Between June and July, Reactor hosted a vibrant internship for talented students from the Faculty of Theatre and Film at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca. For two exciting months, we shared the magic of what it truly means to work in the independent theatre scene and challenged the participants to dive into the creative adventure of simulating their own theatre company! And so, the dazzling company Prototip – fabrică metaludică (Prototype – Metaludic Factory) was born—a collective and playful exercise in imagination that got our students working and dreaming like independent artists. We envisioned an effervescent company, brimming with a passion for exploration and bold experimentation, courageously blending classic theatre with the most exciting contemporary forms. We set sparkling goals, sketched a one-year management plan, drafted a project for a debut production, and threw ourselves into a fabulous research laboratory alongside iconic Shakespearean characters and our own personal stories! Though the simulation has wrapped up, we fondly hope that the spark from these two months continues to shine through each member of this wonderful team, and that the spirit of Prototip will take flight on stage again soon. Come along and meet this delightfully playful team and their project!

THE COMPANY

graphic design: Theodora Pintilie

Right in the very heart of Cluj, nestled delightfully between new buildings, charming old houses, and the intriguing ruins of communism, is where you'll find us.

A cozy little theatre with ordinary folks and extraordinary plans.

You will easily spot us by our intimate stages where magnificent actors perform; by our tiny pages holding great big stories, or by our little faces with giant, welcoming smiles!

We are small but mighty, and big yet humble, so we warmly welcome everyone, from the absolute youngest to the young at heart. There is plenty of room for all in our grand world, warmly tucked into cozy little rooms.

Come visit us, and perhaps the classic trick of a tall lady contorting into a tiny box won't just belong to the world of magic anymore.

Someone will always be here, eagerly waiting to welcome you.

Signed,

The Giants from the Honeysuckle Cottage.

OUR MISSION

The passionate mission of the Prototip – fabrică metaludică company is to bring dazzling theatrical productions to life, to continuously experiment with sparkling new forms, to offer fantastic professional opportunities to emerging artists starting their journey, and to build a warm, vibrant community around us!

THE TEAM

Cristina BORDEANU | actress and the lady with the calendar

What I love doing most of all is…

What I love most of all is building beautiful things hand-in-hand with people who truly understand me and around whom I can feel completely free; I love giving free rein to my imagination, which almost always involves fairy dust, colorful plastic basins, and wonderful things like that!

Prototip is…

Prototip is like a cozy gingerbread house where a bunch of young spirits with all sorts of colorful problems and grand ambitions drink tea and playfully bounce off the walls, trying to bring the witch back to life!

The ideal theatre has…

The ideal theatre has heaps and heaps of love, magic, and sweet freedom!

Alma DIACONU | actress and the lady of order

What I love doing most of all is…

Putting myself in challenging situations. That's why I chose acting, why I dive into endless conversations with absolutely anyone, and why I say a big "yes" to almost anything new or unknown. It might be a little selfish, because that's how I discover how I work, what helps me grow, and what doesn't. I have so many questions to explore!

Prototip is…

It's a wonderful little team made of small people with huge hearts, delightfully and annoyingly different from one another! Prototip is a project so close to my heart through which I met the incredible Reactor family, and which challenged me to think outside the box. Prototip is us, together with you! No, seriously, beyond the poetry and sweet words, this project means the world to me.

The ideal theatre has…

The ideal theatre has its own cozy, safe space that welcomes people with open arms, just as they are—whether they are actors, directors, playwrights (the whole creative crew!) or our beloved audience. It is beautifully dark, yet filled with bright thoughts and messages. It challenges you, asks questions, and seeks exciting new perspectives. It isn't always cozy, it might even shake you up a bit, but it is wonderfully alive and speaks directly to the heart. Not from theory, not from hearsay, not from the past. The ideal theatre speaks to us right here, right now!

Claudiu NEGOIȚĂ | actor and the boy with the sharp eye

What I love doing most of all is…

What I love most of all is discovering new things. New people and new information! From people, I always learn new things, and these things lead me to even more incredible people. Would you have believed there's such a beautiful connection between people and information? Here's a fun new fact for you. Yes, so people are absolutely fascinating...

Prototip is…

Prototip is a playful playground factory that aims, through pure passion, joy, and gratitude, to sprinkle a lovely touch of vulnerability over warm and eager hearts!

The ideal theatre has…

The ideal theatre has ideal people. The ideal theatre is a beautiful new definition of what theatre can be. The ideal theatre is expressed in tiny words that find their way into great big souls. The ideal theatre isn't just a medium, it is a grand mediator. The ideal theatre is a captivating story where the audience fights joyfully right alongside the hero!

Theodora PINTILIE | actress and the lady with the ideas

What I love doing most of all is…

What I love most of all is taking big leaps of faith (jumping fences, jumping to conclusions, jumping right into the deep end!)

Prototip is…

Prototip is hard to capture in just a few words. We've poured our whole heart into the description!

The ideal theatre has…

The ideal theatre has room. (Room for everyone, a "playroom", a parking spot, a place in the city, a place of honor. What other wonderful kinds of "room" can we find?)

Oana ȘCHIAU | manager and the multi-talented lady

What I love doing most of all is…

What I love most of all is getting playfully stressed over the little things. Why live a quiet life when you can have a little fun fussing over nothing?

Prototip is…

Prototip is living proof of how exciting and wonderfully frustrating it is to pour yourself into something and watch it come to life. Or maybe it's still being born, waiting to surprise us all...

The ideal theatre has…

The ideal theatre has a big, welcoming courtyard, a lovely mini-bar, delicious snacks, great music, wonderful people, passionate souls, simple hearts, dear friends, brilliant shows, and tissues for tears of all kinds (mostly of joy, of course!).

Adelin TUDORACHE | actor and the boy with solutions

What I love doing most of all is…

Remembering just how much pure joy can be found in simply being. Curiosity guides me through every single step of my work—I am a true optimist! I find so much happiness in what I create, whether I'm acting, singing, or just letting my thoughts wander. I have my quiet little getaways that bring me peace and smiles, mostly out in the beauty of nature. What I love most of all is growing!

Prototip is…

Prototip was born from a wonderful hunger for discovery. One enthusiastic team, multiple vibrant perspectives, a shared dream, and many hours of playful searching! With the incredible support of the team at Reactor of Creation and Experiment, we set off to discover the magic behind the scenes. Brand new experiences and insights led us straight to the heart of Prototip.

The ideal theatre has…

My ideal theatre is guided by amazing energy and a burning desire to share, keeping a beautiful, continuous dialogue alive with you, our wonderful audience, whether directly or indirectly. A place where sparkling quality always shines brighter than quantity. A theatre that needs me just as much as I need it!

Ana-Maria ȚÎRLEA | director and the lady with the plan

What I love doing most of all is…

What I love most of all is having that special someone I can call in the middle of the night because a brilliant spark of an idea just hit me, and hearing them say, "Amazing, let's get to work right now!"

Prototip is…

Prototip is that magical door you imagined when you were a kid, dreaming that one beautiful day it would open just for you. Prototip is the door you proudly built with your very own hands!

The ideal theatre has…

The ideal theatre has wonderfully curious people who love what they do. It has the sweet flavor of a dream come true and the smell of your very first successful, delicious recipe! It feels a lot like that fantastic relief after passing a tough exam you worked so hard for—making you feel like you can conquer the world!

THE PROJECT

Our company's very first project, Shakespeare and/or Us, aims to create a captivating show based on a playful exploration of Shakespeare's famous characters, brought to life alongside the real, personal stories of our actors. We want to dive straight into the heart of these characters and show that we all share the very same human feelings in our everyday lives, even if our stages look a little different!

Alongside this wonderful production, we will be hosting exciting personal development workshops for teenagers all about the beauty of vulnerability. It's our way of connecting with the world around us, gathering fresh stories, and building a fun, creative bridge between teens, high schools, and the magical world of theatre!

Our big goal is to bring the timeless universe of Shakespeare closer to the younger generation, sparking a lifelong love for culture and welcoming new friends to the theatre. We can't wait to see more people falling in love with the arts, to enrich our cities' cultural scenes, and to bring practical, joyful drama workshops directly into schools!

We believe that through this project, we can take classic plays and bring them out of the dusty archives, making them fresh, accessible, and thrilling for everyone. Classic drama holds beautiful moral truths and life lessons that we want to translate for today's world, keeping them vibrant and alive. We are excited to keep this project growing, unpacking the world's greatest plays in the most fun and engaging ways through our creative labs and shows!

Our company is absolutely thrilled to collaborate with theatres nationwide, free-spirited freelancers, and other creative companies, proving once again that the human heart remains wonderfully connected through all of life's changes!

PHOTO GALLERY 

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The wonderful internship partnership between Reactor of Creation and Experiment and the Faculty of Theatre and Film is part of the project developed by Babeș-Bolyai University, "Quality and Interdisciplinarity in the Internship of Babes-Bolyai University Students in Cultural Management (CIP)", proudly funded by the EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND, Human Capital Operational Programme 2014-2020 (POCU).

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