Saviana Stanescu

SAVIANA STANESCU is one of the most exciting writers to have emerged from Eastern Europe and the Balkans after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

She spent her formative years during Ceausescu's dictatorship in Romania, fought in the streets at the Revolution in 1989, and worked as a journalist in the free press of the 1990s.

An award-winning playwright (Best Play of the Year 1999 UNITER Award) and poet,host of TVRi talk-show "Necessary Polemics", Saviana arrived in NYC two weeks before 9/11, with a Fulbright Fellowship, to study at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, and reset her life/career.

Her American plays are explorations of the in-betweenness that defines the immigrant experience.

Saviana has never lost her revolutionary spirit and continues to be an ARTivist, advocating for the rights of underrepresented voices.

Her plays have been widely presented internationally and in the US.  Recent New York/USA productions include:

BEE TRAPPED INSIDE A WINDOW

directed by Vernice Miller, Civic Ensemble

TOYS

directed by Tompa Gabor, 59E39 Theatre (toured in LA, Budapest, Cluj, Avignon Theatre Festival)

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

directed Sam Buggeln, The Cherry, Ithaca

FOR A BARBARIAN WOMAN directed by Niegel Smith, a co-production Fordham/EST

ALIENS WITH EXTRAORDINARY SKILLS directed by Tea Alagic, at Women's Project (published by Samuel French) BUY THE BOOK HERE

WAXING WEST (2007 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Full-length Script), directed by Benjamin Mosse, at La MaMa Theatre

YOKASTAS REDUX directed/co-authored by Richard Schechner, at La MaMa Theatre

POLANSKI POLANSKI directed by Tamilla Woodard, starring Grant Neale, at HERE and Chain Theatre.

Representation:

Elaine Devlin, Elaine Devlin Literary Agency. 20 W. 23rd St. 3rd floor. New York, NY 10010. Tel: 212-206-8160. Fax: 212-206-8168. E-mail: edevlinlit@aol.com



Fellowships/Awards:

Inaugural Audrey Residency with New Georges, Indie Theatre Hall of Fame, Indie Theatre Person of the Year, NY Innovative Theatre for Outstanding Full-Length Script, Marulic Prize for Best European Radiodrama, NYSCA playwright in residence with Women's Project, TCG, Fulbright, Goldberg, MacLaine, Antoine Vitez, Best Romanian Play of the Year 2000 UNITER Award.
(see more details in the BIO section)

Saviana has taught and lectured at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, Columbia University, Fordham University, Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA) - Primary Stages, NY Strasberg Theatre&Film Institute, Mexico's Instituto Cultural Helénico etc.

Currently Saviana is a tenured Associate Professor of Theatre Arts (Playwriting & Contemporary Theatre) at Ithaca College and a Visiting Regional Fellow with Cornell University's Institute for European Studies.

See LECTURES/WORKSHOPS page

Read Saviana's nytheatre.com INTERVIEW about her teaching at Einhorn School for Performing Arts (ESPA) - Primary Stages.

EMAIL SAVIANA