Interview with Actor, Curator, and Producer Liviu Cheloiu

Abstract

Liviu Cheloiu is a multifaceted actor, not only on stage or in films— where he excels in both dramatic and comedic roles—but also behind the scenes, where he frequently takes on leadership roles within organization- al teams. He effortlessly connects with people from all walks of life and across the globe. Liviu possesses a remarkable ability to communicate even when there is no common language shared between him and others. In his role as curator and producer of the Babel Festival, he often finds himself switching between English, French, Italian, a bit of Polish, Korean, and Greek—all in the same conversation. Fearless in his approach, he will not hesitate to reach out to complete strangers, consistently securing positive responses. Liviu defies the stereotype of artists as unreliable; instead, he is the go-to person for resolving crisis situations. His combination of talent and hard work has earned him widespread recognition and respect, not only in Târgoviște and Bucharest but throughout Romania and in many other countries where he participates in festivals as an actor, jury member, workshop trainer, or curator.

Among his most famous roles are: Othello and Richard the IIIrd from the homonymous Shakespeare`s plays; Juan Perón from a dramatiza- tion of the life of Evita Peron; Andrei Prozorov from Three Sisters and An- drei Efimovici from Ward no. 6, both by A.P. Chekhov; Sir Toby, Petruchio, Caliban, Capulet, Claudius, all five Shakespearian roles from Twelfth night, Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet; Stanley Kowal- ski from A Streetcar named Desire; Penteu from The Bacchae by Euripides; Iang Sun, a jobless aviator from The Good Person of Szechwan by Bertolt Brecht. As an actor, he worked with important directors such as Silviu Purcărete, Laurian Oniga, Mihai Măniuțiu, Michael Divine from Canada, Di Trevis from United Kingdom, Adonis Filipi from Albania, Kemal Bașar from Turkey, Michele Modesto Casarin from Italy, Suren Shahverdyan from Armenia, Dumitru Acriș from The Republic of Moldova, Mc Ranin, Alexander Hausvater, Szabó K. István, Cristian Juncu, Sorin Militaru.