Readings full of passion, truth and skill to match a time of tumult and reinvention
Our celebration of Romanian-American and Romanian-Canadian literary creativity, overwhelmingly represented by female authors, continues with playwright, educator, screenwriter, poet and director Saviana Stănescu, a well-established, versatile talent excelling in several genres, who has carved a distinguished and powerful voice in the American independent theater.
Saviana Stănescu is an award-winning Romanian-American playwright, screenwriter, poet, director, professor, journalist, and ARTivist. Her work has been widely presented in the United States and internationally. Recent productions include "What Happens Next" at The Cherry, "Ants" at NJ Rep, "For a Barbarian Woman" (a co-production Fordham/EST), "Aliens with Extraordinary Skills" at Women’s Project, “Useless" at IRT, "Bechnya” at Hudson Theatre in Los Angeles, "Waxing West" (2007 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Full-Length Script) at La MaMa Theatre, "Suspendida" and “Vicious Dogs on Premises” (with Witness Relocation) at Ontological Theatre, "Polanski Polanski" and "Aurolac Blues" at HERE Arts Center, "The E-Dating Project" at Strasberg Institute for Theatre & Film, and the site-specific "I Want What You Have" at the World Financial Center. Saviana is a member of Ensemble Studio Theater and a Usual Suspect with New York Theater Workshop. She was a 2005-2007 TCG fellow with the Lark Play Development Center and a 2007-2008 NYSCA playwright-in-residence with Women's Project and writer-in-residence for Richard Schechner's East Coast Artists, as well as an inaugural Audrey fellow with New Georges (in a team with director Tamilla Woodard). Saviana holds an MA in Performance Studies (Fulbright fellow) and an MFA in Dramatic Writing (John Golden Award for excellence in playwriting) from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, where she was on faculty in the Drama Department for 8 years. She has taught Playwriting and Performance Technique at Fordham University, Strasberg Institute for Theatre & Film, Primary Stages – Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA). She also holds a PhD in Theatre from the National University of Theater and Film, Bucharest, Romania. Currently Saviana Stănescu is a tenured Associate Professor of Playwriting and Theatre/Performance Studies at Ithaca College and a Visiting Regional Fellow with Cornell Institute for European Studies.
Women’s voices dominate the literature written by Romanians in North America. Co-curated with author and academic Cristina A. Bejan, Romanian Women Voices in North America turns the spotlight on this phenomenal wave of creativity and brings together the largest group of Romanian-American and Romanian-Canadian women writers ever assembled in cyberspace. The program’s second season features another inspiring and diverse line-up of authors, including Raluca Albu, Adina Dabija, Daniela Groza, Felicia Mihali, Irina Moga, Adriana Oniță, Doris Plantus, Stella Rădulescu, Elena Secotă, and Saviana Stănescu.
Watch the previous episodes here:
Ep. 1 / Adriana Oniță
Ep. 2 / Doris Pantus
Ep. 3 / Daniela Groza
Ep. 4 / Stella Vinițchi Rădulescu
Ep. 5 / Elena Secotă
Ep. 6 / Angela Chirilă
Ep. 7 / Adina Dabija
Ep.8 / Irina Moga
The program is organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York and Bucharest Inside the Beltway with the support of NARPA - North American Romanian Press Association.