#blogreactor: Joyful musings on Lavinia Braniște's Exeunt!

We are constantly thinking about the things we create, and we just can't wait to share them with you! We truly believe that the magical connection between artists and theatregoers shines on long after the final curtain call. We want to invite you behind the scenes to discover our creative thoughts, our little challenges, and how the wonderful shows you see come to life. That's why our #blogreactor section is here to bring you lovely texts, vibrant collages, and the heartfelt thoughts of the artists working behind the magic!

Lavinia Braniște is a fantastic prose writer, translator, and playwright whom we first met during the 2017 edition of Drama 5. This year, we are absolutely thrilled to welcome her back to Reactor as the brilliant author of our very first online-only show, Exeunt!

I accepted the invitation to join this wonderful project with so much enthusiasm and curiosity! I am always overjoyed when people invite me to collaborate—it truly means they trust my work or, at the very least, are just as curious and excited as I am to see what we can create together!

Writing is usually such a solitary adventure, so working with a team—and a wonderfully large one at that—was my biggest and most exciting challenge! This process felt like a fantastic test of my relationship with my own writing (the very first of its kind in my career!): could I write while following specific prompts and guidelines? Could I embrace themes that weren't necessarily close to my heart, piece together puzzle bits, meet tight deadlines, or even find the courage to share rough drafts and works-in-progress? (Something I usually absolutely dread!)

It wasn't always easy, but it wasn't too hard either! And as the show beautifully started to come together, I quickly realized that my role was far from the most complex part of this grand adventure, especially when I saw the incredible, massive responsibilities carried by the rest of the team.

One little worry that kept my heart fluttering a bit—mostly stemming from my own lack of theatre experience, I admit!—was finding the right balance. I kept wondering how much I should fight for, support, insist on, or defend my own ideas in a way that was polite and professional. It was a constant, lively dance, but in the end, everything fell into place beautifully through our teamwork. I was so lucky to work with such an extraordinary group of people!