CONCEPT is a biannual open access academic publication, published by the I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film, in circulation since 2010. CONCEPT uses a double-blind peer-review system, is C-classified by the Romanian National Council for Scientific Research and is indexed in several international databases: CEEOL, SCIPIO, EBSCO.
Universitatea Nationala de Arta Teatrala si Cinematografica Il. Caragiale
TabThePAST Project: Memory, Ethics And Performativity in the Post-Communist Cultural Space
The article examines how the European project “TabThePAST – Taboo History. Fill the Past to Sense the Present” (2023–2024) reactivates the past of theatrical censorship in Romania and the former GDR, through an interdisciplinary methodology that combines archival research, pedagogy and artistic creation. Starting from the archives of UNATC and CNSAS (The National Council for Studying the Securitate Archives), the project proposes a model of a “performative archive”, in which documents are recontextualized through educational workshops and performances such as: Un dosar X/1955, Învinsul Învingător, Nostalgia Up&Down, Controverse 1961. Cum vă place?, Dușmance ale poporului (artistic approach reactivated by the project). The analysis uses the concepts formulated by Diana Taylor, Janette Malkin, Rebecca Schneider and Aleida & Jan Assmann to investigate the relationship between archive, memory and performativity. It is argued that TabThePAST develops a form of memory pedagogy that transforms historical research into a participatory and reflective process, activating the past through corporeality, empathy and immersive technology (AR/ VR). Finally, the article places the project in the European context of theatre studies, highlighting its contribution to redefining the relationship between art, education and civic responsibility.
Censorship Thwarted by Signs and Symbols: A Semiotic Analysis of Romanian Theatre—1970-1980
This article delves into the clandestine world of Romanian theatre during the repressive era of communist rule in the 1970s and 1980s. Faced with stringent censorship laws, theatre practitioners turned to semiotics as a covert means of conveying dissent. Through symbols, metaphors, and allegories, performances were imbued with hidden meanings that resonated with audiences, offering subtle critiques of the regime. Drawing on case studies from various totalitarian regimes, the article examines the profound impact of political oppression on semiotic development and resistance. Despite the pervasive control over academic content and cultural expression, Romanian semioticians persevered, contributing to the field’s growth and innovation. The article highlights the enduring power of art as a vehicle for resistance and social commentary, even in the face of oppressive political regimes.
Designing a Life on Stage: Applying Career Construction Theory to Actors’ Vocational Narratives
The professional trajectories of actors are marked by unpredictability and instability, unfolding within work contexts that often lack professional and financial security. This study explores the career development of actors through the narrative lens of Career Construction Theory (CCT) (Savickas, 2005, 2009), a framework particularly suited to understanding career paths in a constantly changing society. The research investigates the life themes that underlie and influence the career choices of actors and their professional evolution. Adopting a qualitative design, the study employed content analysis of eight case studies, each consisting of two semi-structured interviews conducted using the Autobiographical Workbook: My Career Story (MCS) (Savickas and Hartung, 2012). The group of participants included eight actors representing different stages of professional development – undergraduate students, master’s students, and established professionals. The thematic analysis revealed two overarching life themes: (1) the unique journey through which actors construct their career choice, encompassing internal and external influences, such as mentors, intrinsic motivation, and the sense of calling; and (2) the trajectory of career development, which reflects adaptability, perseverance, and identity reinvention across shifting artistic and economic contexts. Findings highlight the importance of constructing a coherent and meaningful personal narrative that provides actors with a sense of direction, purpose, and resilience amid uncertainty. By enabling individuals to author and reinterpret their professional stories, CCT offers a powerful framework for understanding how actors find continuity and agency within nonlinear, protean careers. The study contributes to extending the applicability of Career Construction Theory to the performing arts – an occupational domain that remains underexplored in career development research.
An X File/ 1955. The Bourgeois Idea of “Simple Talents” Must Be Combated
The starting point of the research we undertook as part of the project TabThePAST – Taboo History. Fill the Past to Sense the Present is an unusual, fragmentary, and poetically inflected file from 1955, produced by the Propaganda and Agitation Section of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party. The file concerns the expulsion of 14 or 15 students from I.L. Caragiale IATC (Institute of Theatre and Film in Bucharest)—the initial document cites 14, while the final decision records 15. The analysis seeks to reflect on the broader context of the events, on how they were shaped by the prevailing social and political circumstances, and on the relationships among the individuals involved. A separate file containing materials related solely to one of the young “enemies of the fatherland”—specifically the individual who served as the primary subject of the main (princeps) case file—was in the archives of the I.L. Caragiale UNATC (National University of Theatre and Film, former IATC). The research highlighted how analysing the archives can stir difficult questions and unsettle our sense of the present. This study, drawing on the archives of both ANIC (the Romanian National Central of Historical Archives) and I.L. Caragiale UNATC, examines the repercussions of the decisions issued by the Propaganda and Agitation Section. One of the central questions addressed in this study concerns the extent to which the directives issued by the Propaganda and Agitation Section were actually implemented within the artistic academic community.
The Department of Theatre Directing and the Research Department of the National University of Theatre and Film worked on a European program called “SoliCultEU”, in partnership with the Replika Educational Theatre Centre, based in Bucharest, Citizen.KANE.Kollektiv in Stuttgart and Teatro dos Aloés in Amadora. This program included intensive research exchanges between I.L. Caragiale UNATC’s theatre directing students and international artists and several theatre productions focusing on the concept of solidarity in culture. As part of this program, a series of theatre events were produced, under the title “TabThePast”, discussing the relationship between artists and power in the recent history of our country. One of these events was the premiere of the performance Controversies.1961.As you like it? by Mihaela Michailov and Eugen Gyemant – an adaptation of a famous debate from 1962, between critics and theatre directors, occasioned by Liviu Ciulei’s performance of As You Like It by William Shakespeare at the Municipal Theatre in Bucharest. In this article we present our performative research of the tensions between critics and creators, artists and censorship, language and dissimulation.
How to Integrate Artificial Intelligence in Documentary Filmmaking
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into documentary filmmaking no longer functions merely as a technological add-on but signals a profound epistemological shift: the transition from singular authorship to algorithmic co-agency. This study, developed from a masterclass delivered as part of the Ex Oriente program at the Leipzig Institute of Documentary (2024), and extended through applied experiments in AI- assisted production, offers a critical framework for understanding how AI reconfigures each phase of the documentary pipeline—from pitching to post-production. Rather than evaluating tools like ChatGPT, MidJourney, ElevenLabs, Sora, Flux, and Largo.AI solely in terms of technical utility, this article conceptualizes them as cognitive and anticipatory interfaces within the narrative architecture of the documentary form. It interrogates the ethical, aesthetic, and structural implications of human-AI collaboration, especially within the economic constraints of independent productions and in relation to emerging norms of factual storytelling and credibility. Drawing on real-world applications—including the prototypical pitch Lost Fragments: Archives of War, the creation of a fully AI-generated promotional spot for the festival Our World: A Crisis of Meaning, and the algorithmic selection of the author’s own script by Largo. AI at the 2025 Marché du Film in Cannes—this study reconceptualizes AI as an epistemic partner. Rather than diminishing creativity, AI redistributes and refracts it through probabilistic, generative, and participatory processes. Ultimately, the article offers a transdisciplinary methodological map that positions AI not as a passive tool, but as an active narrative negotiator—one capable of reshaping documentary aesthetics, representational ethics, and future modes of authorship.
Applied Theatre as a Tool for Developing Socio-Emotional Skills and Creativity in Young Refugees
The research aimed to facilitate the integration of refugees through the specific means of applied theatre. This study analyzed the impact of a theatre program which included 20 workshops on a group of young Syrian refugees, evaluating, through mixed methods (questionnaires and interviews), the effects of participation on their communication skills, socio-emotional competencies, and creativity. The results demonstrated a significant improvement in these competencies, increased self-esteem, and a boost in optimism and courage among the participants. These conclusions confirmed the therapeutic and integrative value of theatre. Furthermore, the positive impact of humanitarian organizations, such as Clowns Without Borders, was also observed, highlighting their use of art to provide psychosocial support through clowning performances and play. Overall, the study underlines the crucial role of artistic methods in facilitating the adaptation and integration of young refugees into their new social environments.
Looking Through the Director’s Eye: Adolescent Film Practice as a Framework for Visual Education, Collaboration and Genuine Human Connection
This article aims to examine the multifaceted pedagogical impact of film practice on adolescent development. The central premise is that learning to interpret cinematic language and translate emotion into visual form extends beyond technical proficiency, serving as a means of fostering self-expression and empathy. No cinematic image appears by itself, as film is inherently a collaborative medium. Each exercise in film practice comes from everyone fulfilling a specific role, actively listening, compromise and mutual respect, functioning as a useful platform for acquiring ethical values of collaborative artistic work. Teenagers learn to reinforce the ideas they believe in, while also relinquishing control, adapting, and searching for coherence within a team. Moreover, working with cinematic images develops what I would propose to call visual empathy, meaning the ability to observe details and decode deeper meanings behind images. Exercises in film practice tend to train the emotional perception of human expressions and the rhythm of a story. Not only does the participant learn to create images, but also to interpret them. Therefore, film becomes a visual educational tool, but also an ethical and emotional one. The paper supports the idea that film, as a pedagogical and artistic practice, can work quite effectively as a playground of human formation. Through this type of experiential education, teenagers improve their creativity, self-expression, and, more importantly, they become more connected to themselves and the world around them, building a foundation for becoming future adults who are able to listen, feel and relate in a genuine way.
Seen, Tracked, and Trying to Connect: Digital Intimacies and Youth Surveillance in Contemporary Documentary Film
This paper examines how recent documentary and mockumentary films portray the tension between constant digital connection and emotional disconnection in young people’s everyday lives, and how these representations contribute to a broader pedagogy of media awareness. Through a comparative analysis of Imaginary Youth (2024), I Am Gen Z (2021), and The Price of Cheap Rent (2022), the study explores how screen media may teach viewers to recognize the emotional, social, and ethical implications of digital life shaped by surveillance, algorithmic culture, and the commodification of intimacy. Imaginary Youth, a Romanian observational documentary directed by Ruxandra Gubernat, offers an intimate portrait of three teenagers navigating European mobility and digital modernity. The film functions as a subtle pedagogical tool, encouraging reflection on how digital culture mediates self-expression, aspiration, and vulnerability. In contrast, I Am Gen Z presents a data-driven critique of life online, revealing how algorithmic curation and social media validation loops affect mental health and identity formation. Finally, The Price of Cheap Rent, a satirical mockumentary, parodies influencer culture and performative intimacy, turning its critique into a reflexive pedagogical commentary on the culture of visibility. Together, these films reveal cinema’s capacity to cultivate critical awareness of the affective and ethical dimensions of contemporary digital life.
Puppet Transgression: An Alternative and Personal View of Puppetry in the UK
In 1951 British puppeteer Rene Strange is captured in a Pathé clip transgressing the boundaries of acceptance by performing with an abusive male marionette. Later in the twentieth century Doo Cot provoked audiences with openly queer narratives and images challenging audiences with their object performances. This article charts the history of transgression and deviation in puppetry exploring interstitial practices around othered bodies. The iniquitousness of puppetry is presented as a rich genealogy of practices breaking conventions and rules. This article will chart an alternative genealogy of puppetry moving from the margins to the mainstream in UK theatre cultures. The author will draw on their own ethnography and dérive through the changing landscape of UK puppetry. The argument presented is that puppetry draws an alternative path to the traditions of theatre and breaks apart the dramaturgy of things in performance. This article links to the themes of popular puppetry traditions, the dramaturgy for puppets, lesser-known histories, puppets as a phenomenon without borders, puppetry and community.
As Black as Coal: The Roots of the Black Character in Traditional Puppetry of Iran
The black character has an important and influential presence in traditional Iranian theatre. Siah (the black), with various names, plays a major role in both traditional Iranian plays such as Siah Bazi (Takht-e-Howzi) and traditional puppetry such as Kheimeh shab bazi (traditional string puppetry). There is much debate about when siah first appeared in Iranian theatre. Some trace its origins to prehistoric myths and pre-theatrical rituals. Some attribute the presence of the black character to the slave trade and colonization of southern Iran by the Portuguese (1507) and the arrival of African slaves in Iran, which also historically occurs during the Safavid period. There is no doubt that black people played a role in the creation of this character, but it seems that this character is not a symbol of racism. The black is not being ridiculed, but he is mocking power and domination. And, of course, there is no hiding the fact that the historical origins of the black character are rooted in colonialism and, consequently, slavery. The aim of this article is to examine the origin of the black character in traditional Iranian puppetry in terms of form and content, with a historical/analytical approach and based on postcolonial and intercultural theories, as well as current issues and challenges.
Elements of the Carnivalesque: the Shadow Puppet Theatre of Andhra Pradesh
This paper presents the study of folk humour in the shadow puppetry tradition of Andhra Pradesh, India. The article is based on the recording of a shadow puppet show of the Sundarakanda of the Telugu Ranganatha Ramayanamu. It explores the carnivalesque environment that folk humour brings to the epic theme of the Ramayana and studies the grammar of shadow puppetry, which localises classical themes like the Ramayana in an entirely unsophisticated and uncouth carnivalesque environment. This, indeed, is the credit of such street performances like the shadow puppet theatre, which release these classical themes from their pious setting.
Digital Shifts in Contemporary Theatre: Intermediality, Immersion, and Institutional Transformation
This article examines the impact of digital technologies on contemporary theatre, exploring how augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), artificial intelligence (AI), intermedial performance, and participatory formats are reshaping theatrical creation, aesthetics, and institutional practices. Building on a semi-systematic literature review complemented by reflective insights from the European project TabThePAST, the study traces the intersections between digital innovation, cultural policy, and artistic experimentation. By situating recent technological developments within a historical continuum of theatrical adaptation, the article argues that digital theatre represents not a rupture but an extension of theatre’s enduring dialogue with technology. Through comparative analysis and case studies from both Western and Eastern Europe – particularly the Romanian context – the research highlights the dual dynamics of resilience and vulnerability that characterize the digital turn in performing arts. While technological integration opens new avenues for creativity, participation, and sustainability, it also raises critical challenges related to aesthetic homogenization, ethical authorship, accessibility, and institutional inertia. The findings advocate for a holistic approach to digital transformation – one grounded in ethics, education, and collaboration – to ensure that innovation strengthens rather than compromises theatre’s live, human essence. Beyond mapping current transformations, this article contributes to ongoing debates on the ethics and sustainability of digital theatre practices in both institutional and independent contexts.
Improving the Doctor-Patient Relationship through Theatre Techniques
This article explores the complex dynamics between physicians and patients through the innovative use of drama games and forum theater. The focus is on exploring the interplay between empathy and sympathy. By integrating theatrical techniques into medical education and practice, this study examines how these methods can enhance communication, understanding, and emotional connection between health care providers and patients. Drama games and forum theatre are used as experiential learning tools that allow participants to navigate and reflect on real-life scenarios in a controlled and supportive environment. This approach not only cultivates empathy, enabling clinicians to truly understand and share patients’ emotions, but also emphasizes the importance of empathy in providing compassionate care. Through qualitative analysis and case studies, the article demonstrates how these creative interventions can bridge gaps in the doctor-patient relationship, ultimately leading to improved health outcomes and a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the human experience in medical contexts. The findings suggest that the incorporation of drama-based methods can greatly enrich the emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills of medical professionals, ultimately benefiting patient care and satisfaction.
The Actor Between Art and Resilience: Practices of Self-Management in Contemporary Theatre
This article examines theatre as a means of personal development and artistic resilience, focusing on the transformation of the acting profession in post- 1989 Romania. Drawing on cultural sociology, performance studies and psychology, it analyses the actor’s evolution from institutional dependency to professional autonomy within a fragile cultural ecosystem. Two case studies – BRAINSTORM (2020) and WOUNDED – The contrast between generations (2023) – serve as applied models of artistic research and participatory pedagogy, combining creative practice with social reflection. Through self- management, emotional intelligence and applied theatre methods, actors emerge as cultural mediators, transforming vulnerability into creative resource and fostering intergenerational dialogue. Methodologically, the study employs art-based and practice-led research, positioning artistic creation as both a cognitive and educational process. The findings show that self-management in theatre extends beyond career planning to encompass emotional regulation, ethical agency and community engagement. Ultimately, the article argues that contemporary Romanian theatre functions as a space of reflexive formation, where artistic and civic roles converge, shaping a sustainable model of creative autonomy and social responsibility.
Composition of Factors and Psychometric Characteristics of the Perceived Stress Scale in a Sample of Romanian Employees
The present study investigates the composition of factors and psychometric qualities of the Perceived Stress Scale among Romanian employees. This scale is widely used on a professional level, but its structure is unclear. 342 employees participated in an online survey between March and May 2025. Of these, 205 were from the educational sector and 137 from non-educational sectors. Two problematic items were excluded due to their inappropriate statistical behavior, resulting in an eight-item version. Four confirmatory models were estimated, including a single- factor model, a second-order factor model, a bifactorial model, and two first-order correlated factors representing perceived stress and perceived coping ability. The correlated factor model was the most coherent and parsimonious representation of the data, while the bifactorial solution presented insignificant loadings. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses supported configural, metric, and scalar invariance across genders and residential settings, facilitating meaningful comparisons of latent means. Configurational and metric invariance was confirmed in occupational terms, with parameter variations between domains. The PSS-8 has been demonstrated to serve as a reliable and effective instrument for the purpose of monitoring occupational stress and evaluating interventions designed to alleviate stress and augment coping resources. The findings lend support to the practice of reporting both the overall score and the subscales in both organizational contexts. However, the cross-sectional nature of the study, the online recruitment methodology, and gender imbalance are acknowledged limitations. Nevertheless, the data obtained provide a solid foundation for future longitudinal research using this instrument.
The Natural Component in the Training of the Puppeteer-Actor
The present article explores the imperative of re-evaluating the puppeteer- actor’s inherent human dimension, a fundamental component in sustaining a vivid and authentic theatrical experience. In an era characterised by standardisation and conformity, the actor in general, and also the puppeteer-actor, faces increasingly complex challenges in preserving a genuine artistic presence while animating an object or scenic entity. The article examines how the academic theatre environment, through carefully developed pedagogical methods, can facilitate the rediscovery and enhancement of essential performer competencies. These include acute observation, sustained attention, imagination, spontaneity, embodied memory, and intuitive responsiveness. The article emphasises the significance of incorporating personal emotion and lived experience into the animation process, while also underscoring the pivotal role of educators in guiding students towards truthful, grounded performance practices that facilitate mastery in the manipulation of puppets, marionettes, and animated objects. Using the principles of Ion Cojar’s method and establishing a comprehensive theoretical and practical framework focused on cultivating the intrinsic human component, it enhances the artistic precision of manipulation techniques, contributing, in addition, to the personal development of the performer. By emphasising the embodiment of expressivity and the capacity to engender stage vitality, the actor-puppeteer gains resilience in their work and is less susceptible to the pressures of contemporary society.
Archivos titiriteros en Argentina. Los fondos personales de artistas como formas de resistencia
In recent decades, archives have ceased to be understood merely as neutral repositories of documents and are now approached as objects of study shaped by logics of power, selection, and exclusion. This shift is crucial for the documentary heritage related to puppetry in Argentina, a field largely overlooked by historiography and marked by the ephemerality of its practices. The 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, together with various international and Latin American initiatives, highlight the growing concern with the preservation of these artistic forms. The hypothesis guiding this work argues that personal collections of puppeteers, far from being simple private holdings, constitute forms of resistance to the limitations of institutional Archives. Their creation inscribes artistic trajectories into history, ensures the transmission of puppetry, and broadens the very notion of “document” by including objects such as puppets, heads, costumes, and stage designs. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective that combines theatre studies and archival science, the article examines: the early strategies for narrating the history of puppetry in Argentina; the relationship between archives and the performing arts; and finally, proposes a definition of puppetry archives as essential devices for the preservation and re-signification of this artistic practice.
Mirrors Across the Stage: Historical Cultural Exchanges between Iran and India and Their Role in the Formation of the Shah Salim Puppet Play
This article explores the historical and cultural exchanges between Iran and India and their role in shaping the Iranian puppet play known as Shah Salim-bazi. By tracing evidence from the Sasanian period through the Safavid and Mughal courts, it examines how itinerant performers, courtly interactions, and transregional trade contributed to the transmission of performative traditions. A comparative analysis highlights structural parallels between Shah Salim-bazi and the Indian Kathputli tradition, particularly in staging, character types, the role of the narrator, and the integration of live music. Special attention is given to semiotic markers, such as the name “Shah Salim,” reminiscent of Mughal Emperor Jahangir (Salim Mirza), and the comic figure Mubarak, a dark-skinned servant whose accent and marginal status evoke the cultural presence of Indian slaves and performers in Safavid Iran. These elements suggest not only cultural borrowing but also a hybridization shaped by political alliances, migration, and commercial routes across South Asia and Iran. The study argues that Shah Salim-bazi should be understood as a hybrid theatrical form, reflecting both local creativity and intercultural dynamics. Such a reading broadens the historiography of Iranian popular theatre by situating it within wider networks of cultural transmission.
Film Criticism as a Way of Understanding Contemporaneity: Ecranomanie by Victor Morozov
Ecranomanie, Victor Morozov’s debut volume (House of Arrows, 2025) consists of a collection of essays that expand film criticism into the vast domain of contemporary visual culture. With a foreword by filmmaker Radu Jude, the volume explores how the analytical tools of film critics can illuminate the political, aesthetic and social stakes of a contemporaneity saturated by images. Written between 2022 and 2025, in the context of global crises like the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, or the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, the essays discuss a wide range of phenomena like AI-generated imagery, televised sports, social media reels of politicians, drone footage and advertisements in a style of writing which resists both academic rigidity and the superficiality of online discourse, blending journalistic urgency with theoretical rigour. Despite its fragmentary composition, the volume remains a compelling contribution to our understanding of how images shape contemporary experience.
Reading Between the Lines. The History of Puppet Theatre in Moldavia
The history of puppet theatre in Romania (and implicitly in Moldavia) still has much to offer; previously unknown information, scattered through the Archives (State- National, local, etc.) or stored in museums’ or libraries’ holdings, awaits discovery and deciphering. Researchers, students, or enthusiasts of this field apparently do not have the time necessary for unconditional searching, reflective reading, and the connections born from a particular vision. There also remains the expectation of thoughts slipped between the lines, which call for a lively, engaged, synthetic and... profound reading; from this can spring interdisciplinary approaches and new reflections on unnoticed or ignored attitudinal models in the world of puppet theatre. In this sense we will draw attention to three “case studies,” cut out from the history of theatre in Moldavia— from Iași. In fact, three examples through which we can approach three attitudinal models—Teodor T. Burada, Natalia Dănăilă, and Constantin Brehnescu or puppeteers whose names have been lost over time—urge us to revisit the history of this art and compel us to read between the lines.
The Role of Critical Culture in the Age of AI: The Thinking Festival – «Our World: A Crisis of Meaning»
This article explores the interplay between technology, knowledge, and meaning in the age of artificial intelligence and cultural automation. Drawing from the inaugural Thinking Festival—an interdisciplinary event hosted in November 2024 at the University Politehnica of Bucharest—the study examines how lectures, workshops, and debates fostered reflection on ethical and epistemological challenges posed by technological transformation. Under the central theme “Our World: A Crisis of Meaning,” the festival convened students, academics, entrepreneurs, and international thinkers, offering a space for dialogue across fields. Featured guests included writer Paul Kingsnorth, robotics expert Rustam Stolkin, researcher Felicia Milian, and storyteller Daniel Druhora, whose contributions bridged disciplines such as extreme robotics, bioethics, literature, and digital culture. These encounters created a rich environment for questioning how meaning is shaped or fragmented in technologically mediated societies. The article argues that idea-driven festivals like this one can serve as laboratories of critical thinking, offering young people tools to navigate a reality increasingly shaped by automation and symbolic disorientation. It also underscores the importance of transdisciplinary dialogue and reflexive education in fostering a renewed culture of meaning in the post-digital age.
The Festival as an Interconnected Network
The article aims to analyze the relevance of the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre Festival and its turning points since 2022. The reflection is meant to contextualize the festival within the landscape of Romanian performing arts, emphasizing the educational dimension, which is viewed as a significant link between theatre and new categories of audiences, thus reshaping the role of theatre nowadays. The text explores the curatorial strategies that connect the selection of shows with a more complex repertoire of cultural gestures that define a festival as a social and cultural network.
Ancient Drama and Homeric Epics: A Return to Sources
The article attempts to define the subject and motives of the Athenian tragedy as a living organism that evolved from the source of Homer’s epics through the lenses of the three tragedians, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, according to the development of the Athenian democracy. This evolution is defined by the change of nature that the hero goes through within the Greek cultural consciousness and his relationship with the divine. Also, an important accent is put on the shifting of societal attention from the individual to the collective, specific for democracy. The methodological framework of the present study is grounded in close philological readings of selected Greek tragedies that creatively engage with Homeric epic material. The analysis focuses on the transformation and adaptation of epic motifs within the theatrical context, tracing how the tragedians reconfigure foundational narrative patterns inherited from Homer. Through three-core point of view – Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy, Aristotle’s Poetics, Vernant and Vidal-Naquet’s Myth and Tragedy – the article tries to show the sources of ancient Greek drama in Homeric texts by supporting the theory that states that Homer’s texts are the means and drama an end.
Looking at Some Striking Transformations of Clytemnestra in Greece and France
The role of Clytemnestra was shaped by ancient authors as that of a traitor, casting an unmistakably negative image upon her character. By the twentieth century, however, Clytemnestra had undergone a significant evolution from the deceitful, immoral, and scheming figure of the Middle Ages to the passive female archetype of the Renaissance and Classical periods. From the twentieth century onward, playwrights have approached the ancient heroine in a markedly more sympathetic light. In French theatre, Marguerite Yourcenar, in her emblematic stage drama Clytemnestra or Crime, reclaims the myth of the Atreidae to disparage the societal conventions that constrain women to prescribed roles, while simultaneously unmasking the traditional hero through the demystification of Agamemnon. In Modern Greek theatre, Andreas Staikos, through a systematic engagement with ancient dramaturgical elements and a unique mode of textual reception, portrays a Clytemnestra who oscillates within a repetitive pattern, continually transforming and regressing between mythic archetype and personal narrative. Lastly, in Letter to Orestes, Iakovos Kambanellis explores the allegorical dimensions of Clytemnestra’s character. Despite the play’s adherence to a recognizably conservative framework, it subtly critiques the constructed culpability associated with the social roles of both genders. These three adaptations ultimately redeem Clytemnestra, thus elevating her from a symbol of eternal condemnation to one of complex vindication.
International Collaboration in Film Production Education: Pedagogical Approaches at Master’s Level
This paper examines the pedagogical frameworks that inform the teaching of international film production collaboration at the master’s level. Through an analysis of current educational practices, industry integration mechanisms, and the evolving landscape of European co-production models, this research illuminates how higher education institutions prepare emerging filmmakers for the complexities of transnational cinema production. The findings suggest that effective pedagogical approaches must synthesise theoretical knowledge with practical industry engagement, whilst fostering networks that transcend national boundaries. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on film education methodologies by proposing a more holistic approach to preparing students for the increasingly globalised nature of contemporary film production.
The Role of Intimacy Coordinators in Theatre and Film
The article aims to discuss the importance of coordinators in both theatre performances and film projects, focusing on what they must consider in order to provide the actor with the most suitable work climate, as well as the actor’s reluctance to adapt to change. The art of acting, by its very nature, requires the actor to access very personal feelings and emotions, which makes them unable to eliminate the stress caused by the problems which arise during role preparation. Recent social changes cannot but affect the actor’s work process, and the essay explores how these nuances are reflected in the discourse of producers – those ultimately held accountable if something goes wrong in a project. The essay draws a parallel between how Western Europe accepts sexuality and how different things are in Romania. The specific language of theatre is different from that of cinema, and this essay aims to offer a transposition of both.
Perception, Emotion, Identity. The Role of Multisensory Experiences in the Theatrical Process and Identity Development
This article explores the importance of multisensory theatre workshops in facilitating processes of self-awareness, by stimulating the senses and bodily perception. Starting from the premise of experiential aesthetics and theatrical psycho-pedagogy, it analyzes how multisensory activities – based on tactile, auditory, olfactory and kinesthetic exploration – contribute to the development of a deeper body awareness and the discovery of personal identity. Analyses conducted during multisensory theatre workshops reveal the impact of sensory experiences on self-reflection, as well as the mechanisms through which interaction with a multisensory environment facilitates processes of introspection.. The article highlights that, by suspending the visual sense and emphasizing other perceptual channels, participants increase their capacity for self-observation and reconfigure their relationship with their own body, space and emotions. Observations show that multisensory theatrical workshops offer a unique framework for exploring identity, where direct and immersive experience becomes a source of reflective knowledge. This approach combines performative and therapeutic dimensions, opening new perspectives on theatre as a tool for self-discovery and personal development.
Adolescence in the Era of Loneliness: The Role of Theatre Workshops in the Development of Interpersonal Intelligence
Upon completing the master’s program Alternative Pedagogies and Theater in Education (PED-ArtE) – an academic program carried out in consortium by the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences (University of Bucharest) and the I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film – I conducted a research1 study centered on exploring the correlation between interpersonal intelligence and participation in theatre workshops during adolescence. The study sought to move beyond the entrenched societal perceptions of adolescents by identifying the defining characteristics of today’s youth – those aged between 14 and 24. This group represents a generation of digital natives, with no lived memory prior to the advent of the internet, and who have emerged as survivors of the educational experiment of online schooling and the social isolation brought about by the recent global pandemic. The impetus for this research is deeply rooted in a personal conviction regarding the transformative and therapeutic potential of theatre, as well as its unique capacity to foster personal development and social cohesion. The central research question guiding this inquiry was: What are the tools and methodologies that can genuinely make a meaningful impact in a theatre workshop designed for contemporary adolescents?
Myth – Memory – Method: Terzopoulos’ Journey into the Nightmare of History
Memory and Method constitute the three fundamental elements of Terzopoulos’ work on Ancient Greek Tragedy. In the following text we will explore the inner world of these elements and the way they formulate the theatrical universe of Terzopoulos, while, at the same time, how they transmit inspiration and knowledge to artists of younger generations so as to pave their own way into the adventurous territory of theatrical creation.