The “Roma (S)heroes” workshops are intended for young Roma and non-Roma aged between 16 and 25, interested in discovering contemporary Roma drama and creatively exploring the figure of the heroine/hero. Participation in the workshops is free.
Together with trainers Mihaela Drăgan and Zita Moldovan, the participants will get in touch with texts of Roma drama for a foray into the world of story-telling and dramatic writing. In the first two days, the participants will experience new games of knowledge, self-knowledge and improvisation starting from fragments belonging to plays written by Roma authors. The third day will be dedicated to creative writing and participants will have the opportunity to discover dramatic writing techniques, how to build a character, a dialogue, the relationship between the characters, conflict, style – and other details related to the structure of a play . We will do dramatic writing exercises, participants will work creatively to develop a small text and they will receive feedback from trainers at the end.
The workshops will be held with a maximum number of 20 people, between September 18-20, 2020, in Cluj-Napoca. The meetings will take place at the Centre headquarters (3 Fluierașului Street), taking all necessary safety measures.
Workshop registrations are made until September 16, 2020 by sending an email to contact@cccluj.ro with the subject ”Roma Sheroes” or by sms to the following phone number: 0739883584.
About the trainers
Mihaela Drăgan is an actress and playwright who works in Romania and in several other countries. In 2014, together with Zita Moldovan, she founded Giuvlipen – “a revolutionary theatre”, according to the Reuters news agency, a cultural phenomenon on the local stage. Giuvlipen shows have a feminist and anti-racist agenda that seeks to promote a critical discourse at the society level.
The year 2017 brings Mihaela Drăgan a nomination for the Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award in New York, which recognizes the exceptional work of 20 artists from around the world. Mihaela is one of the six finalists and the youngest artist nominated for this award. In 2020 she is again nominated for the same award.
In 2018, she once again represents Romania in New York, at the PEN World Voices International Festival, as one of the ten most respected contemporary playwrights of the year. During the same year, she is one of the artists residing at ParaSite Hong Kong, where she lays the foundations of a new artistic movement – Roma Futurism, a cultural aesthetic that explores elements of science fiction in Roma culture, intersecting Roma culture and history with the advanced technology of the future.
In 2019, she takes part in the International Residency for Emerging Playwrights: 2019 Focus Europe residency program at the Royal Court Theatre in London.
Over time, Mihaela also worked as a trainer for the Theatre of the Oppressed in marginalized Roma communities in Romania and gave various speeches for Roma rights at events such as TEDxEroilor or Creative Mornings.
Zita Moldovan is one of the most famous Roma actresses in Romania, also a journalist and moderator of the show “From the life of the Roma”. She is also the fashion designer who created the “Romany Dreams” collection, inspired by the traditional dress of the Roma community. She is the co-founder of the first Roma feminist theatre company in Romania – Giuvlipen, which militates for the establishment of a state Roma theatre in Romania. Over the years, she worked for the Ion Dacian Musical and Operetta Theatre, in the “Broadway Bucharest” production. She is also a forum theatre trainer, working with Roma women and young people.
In 2018, she is part of the Romanian-French production “Déracinés”, directed by Bogdan Zamfir, presented in Paris during the Romania-France 2019 season.
In her career of more than 15 years, Zita has been actively involved in the Roma movement, working in various campaigns for Roma rights.
The workshops will be organized by the Cluj Cultural Centre in partnership with Giuvlipen, the first Roma feminist theater company in Romania, as part of the Jivipen project which aims to promote Roma culture and support contemporary expressions of Roma life. The project is developed with the support of the City Hall, Cluj-Napoca Local Council and Cluj County Council. Strategic partner: Banca Transilvania.
The “Roma (S) heroes” workshops are developed within the “(Roma) heroes in Theater Education and Everyday Life” project, a European Erasmus + project.
