Romanian experts appeared to have the lowest confidence levels in the popularity of contemporary playwriting among all the countries we surveyed. Our data suggests that opportunities for local playwrights to earn their living are very limited and support systems are lacking for writers and translators. The state offers no incentives to innovate or work with living authors and, as a result, contemporary playwriting activity by state-funded theatres very much depends on individual artistic directors. State-run and subsidised theatres tend to work on a repertory system and employ salaried ensembles of actors, often catering for more conservative audiences who enjoy older, classical plays. By contrast, independent theatres, often collectively run by companies, have to apply for funding for every project, they tend to programme more new writing because they are able to take more risks, and they also tend to cater for younger audiences. Overall activity levels are considerable, and some green shoots are visible in a new generation of Romanian playwrights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our survey showed that 68% of respondents think Romanian theatres \u201cregularly\u201d or \u201csometimes\u201d programme contemporary plays. 53% of respondents state that audiences and makers are not generally interested in contemporary plays, and only about 36% think that \u201csome\u201d are. Romanian respondents were the least confident in the popularity of contemporary plays by local authors in their country. Interestingly, our respondents\u2019 view is that Romanian audiences and theatre-makers are much more likely to be interested in contemporary foreign plays: 84% of respondents stated that \u201cmost\u201d or \u201csome\u201d audiences and makers are interested in those. One respondent commented: \u201cThere is a general mistrust in Romanian contemporary authors. You will probably go and see a classical production; maybe a contemporary foreign (British or American) playwright. But audiences for contemporary Romanian authors are the smallest.\u201d Things are changing, however, with more young audiences interested in new plays by living Romanian writers. Conversely, most respondents agreed that translated plays make up more than half of the total output. One expert commented: \u201cTranslations are considered safer in Romania because they have already premiered [so have been tested elsewhere].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Antoaneta Zaharia, Paula Niculi\u0163\u0103, Simona Popescu and M\u0103d\u0103lina Ciotea in Gardenia <\/em>by Elzbieta Chowaniec. Trans. from Polish by Luiza S\u0103vescu. Dir. by Zolt\u00e1n Bal\u00e1zs. Produced by Teatrul Odeon. Teatrul Odeon, Bucharest, May 2018. Photo: Vlad Catan\u0103 \u00a9 Fabulamundi<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
1. Key Players<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
The capital currently hosts venues such as the Bucharest National Theatre; Teatrul Dramaturgilor Rom\u00e2ni (Romanian Playwrights\u2019 Theatre, which actually \u201cvery rarely works with living playwrights,\u201d according to an expert); Teatrul de Comedie; the Small Theatre; Metropolis Theatre; the Teatrul Odeon; the Teatrul unteatru; Teatrul Nottara; Centrul de Teatru Educa\u021bional Replika (Replika Educational Theatre Centre); Arcub Theatre; ACT Theatre; Theatre Monday at Green Hours; Apollo 111; Macaz Theatre; and Apropo Theatre. Bucharest also hosts several festivals, including Festivalul Na\u021bional de Teatru, one of the most prestigious in the country; Fest(in) on the Boulevard\u2014International Theatre Festival at the Teatrul Nottara; the Festivalul Comediei Rom\u00e2ne\u0219ti Fest-CO (Romanian Comedy Festival) at the Teatrul de Comedie; and the Bucharest Fringe (Independent Theatre Marathon) at the Teatrul Apropo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other important mid-size cities around the country include: T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219, with its National Theatre, Ariel Theatre, 3G independent theatre, University of the Arts Theatre and Yorick Studio; Timi\u0219oara, home to the Timi\u0219oara National Theatre, the Romanian Dramaturgy Festival and the independent venue Aualeu; Piatra Neam\u021b, which hosts a Youth Theatre (Teatrul Tineretului), which premieres new Romanian writing, and the Piatra Neam\u021b International Theatre Festival every year; Craiova, which is home to the National Theatre Marin Sorescu, with its 11plus1 independent\/contemporary Festival showcasing the best independent theatre of the season, including plays; Cluj-Napoca, with its National Theatre, which sometimes programmes new writing, and the experimental venue Reactor de Creatie si Experiment (Creation and Experiment Reactor), which organises Drama 5 Residency; Sibiu, which also hosts its National Theatre, Gong Theatre and the Sibiu International Theatre Festival. Worth mentioning is also the Festivalul Interna\u021bional de Teatru pentru Copii \u0219i Tineret \u201cLuceaf\u0103rul\u201d (International Theatre Festival for Children and Youth) in Ia\u0219i.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Systems and Practical Conventions<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
2.1 Funding and Income Opportunities<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Playwright fees.<\/strong> It is very difficult\u2014if not impossible\u2014to sustain oneself through playwriting alone in Romania. Virtually every author has a second job, including the most established, frequently as directors, actors, teachers or journalists. On average, venues pay playwrights a fee of \u20ac1,000\u00ad\u2013\u20ac1,500 to acquire the right to perform the play for three to five years. Adding a share of gross box office income\u2014currently 5\u00ad\u20137%\u2014is not common in Romania because tickets are very cheap, so the copyright is paid in advance and added to the fee. Once the copyright period covered by the initial agreement expires, another fee is negotiated, which is generally \u20ac500 per year. The fee level is the same for commissions\u2014which are not common\u2014existing plays. The majority of respondents affirmed that artists\u2019 private money is needed to support creative periods. In terms of financial support, the National Cultural Fund Agency plays a part in subsidising writers and projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Translators fees.<\/strong> Theatre translators mostly earn a fee only and, less frequently, a combination of flat fee and percentage of box office (about a third of 5\u20137%). Most commonly, the translator\u2019s fee also covers a copyright buyout for three to five years. According to an expert, \u201cThe average translation of a play is paid \u20ac1,000 for a production, and much less for a reading (\u20ac500 on average), while the foreign author receives 7% of box office until they have reached \u20ac1,000.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Length of run and touring.<\/strong> Independent theatres work with block run schedules, while state theatres have a repertory system and employ ensembles. New play productions tend to have short to mid-length runs of one or two weeks in independent theatres and, occasionally, tour to other national venues after the premiere, but they do not tend to tour internationally. According to an expert, \u201cIn state-run theatres, new plays run for at least one year and are performed on average once a month, but don\u2019t tend to tour anywhere, while new productions of international plays in translation tend to be on repertory for 1-3 years and sometimes tour nationally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Exchange with other media.<\/strong> Playwrights in Romania do not often write for film and TV, and exchanges with other media are very infrequent. Contemporary plays are often programmed on radio\u2014yet not specifically commissioned for this medium\u2014with the programme Teatrul Na\u021bional Radiofonic being the most popular. Romanian TV also programmes new plays (the TVR3 cultural channel and Television Theatre department produce a handful of shows a year by established authors). However, one expert commented: \u201cRadio and TV don\u2019t really help support the culture of new playwriting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
R\u00e2ndunica<\/em> (Original title: La Golondrina<\/em>; English: The Swallow<\/em>) by Guillem Clua. Trans. from Catalan Lumini\u021ba Voina-R\u0103u\u021b. Dir. Oana Leahu. With Monica Ristea-Horga and Mihai Cr\u0103ciun. Produced by The Studio Theatre of The University of Arts T\u00e2rgu-Mure\u0219, November 2018. Photo: Cristina G\u00e2nj \u00a9 Fabulamundi<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
2.2 Gatekeeping and Support Structures<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Gatekeepers.<\/strong> Our respondents agreed that the main gatekeepers in the field are artistic directors and stage directors, who have the power to decide what plays are staged. One respondent commented: \u201cWhile younger directors (in their 30s) will often work on Romanian texts, established directors\u2014those who work in the large state theatres\u2014avoid texts that have not been validated by national prizes or international success.\u201d One respondent commented: \u201cThe interest in contemporary plays is theatre director driven. If a theatre director proposes to an artistic director a contemporary play\u2014this is it. There are no clear strategies toward contemporary drama in Romania. Often programming feels arbitrary and it seldom includes contemporary playwriting.\u201d Another respondent commented: \u201cThe theatre system in Romania is director-focused and their proposed projects.\u201d Most venues have \u201cliterary secretariat departments,\u201d whose job description however does not include considering unsolicited scripts or making recommendations for selecting plays to add to the repertoire. Translators also have a key role to play, but their power only rests in the extent of their network and social capital; depending on this, they are able to promote playwrights from other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Initiating a production.<\/strong> According to our respondents, the most likely way for new play productions to be initiated in Romania is for directors or companies to contact authors, or for authors to pitch to directors and companies, and for the director\/company to then pitch to a venue. On fewer occasions, it is venues who decide to stage a new play by a specific author in collaboration with a director. There is no established tradition of venues commissioning new plays from authors in Romania. In terms of making productions of a play in translation happen, the most likely pathway is that local directors know about or develop relationships with foreign playwrights, or translators propose new play translations to directors or companies. Alternatively, but this is a lot less frequent, venues source foreign plays, or develop relationships with foreign authors, or commission translations of new foreign plays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Agencies.<\/strong> The local societies of authors, which are supposed to collect copyright fees for authors, are not very widely used. Romanian authors do not rely on commercial literary agents to promote them, as every author is used to promoting themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prizes.<\/strong> There are some prizes dedicated to contemporary playwriting in Romania, including: the Play of the Year Prize by UNITER (also known as the Funda\u021bia Principesa Margareta Prize for Dramaturgy); the National Dramaturgy Contest organised by National Theatre Timi\u0219oara; the Best Romanian Comedy organised by the Comedy Theatre in Bucharest; and draMA, an annual playwriting competition organized by the theatre of Odorheiu Secuiesc. However, one expert commented: \u201cWinning these prizes does not tend to have much of an effect on playwrights\u2019 careers.\u201d Residencies are offered by Reactor in Cluj (Drama 5), Macaz Theater Coop in Bucharest, the Ia\u0219i Festival for Young People and Transylvania Playwriting Camp (co-produced with The Lark in New York).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2.3 Education, Publishing and Press<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n
Higher education.<\/strong> In Romania, theatre universities, such as the Faculty of Theatre and Television at the Babe\u0219-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, coincide with conservatoires and offer practice-based teaching. Romanian universities offer BAs in Acting, Directing, Choreography, Puppet Theatre, Theatre Studies and Music Pedagogy. At undergraduate level, there are no specialist playwriting courses, but some courses teach devising techniques and basic dramaturgical structures. At postgraduate level, the University of the Arts in Targu Mures (UAT) and the National Theatre and Film University I. L. Caragiale of Bucharest (UNATC) currently offer 2-year MAs in Playwriting. There are also more informal educational opportunities, such as workshops, offered by venues such as Replika in Bucharest and Reactor in Cluj, and masterclasses during theatre festivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Publishing.<\/strong> Contemporary plays by contemporary authors are \u201crarely\u201d or \u201cnever\u201d published as books in Romania as there is no market for play scripts. However, arts and culture publishers, such as Tracus Arte, Timpul, Cartea Rom\u00e2neasc\u0103 and Charmides, sometimes publish plays. On the whole, plays that are released as books tend to be published by organisations such as theatre venues that also have small publishing branches. For instance, UNITEXT is the publishing branch of UNITER, which publishes the Play of the Year winner every year. Nemira and Liternet.ro publish some plays online and as e-books. The Camil Petrescu Foundation, which publishes the theatre magazine Teatrul Azi<\/em>, also publishes plays and books on contemporary dramaturgy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ioan Batina\u0219, C\u0103t\u0103lina Musta\u021b\u0103, Paula Niculi\u021b\u0103, Silvian V\u00e2lcu, Cezar Antal, Eduard Trifa in Pentru binele t\u0103u <\/em>(Original title: Per il tuo bene<\/em>; English: For Your Own Good<\/em>) by Pier Lorenzo Pisano. Trans. from Italian by Florin Gali\u0219. Dir. Zolt\u00e1n Bal\u00e1zs. Produced by Teatrul Odeon, June 2019. Photo: Mihaela Tulea \u00a9 Fabulamundi<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Press.<\/strong> Over 80% of our respondents think plays by living playwrights are \u201crarely\u201d or \u201cnever\u201d covered by national newspapers. Theatre-focused magazines cover contemporary playwriting more often and include: Teatrul Azi<\/em> (print theatre magazine); Scena 9 <\/em>(print theatre magazine); Scena.ro<\/em> (print theatre magazine with a bilingual English and Romanian website); Observatorul Cultural<\/em> (print culture magazine); Capital cultural<\/em> (online culture magazine); Ziarul Metropolis<\/em> (online culture magazine); Dilema Veche<\/em> (weekly print magazine on culture and politics); Revista 22 <\/em>(weekly print magazine on culture and politics); and online theatre magazines yorick<\/em>.ro<\/em> and amfiteatru.ro<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Advice for Foreign Playwrights<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMeet as many Romanian directors as possible, for now they are pushing new plays on Romanian stages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cApproach good theatre directors in their 30s\u201340s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cContact the Fabulamundi partners in my country, to find a good translator that is connected to the theatre scene, then establish a good relationship with a well-connected translator.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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