NY thru an immigrant I

(r)EVOLUTION

2008-10-18T14:05:00.000-04:00

NY THRU AN IMMIGRANT I or (r)EVOLUTION
(Flagstories and other personal histories)
a performative lecture by Saviana Stanescu

Saviana was a college student in 1989 when she participated in the Romanian "revolution" and the so-called "end of communism". Now, after almost 20 years she witnesses the so-called "end of capitalism" in New York. This autobiographical performative lecture explores her immigrant experience in New York through the lens of a personal dichotomy East-West and a permanent negotiation between the old and new set of values.

After 1989, Saviana worked as a journalist in the new free Romanian press for a decade. A week before 9/11 she arrived in New York, with a Fulbright fellowship to get an MA in Performance Studies at NYU. She also got an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and she teaches in the Drama Department. Her plays have had many productions in NYC and internationally. Most recently her play "Aliens with extraordinary skills" (the title hints to her O1 visa...) opened to rave reviews off-Broadway at Women's Project.

One of the main issues to be discussed in this lecture is what role does the flag perform in creating and maintaining identity (with a powerpoint presentation of over 100 pictures of the American flag displayed in the aftermath of 9/11). Another important question for Saviana is: did she do the right thing by leaving her home country Romania? Is she now inhabiting a new land called INBETWEEN? "Moving" into the English language was the right move? And what's right after all when a (r)evolution can change preconceived definitions of "right" and "wrong"?

FLAGSTORIES (flagshock-flagshop-flagshow)

2008-08-26T11:37:00.005-04:00

At Reggio Cafe - when the Flag stopped by :)

FLAGSTORIES (flagshock-flagshop-flagshow)

2008-08-15T18:39:00.008-04:00

Sex and the City with an accent :)

FLAGSTORIES

2008-06-11T12:43:00.006-04:00

SHADOWS

2008-05-31T12:46:00.003-04:00

Elephant on the roof

2008-05-16T20:20:00.002-04:00

The loneliness of objects

2008-04-13T18:23:00.005-04:00

Roofs in Williamsburg

2008-04-06T11:26:00.009-04:00

In Williamsburg for a photo-shoot with Piotr Redlinski for a book cover: the anthology of American plays that Christine Richter and Paul Bargetto are publishing in Germany
(Christine is in the first photo not me).
Ah, and these photos are my visual ramblings of course, not Piotr's professional shots.

On my way to teaching (via Starbucks)

2008-04-04T22:33:00.004-04:00

TREES in Central Park

2008-03-29T23:16:00.003-04:00

Saint John the Divine

2008-03-21T17:25:00.003-04:00

It's the Good Friday for most Christians here in NYC (not for the Greek-Orthodox), so what else can I post but the picture of a beautiful cathedral in my neighborhood - St John the Divine. Christians go to church today.
As for the non-divine me, I am going with John Eisner to see Drunken City by Adam Bock at Playwrights Horizons... yes, we all have our johns, adams, good & bad Fridays.... I kinda prefer the Romanian term for the good Friday, Vinerea Mare, the Big Friday...

Flagstories (American Idols)

2008-03-15T12:28:00.002-04:00

A shop-window with a Marylin Monroe doll ...
Warning: a new i-doll in the make, the brunette version, the new hot version: Kristen/Ashley (Alexandra Dupre)

Midtown roofs

2008-03-15T00:26:00.003-04:00

The non-glamor of the roofs...
Plus a tree struggling to coexist with the concrete...

Windows (midtown - E 38th Street)

2008-03-12T10:34:00.008-04:00

A: Do you want to live midtown?
B: No. You can't see the sky. It's claustrophobic.

Flagstories (flashock-flagshop-flagshow)

2008-03-11T11:24:00.007-04:00

No comments...

Flagstories

2008-03-10T23:59:00.003-04:00

Patriotic hats ... Made by someone who probably hasn't got her American citizenship yet.
How do I know? She's knitting hopes in the shape of the flag ...

Morningside Heights

2008-03-10T12:49:00.003-04:00

Yes, there are trees in New York, sky-scraping in their own genuine way...