playwright
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SAVIANA STANESCU
Saviana Stanescu is a Romanian-born award-winning playwright and ARTivist. Her work has been widely presented internationally and in the US.
Recent productions include "What Happens Next" at The Cherry, "Ants" at NJ Rep, “For a Barbarian Woman” (a co-production Fordham/EST), “Aliens with extraordinary skills” at Women’s Project (published by Samuel French), “Useless" at IRT, "Bechnya” at Hudson Theatre in LA, "Waxing West" (2007 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Full-length Script) at La MaMa Theatre, "Suspendida" and “Vicious Dogs on Premises” (with Witness Relocation) at Ontological Theatre, “Polanski Polanski” and “Aurolac Blues” at HERE Arts Center, “The E-Dating Project” at Strasberg Institute for Theatre&Film, and the site-specific "I want what you have" at the World Financial Center.
“Aliens with extraordinary skills” (Inmigrantes con Habilidades Extraordinarias) and “Final Countdown” (Cuenta Regresiva) ran for 8 months in Mexico City at Teatro La Capilla and Teatro El Milagro. “Bucharest Underground” won the 2007 Marulic Prize for Best European Radio-Drama. In Stockholm, Sweden, Saviana’s play “White Embers” produced by Dramalabbet made it in the TOP 3 of Best Plays in 2008, and in NYC is published by Samuel French as one of their 2010 OOB festival winners.
Ms Stanescu has published books of poetry and drama including “The New York Plays” (NoPassport Press), "Hurt" (The Best American Short Plays 2012-2013, Applause) “Aliens With Extraordinary Skills” and "Ants" (Samuel French), “Waxing West”, "Google me!", "Black Milk" and "The Inflatable Apocalypse” (Best Play of the Year UNITER Award in 2000).
She co-edited the anthology of plays “Global Foreigners” (with NYU professor Carol Martin) and “roMANIA after 2000” (with CUNY professor Daniel Gerould).
Saviana's plays have received readings and workshops at The Lark, Long Wharf Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, New York Stage&Film, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Women's Project, New Georges, Playwrights' Foundation, Traveling Jewish Theatre, Immigrants Theatre Project, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Origin Theatre Company, PS122, HERE, The Cherry, Civic Ensemble, La MaMa Theatre, CUNY Graduate Center, etc.
Saviana Stanescu is a member of EST (Ensemble Studio Theatre) and a Usual Suspect with New York Theatre Workshop. She was a 2005-2007 TCG fellow with the Lark Play Development Center, where her plays “Waxing West” and “Lenin’s Shoe” had barebones productions. She also was a 2007-2008 NYSCA playwright-in-residence with Women’s Project and writer-in-residence for Richard Schechner’s East Coast Artists, as well as an inaugural Audrey fellow with New Georges (in a team with director Tamilla Woodard).
Saviana holds an MA in Performance Studies (Fulbright fellow) and an MFA in Dramatic Writing (John Golden Award for excellence in playwriting, shared with Rajiv Joseph) from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, where she was on faculty in the Drama Department for 8 years. She has taught Playriting and Performance Technique at Fordham University, Strasberg Institute for Theatre&Film, Primary Stages – Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA). Ms Stanescu holds a PhD in Theatre from National University of Theatre and Film, Bucharest, Romania.
Currently Ms Stanescu is a tenured Associate Professor of Playwriting and Theatre/Performance Studies at Ithaca College and a Visiting Regional Fellow with Cornell Institute for European Studies.
Saviana has served as Associate Artistic Director for Richard Schechner's East Coast Artists, Director of Eastern European Exchange for Lark Play Development Center, curator of playgroundzero for undergroundzero festival of experimental theatre in NYC, and founder/president of Immigrant Artists and Scholars in New York (IASNY).
Fellowships/Awards:
Innovative Theatre Award, NYSCA playwright-in-residence with Women's Project, TCG (Theatre Communications Group), Audrey Residency with New Georges, Fulbright, Goldberg, Antoine Vitez, Marulic Prize for Best European Radiodrama, Best Romanian Play of the Year 1999.
Copyright 2010 SAVIANA STANESCU. All rights reserved.
SAVIANA STANESCU