooden pipe/flute

Sounds made by human voice that don’t sound human (wind, bird, water?)

Projection:

Powerpoint; alternative software for projection film footage.

Dry/ academic presentation (powerpoint).

Projection on cloth.

Create the feeling of being in nature.

Footage:

Forest and field; exploration of light in these outdoor environments.

Scene in tent/ “being there”

Costume:

Jeans

Shirt/ Top

Hiking boots

White dress

Set:

Minimal set

Guitar + stand

Screen/s; maybe big pieces of cloth.

Inclusion of the flowers.

Video camera

Possible inspiration sources:

Triangle theatre; Carran Waterfield

‘The Dig’ by Carran Waterfield

Julia Varley; ‘Talabot’

Dimitris Papaioannou – ‘Medea’

Robert Wilson; working with light.

Kaosmos – Odin teatret; booklet

‘Things hidden since the foundation of the world’ by The Javaad Alipoor Company

Jean-Francois Lyotard

Roland Barthes

Research:

Ielele/ Sanziene

Ritual

Duality; multiplicity

Deconstruction

Liminality

Projection

Palimpsest

Geology and time observation

Folkloric Aspects of the Romanian Imaginary and Myth by Claudia Costin

[teodorastaicu]

Motif for researching Romanian traditional customs

Romanian folklore is very diverse. It is engrained in society, and it changes according to region although there are general similarities. In the rural areas people still benefit from a certain preservation of folkloric life, where customs prevailed out of social need and tradition. The general migration from rural to urban environment diminished social customs and the number of artisans. Romanians are not as interested in personally working in the artisanal art field. Although there is small engagement where people are trying to preserve some dying customs. On the other hand, the more popular artisanal work like the pottery from Horezu is thriving within the country, but I believe it is more because of the monetary income this provides. The customs are preserved in the family or village through generations that pass, rarely the case where an outsider learns the skill.

A key point in this discussion is the discrepancy between the quality of life in the city and in the rural areas. The city benefits form an influx of jobs and resources (transport, current water, electricity, infrastructure, education, health etc.) while rural areas have been neglected with examples of low school attendance (children having to walk an hour to school or having to help their parents around the house with livestock and agriculture), lack of health care, unpaved roads, no access to current water.

In Romanian urban life there is a drift from rural traditions and arts to the point where it creates a separation between classes unrelated to the divide created by financial inequality. For example, certain genres of music like manele (rooted in gypsy songs, with a Balkan/oriental music background, with ludicrous sometimes comical lyrics) or new popular music (popular as in folkloric) are looked down upon compared to western influenced music (pop, rock, rap etc.) and even genres similar in musical style but older. To make my point clearer I will provide some social background.

Alexandra Urdea describes how the urban working class that migrated from rural areas or had close connection to village life were avid enjoyers of folklore performances. This sub-group was formed due to the industrialization in the communist period, where between the 1950’s and the 1980’s people from a rural background moved to the cities to work in factories. Mihai Maci reinforces that the large number of people made it inefficient for acculturation to happen. This led to the creation of two sub-groups in the urban environment, one of educated people that had university qualifications and one of laborers. The later, mostly because of its large number, perpetuated a denaturised rural behaviour that could not be fully erased.

This reflects in the consumption of certain music media. Etno TV (a folklore channel of lesser quality than the content broadcasted on the national television channel) and Taraf TV (broadcasting manele and associated with the Roma ethnicity) have audiences consisting of rural and urban working-class populations. This genre segregation from mainstream mass media reflects on the partial social exclusion of the working classes and people of Roma ethnicity from public spaces. The engagement with folklore can sometimes lead for one to fall victim to classism and elitism. The more one person engages with folkloric music or performances, the more it is frowned upon in the more educated urban areas.