The “Teatrul Azi Interviews at 2 Mai” series of live, outdoor summer festival podcasts is a project designed to encourage professional dialogue in the worlds of the performing arts and cinema and to create spaces for artists and audiences to meet (both in person and online).

The project, launched by the editorial team of Teatrul Azi magazine, in partnership with Cinemaraton, aims to provide members of the theater and film community, both creators and enthusiastic audiences, viewed as partners in fostering a healthy and representative cultural environment, with access behind the scenes of the creative process.

In a relaxed, friendly, and conversational atmosphere, young theater, dance, and film creators are invited to open up to the audience, their peers, and, above all, to themselves.

In the form of focused 30-minute interviews, the invited artists will be challenged by young critics and theorists Raluca Cîrciumaru, Octavian Szalad, Șerban Suciu, and Amalia Tănase, to explore their artistic directions, themes of interest, and their vision of the present and future of Romanian theater, with the aim of collectively shaping the spirit of the new generation.

The interviews, four each day, will take place between 20 and 23 July at 12:00 p.m. and will later be posted on the official Facebook pages of the ȘI Festival and Teatru azi.

The “Teatrul Azi Interviews at 2 Mai ” module is part of the “Teatrul Azi Interviews” series, produced by Teatrul Azi magazine and the “Camil Petrescu” Cultural Foundation. Teatrul Azi magazine is published by UNITER through the “Camil Petrescu” Cultural Foundation. Funded by the Ministry of Culture.

Raluca Cîrciumaru is a theatre critic and playwright, a graduate of UNATC “I.L. Caragiale” Bucharest. As a critic, she writes for Teatrul Azi. As a playwright, she has collaborated with Teatrul Metropolis, Teatrul de Nord Satu Mare, Teatrul „Andrei Mureșanu” in Sfântu Gheorghe, and Teatrul Odeon. She is currently part of the curatorial team of the 2026 edition of the National Theatre Festival.

Octavian Szalad is a theatre scholar, theatre critic, and editor of Teatrul Azi magazine and the academic journal CONCEPT, specializing in the theory and history of puppet/object theatre and animation theatre. He is a PhD candidate at UNATC “I.L. Caragiale” Bucharest, researching the history of puppet/object theatre and animation theatre in Romania. He is also a book editor and proofreader for the “Camil Petrescu” Cultural Foundation and, in recent years, has served as a member of various specialized juries.

Amalia Tănase is a theatre scholar, cultural project manager, and literary secretary at Teatrul Excelsior, where she works on developing programs dedicated to teenage audiences. She recently completed a master’s degree in Theatre and Performance Studies at UNATC “I.L. Caragiale” Bucharest. She is part of the editorial team of Teatrul Azi magazine, translates plays, and collaborates on dramatic texts and scripts as a dramaturg. She writes and produces independent theatre projects for general audiences, especially children, and is also exploring film production.

Șerban Suciu works in cultural communication at Teatrul Excelsior in Bucharest and writes theatre reviews for Teatrul Azi. He completed a master’s degree at UNATC in Theatre and Performance Studies and a bachelor’s degree at SNSPA in Communication and Emerging Media Studies. He collaborates regularly with IOTA Association and the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, as well as with other cultural and educational events and associations.