Interview: Simona Maicanescu, Telling the Story that Must Not Be Forgotten
Simona Maicanescu is a Romanian actress who has performed in diverse rolls, including Viola in Twelfth Night and Solange in The Maids. She has worked in both Romania and France under directors Sanda Manu, Càtàlina Buzoianu, Silviu Purcàrete, Lucian Pintilie, Andrei Serban, Tompa Gabor, Sandu Dabija. She has recently branched out into a new realms as both playwright and translator with her adaptation of Herta Muller’s book, The Appointment, entitled I Hope I wouldn’t Meet Myself Today. Simona’s adaptation was staged at the Spring Weekend of the 2019 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival.
The play is set in Eastern Europe before the fall of the Berlin Wall where Lili works in a Romanian factory making fine men’s overcoats for export to Italy. Her love life is a mess - she has a live-in male friend who spends all of his time and most of her money drinking the day away. Lili also has a secret: she inserts notes which say “Marry me!” (and include her name and address) into the linings of the coats she sews. When her notes are discovered, Lili knows she could face unemployment or even imprisonment. She is summoned to the inspector’s office to receive the verdict. But the inspector takes a personal interest in her case; that is, he takes a personal interest in her.
We asked Simona Maicanescu a few questions.
What or who was the inspiration for the creation of this play, I Hope I wouldn’t Meet Myself Today?
Some years ago, after having performed at La Ma Ma theatre – for 2 weeks in a row – The Fever, written by Wallace Shawn and directed by another playwright and brilliant director, Lars Norén, I was invited to come back whenever I’d find a new idea on an European author. It took me some good years of reading and work into discovering the rare pearl: one of Herta Müller’s novels - the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Why do you think the work aligns strongly with the theme of the Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival?
The adaptation of Muller’s novel has become a hymn dedicated to survival, and dignity, friendship, love… In short, to life! The story is an unforgiving blade that penetrates the abyssal depths of our consciousness; haunted by the ghosts of the past, it does not allow us to forget, nor to make the same mistakes again. A proof that happiness and freedom only exist inside oneself, and that ‘the sky doesn’t end in front of the border guards,’ this story is both a consciousness wake up call and a lesson not-to-be-skipped if we want our society to thrive in the new millennium.
Who are your mentors? Where do you draw inspiration from to create your work?
Pina Bausch; Richard Schechner, Jerzy Grotowski, Thomas Ostermeier, Patrice Chéreau… Inspiration? It is a day by day work. Tiny gestures or actions from banal people that become huge in a vast world.
What is your process when you write your play? Do you write it over a period of time, or in a condensed time frame? How many hours a day do you dedicate to creating your work?
I’m not a writer. Just a humble performer who tries her best on stage, to give back to the audience the writer’s body and soul.
What is your favorite moment in the show?
When the audience is really ‘traveling’ with my character.
How do you think Vaclav Havel still influences theater creation in Europe?
I just hope he still does influence theater creation in Europe because Vaclav Havel remains one of my favorite playwrights.
What theater companies/performers/playwrights do you like?
Pina Bausch’s Company, Lars Norén, Thomas Ostermeier, Cheek by Jowl and Declan Donnellan, Maguy Marin…
How would you describe the theater industry in Romania?
Long story short: there was a time, after the fall of Communism when people watched day and night TV. Now, they are back in theaters. There are so many theaters posting on their websites ‘sold out.’ People will always need stories. Good stories: old ones and new ones mostly. Curiosity touches both sides: subsidized and private theater.
Why do you think an audience should see this work?
Why else should I disturb people to see me standing in the spotlight if not to tell a story that must not be forgotten?