Angielski (ENG) 
Polski (PL) 
On the theater stage
Antonio-Daniel Petrică participated in our international training courses focused on the use of 'theater games' method. His passion has always been theater. Our volunteers, Tosia and Kacper, conducted an interview with him, discussing how an interest in theater can be transformed into an educational path after completing high school.
Antonina Suchecka & Kacper Kowalski: Hello, we have Antonio here. Could you please introduce yourself?
Antonio: Hello I am Antonio-Daniel Petrică, I'm 18, born in Spain but I'm actually Romanian. I live in Bucharest, far from my parents. I'm the father of a precious ginger cat. I study theatre and also Orthodox Theology.
A.S & K.K: How did you find out that you are interested in theatre?
A.D.P: Well, it's funny. My first contact with theatre was when I was six years old, transitioning from kindergarten to school. I had dance classes during kindergarten, which my grandma was paying for. It was quite affordable, around 2 euros per week. After that, I wanted to continue with dance, but we couldn't afford the classes because they became more expensive once I started school. We then went to the Palace of the Children in Giurgiu, Romania, which is like a cultural center where you can take classes in anything you want, such as theatre, dance, ecology, math, and English, and all of them are free. We arrived there, and my grandmother wanted to sign me up for dance classes. However, the first door that caught my attention was the theatre room, where I saw puppets. I told my grandma that I no longer wanted to dance and instead wanted to start with theatre. I kind of chose this path, but it also chose me. At the beginning, my grandma wasn't really happy about my choice, but she later found out that it was the best thing for me to improve myself and become the person I am today. My grandma was also involved in my learning process, helping me with learning the text at home.
Antonio: Hello I am Antonio-Daniel Petrică, I'm 18, born in Spain but I'm actually Romanian. I live in Bucharest, far from my parents. I'm the father of a precious ginger cat. I study theatre and also Orthodox Theology.
A.S & K.K: How did you find out that you are interested in theatre?
A.D.P: Well, it's funny. My first contact with theatre was when I was six years old, transitioning from kindergarten to school. I had dance classes during kindergarten, which my grandma was paying for. It was quite affordable, around 2 euros per week. After that, I wanted to continue with dance, but we couldn't afford the classes because they became more expensive once I started school. We then went to the Palace of the Children in Giurgiu, Romania, which is like a cultural center where you can take classes in anything you want, such as theatre, dance, ecology, math, and English, and all of them are free. We arrived there, and my grandmother wanted to sign me up for dance classes. However, the first door that caught my attention was the theatre room, where I saw puppets. I told my grandma that I no longer wanted to dance and instead wanted to start with theatre. I kind of chose this path, but it also chose me. At the beginning, my grandma wasn't really happy about my choice, but she later found out that it was the best thing for me to improve myself and become the person I am today. My grandma was also involved in my learning process, helping me with learning the text at home.
A.S & K.K: Were you planning to become a professional actor at that time?
A.D.P: Not since I was young, because at the same time, there was a part of me that was really interested in religion. Both interests started almost at the same age, and they were in conflict at the time. I made the decision to become a professional actor during the holiday between the 10th and 11th grades. That was the moment when I realized I wanted to pursue this professionally throughout my entire life.
A.S & K.K: How is it going right now?
A.D.P: It's pretty good. At the moment, I'm studying the art of acting, and I'm in my first year at Universitatea Națională de Artă Teatrală și Cinematografică 'I.L. Caragiale'.
A.S & K.K : What did you have to do to become a student of this University?
A.D.P: Well, it's a very challenging process because, for this year, we had around 400 candidates for only 64 student places. It was a real struggle, but the biggest battle was with myself, not with others. It's not like a competition; the only fight you have is with yourself. Entering the university was quite challenging. You have to take two mandatory exams. For the first one, you need to prepare six different genres of poems, with one poem being mandatory and the others at the candidate's choice. Additionally, you have to prepare two stories: one dramatic and one comic, both from universal literature. During the exam, you are required to sing something and dance. The jury also provides you with a text, and you have to read it at first sight while they ask questions about the texts you chose. Based on this, you can either be admitted or declined. Once admitted, you move to the second stage. In this stage, you have to present some of the texts from the first stage, along with two monologues—one comic and one dramatic. There's also an interview covering universal literature, theater performances, and cinematography.
A.S & K.K: How did it go in your particular case?
A.D.P: I was kind of anxious because, during my first exam, they asked me to present everything I had prepared. They asked me a lot of questions and gave me numerous improvisation topics. However, I didn't get to finish interpreting all of my texts. That's why I was anxious; I couldn't understand if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I really thought I was not going to pass the exam. It was very impressive for me to proceed to the second stage of exams. Now, the principal of the commission is my class teacher.
A.D.P: Not since I was young, because at the same time, there was a part of me that was really interested in religion. Both interests started almost at the same age, and they were in conflict at the time. I made the decision to become a professional actor during the holiday between the 10th and 11th grades. That was the moment when I realized I wanted to pursue this professionally throughout my entire life.
A.S & K.K: How is it going right now?
A.D.P: It's pretty good. At the moment, I'm studying the art of acting, and I'm in my first year at Universitatea Națională de Artă Teatrală și Cinematografică 'I.L. Caragiale'.
A.S & K.K : What did you have to do to become a student of this University?
A.D.P: Well, it's a very challenging process because, for this year, we had around 400 candidates for only 64 student places. It was a real struggle, but the biggest battle was with myself, not with others. It's not like a competition; the only fight you have is with yourself. Entering the university was quite challenging. You have to take two mandatory exams. For the first one, you need to prepare six different genres of poems, with one poem being mandatory and the others at the candidate's choice. Additionally, you have to prepare two stories: one dramatic and one comic, both from universal literature. During the exam, you are required to sing something and dance. The jury also provides you with a text, and you have to read it at first sight while they ask questions about the texts you chose. Based on this, you can either be admitted or declined. Once admitted, you move to the second stage. In this stage, you have to present some of the texts from the first stage, along with two monologues—one comic and one dramatic. There's also an interview covering universal literature, theater performances, and cinematography.
A.S & K.K: How did it go in your particular case?
A.D.P: I was kind of anxious because, during my first exam, they asked me to present everything I had prepared. They asked me a lot of questions and gave me numerous improvisation topics. However, I didn't get to finish interpreting all of my texts. That's why I was anxious; I couldn't understand if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I really thought I was not going to pass the exam. It was very impressive for me to proceed to the second stage of exams. Now, the principal of the commission is my class teacher.
A.S & K.K: What about your future?
A.D.P: I have many plans in my mind. Since my first year of university, I started realizing that I'm still pretty young. I still have things to understand, but I have huge plans. One of them would be to fund an independent theatre company. Also, in February, I am going to have my own Erasmus+ project based on non-formal education via theatre games for deaf people. In Romania, at this moment, we do not have that many projects for this target group. I also think that in my country, there is a lack of inclusive shows. This project, which I will carry out with ten teenagers in Craiova, Romania, I hope will be a pilot for my biggest desire: to fund the first deaf theatre company in Romania. In both cases, my partner in crime will be my good friend and mentor, Laurentiu Tudor, an actor, director, and manager of the Cultural House "Traian Demetrescu" in Craiova, Romania.
For my master's degree, I know that I want to study choreography and maybe community theatre because it's interesting to try to create from listening to other people's stories. We are not aiming to provide therapy because theatre is not that. It can be therapeutic, but it's not therapy. Theatre is a mindset and mostly a convention and a means of expression. Through theatre, you can do a lot of things, even if you are not an actor, even if you are not going to study this, even if you are not going to become a professional actor. In my opinion, in my childhood, it helped me become the person I am now and also helped others because theatre makes you question yourself, question life, understand, and experiment. When you are an actor, you get to live many lives.
I also want to share a story that will clarify what I mean. I had many projects in December, one of them took place in the Oncological Pediatric Institute. This kid, whom I'm talking about, died before my project there, but my teacher met him, and the little boy told her: "Actors are heroes. I want to become an actor to have superpowers." This is the thing I always think about: if you are an actor, you gain a set of abilities that offer you a different perspective. Now, I won't say that I am an actor, but I am working on my superpowers. In a nutshell, my near future is mostly focused on my development.
A.S & K.K: Do you think that starting a career in theatre is a matter of talent or just hard work?
A.D.P: I don't really believe in talent. You can have talent, but if you're not working with it, you can't do anything. Work is the most important thing in theatre. I realized that in the first few weeks of studies and also when I was preparing for my exams. Hard work is the key to success. That's what I recommend to everybody who chooses this path.
A.S & K.K: Can you tell us more about your preparation for the exams?
A.D.P: I started preparation a year before, and it was a very hard process. The first thing is to try to understand yourself. Firstly, I began reading a lot of poems—more than sixty volumes—to find the ones with which I resonated, so that I could use those words to express myself. After that, I started to learn them, work with them, and modify them. Following that, I began reading prose and theatre plays. It was a long process.
A.S & K.K: But did you do it by yourself, or did somebody help you?
A.D.P: I didn't do it by myself. I worked with George Lepădatu (actor, director, manager of Distinkt Company), as well as other coordinators of Acting Up, the teenage theatre group that I used to be a part of. Then, I had surgery that kept me in bed for more than two or three weeks, preventing me from attending any workshops. After that period, I had to host and perform for the "Festin" theatre festival in Caracal, Romania, in which Laurențiu Tudor was one of the jury members. During that time, as we were also collaborating on a performance he was directing, I mentioned to him that I really needed help because my exams were in two weeks, and I still had a lot of work to do. So, in my preparation process, I had two mentors: Laurențiu Tudor and George Lepădatu. I would like to express my gratitude through this, and I'd also like to mention Ruxandra Ionescu, my high school theatre teacher, and Father Dogaru Gheorghe, my teacher during theological studies.
A.D.P: I have many plans in my mind. Since my first year of university, I started realizing that I'm still pretty young. I still have things to understand, but I have huge plans. One of them would be to fund an independent theatre company. Also, in February, I am going to have my own Erasmus+ project based on non-formal education via theatre games for deaf people. In Romania, at this moment, we do not have that many projects for this target group. I also think that in my country, there is a lack of inclusive shows. This project, which I will carry out with ten teenagers in Craiova, Romania, I hope will be a pilot for my biggest desire: to fund the first deaf theatre company in Romania. In both cases, my partner in crime will be my good friend and mentor, Laurentiu Tudor, an actor, director, and manager of the Cultural House "Traian Demetrescu" in Craiova, Romania.
For my master's degree, I know that I want to study choreography and maybe community theatre because it's interesting to try to create from listening to other people's stories. We are not aiming to provide therapy because theatre is not that. It can be therapeutic, but it's not therapy. Theatre is a mindset and mostly a convention and a means of expression. Through theatre, you can do a lot of things, even if you are not an actor, even if you are not going to study this, even if you are not going to become a professional actor. In my opinion, in my childhood, it helped me become the person I am now and also helped others because theatre makes you question yourself, question life, understand, and experiment. When you are an actor, you get to live many lives.
I also want to share a story that will clarify what I mean. I had many projects in December, one of them took place in the Oncological Pediatric Institute. This kid, whom I'm talking about, died before my project there, but my teacher met him, and the little boy told her: "Actors are heroes. I want to become an actor to have superpowers." This is the thing I always think about: if you are an actor, you gain a set of abilities that offer you a different perspective. Now, I won't say that I am an actor, but I am working on my superpowers. In a nutshell, my near future is mostly focused on my development.
A.S & K.K: Do you think that starting a career in theatre is a matter of talent or just hard work?
A.D.P: I don't really believe in talent. You can have talent, but if you're not working with it, you can't do anything. Work is the most important thing in theatre. I realized that in the first few weeks of studies and also when I was preparing for my exams. Hard work is the key to success. That's what I recommend to everybody who chooses this path.
A.S & K.K: Can you tell us more about your preparation for the exams?
A.D.P: I started preparation a year before, and it was a very hard process. The first thing is to try to understand yourself. Firstly, I began reading a lot of poems—more than sixty volumes—to find the ones with which I resonated, so that I could use those words to express myself. After that, I started to learn them, work with them, and modify them. Following that, I began reading prose and theatre plays. It was a long process.
A.S & K.K: But did you do it by yourself, or did somebody help you?
A.D.P: I didn't do it by myself. I worked with George Lepădatu (actor, director, manager of Distinkt Company), as well as other coordinators of Acting Up, the teenage theatre group that I used to be a part of. Then, I had surgery that kept me in bed for more than two or three weeks, preventing me from attending any workshops. After that period, I had to host and perform for the "Festin" theatre festival in Caracal, Romania, in which Laurențiu Tudor was one of the jury members. During that time, as we were also collaborating on a performance he was directing, I mentioned to him that I really needed help because my exams were in two weeks, and I still had a lot of work to do. So, in my preparation process, I had two mentors: Laurențiu Tudor and George Lepădatu. I would like to express my gratitude through this, and I'd also like to mention Ruxandra Ionescu, my high school theatre teacher, and Father Dogaru Gheorghe, my teacher during theological studies.
A.S & K.K: What would you say to a person who wants to start theatre classes? Any tips?
A.D.P: Well, it depends on the way you want to do that. If you want to do it on an amateur level, it's a good means of understanding many things about yourself and not necessarily being an actor but having a hobby. If you want to do it in a professional way, forget all the things you've heard about theater. I'm not saying they are wrong, but they are not realistic. You just have to be open, a workaholic, and also be prepared to not have much time for a private life because theatre is going to take up most of it. That's what I would say.
A.S & K.K: Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your knowledge.
A.D.P: Thank you too.
A.D.P: Well, it depends on the way you want to do that. If you want to do it on an amateur level, it's a good means of understanding many things about yourself and not necessarily being an actor but having a hobby. If you want to do it in a professional way, forget all the things you've heard about theater. I'm not saying they are wrong, but they are not realistic. You just have to be open, a workaholic, and also be prepared to not have much time for a private life because theatre is going to take up most of it. That's what I would say.
A.S & K.K: Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your knowledge.
A.D.P: Thank you too.
