5th December, 2024
Another busy day planned ahead, 3 back to back performances at different schools. We began at the Scoala Gimnaziala EuroEd which was a religious middle school, only a few minutes walk from our hotel.
The first performance was a challenging experience for us all, there were a few mistakes and the students found it difficult to engage with the work – perhaps this was because they had never experienced anything like it before. However, I was taken by surprise after the show had finished when I was approached by a small group of students who had stayed behind to speak to the performers. The students had so much positive feedback, and it was a real moment of clarity for me as it put a realization into perspective, each audience member will have a completely different experience. Each experience of a show no matter how similar will be entirely unique, and as a performer most of the time that cannot be gathered from facial expressions or reactions. Which made it all the more validating to received feedback directly from the students and hear about the parts they enjoyed and the parts they didn’t understand.
The second performance ran smoothly, with a similar reception to the first although I made a notice from one of my lines in the previous show. One of my Romanian lines “Look …. Aprinde, light”, I was certain would have an impact on the audience, because it was addressing the idea of having hope. However it had never seemed to land, so I spoke with Lotus and asked for her advice during the break between the shows. Apparently, this was a word that had been incorrectly translated online therefore it was not making any sense to the Romanian audience members. ‘Aprinde’ means to light a fire, but ‘lumina’ means a light. This tiny alteration, meant that from that first line the students were able to understand the principle theme of the scene, and next time I heard audible confirmation of this during the performance, several students gasped and smiled at me as I delivered the line. I was grateful for having made the effort to get advice from Lotus as it was clear what the mistake had been and the effect the change had made on the show.
I observed this again during the final performance which was performed at the Scoala Varlaam Mitropolitul where we had ran a workshop a couple of days previously. The element of this performance I enjoyed the most was the connections the Romanian students had made with us, every time a member of our group had a monologue or a funny part the students made a big deal to encourage and support. It was enjoyable watching the students take pride in their team members performing, this made me feel grateful for the opportunity to work with the students but also glad that we had been able to run the workshop with them before they saw the show so we already had the chance to build a relationship with them.
Finally, all the performances were over and we headed back to the hotel for a well deserved nap. Later on we made our way into the centre of town and did some sightseeing, we visited the Christmas markets together and went ice-skating.
After such a hectic morning it was nice for us to spend some time together just having some to let off steam.
That evening we enjoyed some traditional Romanian food at a local restaurant, joined by Lotus and her friend Grigo. It was refreshing to sit with Grigo and spend some time chatting to him, this was because he explained he used to be a French ambassador so we spent the remainder on the meal chatting in French together and explaining our connections to the language and the culture. He worked as a judge in Iasi, and offered perhaps one time I could bring some students over from the UK to make a performance and put it on in the courthouse. This was another moment that warmed me by the sheer generosity I experienced, Grigo was very passionate about the idea and I fully intend on taking up his offer and working back in Iasi at some point in the future.
A week in Iași, Romania! 