East European Performing Arts Platform (EEPAP) supports the
development of contemporary performing arts (dance and theatre)
in 18 countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Giuvlipen Theatre Company, Romania

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Gadjo Dildo @ NAG 2015

Description
Information about institution: 

Giuvlipen (meaning feminism in Romani language) is a Roma feminist theatre company located in Bucharest, Romania. Our performances are made by, about and for Roma women, with the goal of contributing to the empowerment of Roma women in their living communities. Our group creates theatre performances based on life stories of Roma women, about their difficulties living between a traditional patriarchal community and a demanded integration into the dominant (oftenly racist) Romanian community. Our goal is to change the way of thinking of non-Roma people and their stereotypical views on Roma women, the way of thinking of Roma men about the traditional roles of Roma women and most important, the way of thinking of Roma women about themselves and their role in society. By the usage of theatre we intend to bring on stage the main issues that Roma women have to deal with everyday.

Our performances focus on Roma women that are facing early marriage, lack of education and the restrictions to achieve proper education, Roma women who are facing evictions, lesbian and transgender Roma women: women who are not taken into consideration in society and are rarely listened to. We think that this is an important project nowadays, when racism and intolerance against Roma people is increasing in Europe and we can feel this backlash in our everyday life.
As Roma women, we want to make our own voices heard in our own communities and in non-Roma society and to help other Roma women to make their own voices stronger. By the usage of theatre we intend to bring on stage the main issues that Roma women have to deal with everyday. We try through performances (that we write, produce and perform), to bring Roma women together and create a Roma sisterhood.
We wrote, independently produced and performed several theatre performances based on the lives of Roma women and involving mainly Roma actresses. Our projects address women's mobilization through theatre and performance, awareness raising through arts activism, creating a space for discussions concerning feminism, LGBT and Roma rights, actions in communities that do not have access to outside critical discourses on issues that affect them but also addresses a larger non-Roma audience which lacks Roma women's perspectives.

Short history: 

Giuvlipen Theatre Company was founded in 2014 by proffessional Roma actresses in Bucharest.
 

The most important projects: 

- Del Duma: Talk About Me  - theatre performance about four real stories of Roma women facing early marriage, by/with Mihaela Dragan, live music by Elena Maria Albu, directed by Liana Ceterchi;

- Sara Kali: The Dark Madonna - performance/invocation of the Roma saint Sara Kali against anti-gypsyist hate speech, by/with Mihaela Dragan, Mihai Lukacs, Paul Dunca;

- Razzing - theatre performance about evictions of Roma people in Bucharest, written and performed together with evicted Roma women, most of them under 30, and their children, by and directed by Mihaela Dragan and Mihai Lukacs;

- Gadjo Dildo - theatre performance about the hypersexualization of Roma women by non-Roma men, heteronormativity and sexuality issues in Roma communities, with Elena Duminica, Zita Moldovan, Mihaela Dragan, Paul Dunca, directed by Mihai Lukacs;

- Iovan - theatre performance about forced marriages in closed Roma comunities and the Roma teenagers who want to find their own way in the big city, with Zita Moldovan, Mihaela Dragan, Sorin Sandu, Marcel Costea, directed by Mihai Lukacs.

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