Oana Hodade - on the magic of collective projections!

To wrap up the year, Reactor is absolutely thrilled to present the preview of the radio drama "THE BRIDGE (Collective projections for an uncertain future)", our very first fabulous co-production between Reactor and the National Radio Theatre! The wonderfully creative text and direction are by Oana Hodade, a brilliant multidisciplinary artist we've loved collaborating with on various projects, and we've asked her to share some exciting behind-the-scenes insights with us. 

The heart of my artistic journey in recent years is all about human connection and the beautiful micro-communities we thrive in—couples, families, friend groups, and our social and professional circles! It started as a personal curiosity that naturally blossomed into my art. A delightful question that guides my work lately is simply "how does it feel?"—exploring the beautiful emotional textures of things, people, and experiences. In the realm of sound, my exciting research spins around the concept of emotional landscapes and the deeper parts of ourselves we can unlock through music and sound!

The spark of inspiration for this show started with some wonderful questions: can we imagine a shared future together? If so, what do its many beautiful versions sound like? I truly wanted to open this lovely dialogue with others rather than creating in a bubble! We kicked off with an amazing storytelling workshop led by the wonderful Ana Maria Ciobanu from DOR, which opened up countless exciting possibilities for our future as individuals, groups, and society. We had a blast working with participants on tons of sticky notes, which meant by the end, we had a delightful pile of fragmented ideas, sensations, and thoughts that I wove into the play's text! It's such a lovely detail of our process, perfectly mirroring the show's core idea: our future is beautifully born from our shared intentions and actions!

On one hand, I wrote the text with the show's magical atmosphere fully in mind! Right from the start, I wanted to leave plenty of room for the gorgeous music composed by Vlaicu Golcea, which is just as vital to our journey as the words themselves. So often, our deepest feelings can't be put into words, and other wonderful channels take over—here, it's the captivating atmosphere created by the music and sound design. On the other hand, guiding this entire adventure as playwright and director gave me the wonderful freedom to weave in the wonderfully diverse suggestions from everyone who touched the project along the way. I was especially excited—constantly coming back to the idea of collective projections—to see where this beautiful openness would lead and how it would shape our show!

I truly believe responsibility is such an inspiring word when we think about the future! We sometimes navigate gloomy scenarios of what lies ahead with a bit of a passive shrug, as if it doesn't touch us directly, or as if we aren't the ones actively building tomorrow for ourselves and the generations to come. But perhaps we just need a wonderful spark to awaken our spirits and inspire us to act, helping us realize that the future isn't some mystical, faraway land behind a portal, but something we create with every step and every single breath we take! What I hope to achieve with this beautiful emotional journey is to gently spark some inspiring thoughts and, hopefully, a joyful impulse to take action!

Unlike a traditional stage play, this is a pure celebration of sound—which means it's pure emotion! The actors' voices become a wonderful clay to shape, just like the music. It creates a delightfully cozy and deeply personal connection with the listener—it beautifully comes alive when you simply let go, follow the sound, and let your own imagination run wild! There will be as many unique versions of this show as there are listeners, and each one will be a completely unique, beautiful experience!