Moldovan theater people: We want changes of people and ideas

Most of the actors attending the Congress of the Union of Theater People of Moldova on Monday pleaded for a change. The agenda of the meeting included the election of the new president of the Theatrical Union of Moldova (UNITEM), Info-Prim Neo reports. The candidates were approved at the meeting of the UNITEM Senate on April 29. These are: Sandu Grecu, stage manager and artistic director of “Satiricus — I. L. Caragiale” Theater, Gheorghe Oanta, president of the UNITEM primary organization, and Aurelian Danila, the current president of the Union. “A change is needed at the Theatrical Union. A creation union is an organization that must defend the right to create. They forgot about this in our country. The Theatrical Union must promote talents. If these principles are absent, why should we be members of the Union?” Sandu Grecu said. Dissatisfied with the situation of the district theaters, Grecu said that they should stage plays in Chisinau in order to be on the same weighting scales. Gheorghe Oanta also spoke about the provincial theaters. “They forgot about our provincial theaters. The spectators in Chisinau do not know the actors of the theaters from districts. We must cooperate with the district theaters because they have been supported neither materially nor morally for a long time,” Oanta said. “The economic situation of the Theatrical Union should be improved as it has been rather precarious during the last few years.” Sandu Turcanu, artistic director of the Musical-Dramatic Theater “Bogdan Petriceicu-Hasdeu”, said that the activity should be beneficial to the Union so that the retired actors and those that work are supported and promoted. Igor Taran, actor of the Drama and Comedy Theater “M. Gorki” in Tiraspol, expressed his regret at the fact that the public in Chisinau forgot about their theater. “We expect new people, with new ideas,” he said. Director Iurie Harmelin, of the Municipal Dramatic Theater “Pe strada Trandafirilor”, considers that the Moldovan theater experiences hard times. “The art plays a very important role in the society – an educative one. But it needs investments,” he said. Titus Jucov, artistic director of the National Puppet Theater “Licurici”, said that now, when there is a crisis, the theater should prosper. “I want that this cultural organization contributes to the publication of a theater journal and to the achievement of other things. We, those from “Starea de urgenta” (“State of Emergency”) journal, are ready to house the supplement. We need a publishing house that will print theater books. There are no discussions and analyses after performances,” said dramatis Dumitru Crudu, director of the literature, art and attitude magazine “Starea de Urgenta”. Asked to assess the activity of UNITEM, the current president Aurelian Danila said that the future administration must learn from their four-year experience. “Certainly, we would like more attention from those that support us financially. I cannot criticize the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Compared with other creation unions, we were supported to organize rather important artistic activities,” Danila said. When the news story was broadcast (14.40), the new president has not been elected yet.