We have joyfully invited Mihai Păcurar—a wonderful scenographer and director we’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with over the past few years—to join us on this exciting journey! We want to visually capture, through his unique emotion and perspective, the overwhelming times we are all navigating. You can already see these beautiful changes in our online look, and we hope it shines through in the warm attention we are dedicating to getting closer, sharing conversations, and caring for ourselves, for you, and for our whole community.

We asked Mihai to share the wonderful insights he gained from this invitation and what it was like collaborating with our fantastic guest photographers. Here is the lovely story he shared with us:

After two years of pandemic, at a time when the climatic, economic, and political future feels increasingly complex to grasp, I believe it's time to embrace a lively new direction that directly connects the artist's emotion to the audience's heart! Going through this pandemic has certainly made us more aware of our fragile and vulnerable sides, but it has also helped us discover incredible, hidden reserves of strength and resilience. Thus, our new direction invites us to wear our hearts on our sleeves—it's a step forward, a warm invitation for our audience to join us on this beautiful journey of embracing the rich diversity of feelings we all experience today.

My own reconnection with theatre in recent years was sparked by a strong desire to stay closely tuned to reality, embracing the documentary-style flow of daily life. Instinctively, photography felt like the perfect bridge for this creative adventure! I feel we need the wonderful concreteness of photography and its unique power to anchor us in the real world. That is how this exciting idea came to life: we will accompany every Reactor and Mini Reactor show with a captivating portrait of one of the creative artists involved. Over time, this will build a spectacular installation—a vibrant gallery of portraits reflecting our collective journey through this era. Alongside this, Reactor’s special events will be illustrated with beautiful photographs of non-human contexts, capturing the wonderful, ever-shifting texture of our reality.

In essence, it’s a beautiful path that invites us to look lovingly both inward at ourselves and outward toward one another!

Going forward, I am joyfully translating my feelings about this installation and our world into action by choosing the perfect photographers for each project. Together, we chat about our dreams so we can beautifully bridge the magical space between the stage and real life! I am absolutely thrilled by the brilliant photographers who submitted their portfolios to our open call. They are so unique, incredibly talented, and deeply dedicated. It is a wonderful gift for Reactor to suddenly expand its vibrant family with these artists, and I am delighted every time our artistic horizon grows wider.

The amazing photographers we are working with bring all their unique sensitivity, rich experience... and a wonderful appetite for experimentation! Their creative sensitivity is truly magical. I was so touched to see how eager they are to explore deep emotions and release everything that has built up over this time. Ioana Ofelia beautifully crafts her themes down to the finest detail with an exquisite blend of tenderness and strength; Irisz Kovacs plays with a delightfully absurd sense of humor; Vivien Miron Vilidar brings an absolutely breathtaking poetic world; Crina Prida infuses power and vibrant energy into every portrait; Dora Moldovan is wonderfully inventive and playful; Karina Sinatovici is visceral and deeply moving; and Doru Vatavului is a goldmine of pure talent! And this is just the beginning—we are so excited for upcoming collaborations with more young photographers and warmly welcome portfolios from anyone who wants to join in this playful creative game. I feel incredibly privileged to share in this experience!

On the artistic front, I feel Reactor is set to be a fantastic catalyst for all the vibrant energies swirling around us, living and creating in the magic of the present moment! In this spirit, I absolutely love Reactor's proactive plans for the coming years and its bright focus on the future and the exciting adventures of navigating toward it.

On a human level, when it comes to our relationship with you, our amazing audience, I believe we can turn all of this into a wonderful, meaningful conversation. And last but not least, in the personal relationship each member of this close community has with themselves, Reactor is standing strong as a beautiful, inspiring model of resilience!

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