Text taken from LiterNet.ro

Razvan Rocas.: What's it like to be in the director's chair in a theater for the first time?
Tony Nica: Stressful, because you feel like you have more pressure on your shoulders than in college. College
it's something else... it's the environment where you have a safety net: you know you're there to learn, to give yourself
with your head against the wall. If something doesn't work, it's no problem; next semester you know what to do.
you have to work. It's a little different here.

RR: You already know the band. You have worked or are working with some of them on different projects.
How do you think this helps you in the process of working on the show?
TN: Already knowing the band, seeing the actors over the years in various shows, I have an idea
more in-depth about how I can value them.

RR: What is your artistic credo? What are your artistic pursuits? What do you think should and
What shouldn't theater be?
TN: In my first year of college, I was focused on the idea of social theater. A theater that addresses
social themes, which involve social life, which raise certain questions, but that
Over the years I have realized that theater, in fact, does not have as much power as we think.
we would like to believe that it does. For several years I have been toying with the idea of a popular theater or, in other words,
a theater that tries to reach as many people as possible. That is, a theater that entertains, that
It excites, it annoys; sometimes with some philosophies, sometimes with some guns and swearing.
A little of everything; like life, after all. I don't want to focus on formulas, on categories, on
templates. It seems to me that what matters most – whether it's a show or any other
creation – is to believe in it, to give of yourself; to have elements of yourself in that production.

RR: If you were to think about some advice you received in school and are trying to implement it...
you use in your stage work, what would that be?
TN: My teacher, Ovidiu Caița, helped me think outside the box, not to limit myself
to some sterile arguments and logic. The rhythm of the show, the sensations that a scene gives you
are much more important, for example. Creativity benefits when it is purely
You just do it and let your thoughts run free.

RR: Are there certain directors or theorists whose direction or aesthetic you feel is
compatible with your directorial vision?
TN: In theater, in recent years, no. I used to have a list of top 3, top 5 favorite directors. Of
Over time, I no longer referred to that list, precisely because of the principle of "no formulas and
categories, but what I feel"; instead, I take several models from the film. Specifically: Martin
Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Guy Ritchie.

RR: Since you mentioned film, does your aesthetic combine the two: theater and film?
TN: I'm a bit young and at the beginning of my journey to give a final answer, but I think theater can
borrow from the film – that they are ideas, that they are approaches. I don't believe in a theater that abuses
video elements. Theater has a certain specificity, film has another specificity and it's very okay that they are
At the same time, theater must understand that the world is evolving and changing; to be
aware that he cannot remain anchored in what was valid the day before yesterday.

RR: The show features a theme that is much discussed these days: the cohabitation of man with
technology. How do you plan to exploit this direction and how promising is it in terms of
from a directorial point of view?
TN: At a rehearsal I simply realized: "I've never seen any
"android show" and then I realized it would be a very big challenge. They kept doing it
movies, series, video games with androids that coexist with humans. By the way, why were you asking me about
theater and film, in a way it's easier to portray an android in a film, precisely because you have
many more technical means to use; whereas in theater you have to adapt and
to translate these elements. They won't be as spectacular as in a movie, but I still think
that it is something new.

RR: You said before that you realized that you haven't seen shows with androids, do you think it's
necessary for theater to begin to actively address this topic: the presence of technology in
our lives, the presence of AI, what could the future look like in technological society?
TN: Absolutely. With each passing year, artificial intelligence progresses more and more. I don't know
when will we see androids on the street the way they are portrayed in the show, but anyway,
It wouldn't hurt to approach these topics more intensely. The main fear of many is how we
interact with entities that have no consciousness. I think a lot of people have the impression that,
not having a conscience, androids would be incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, hence
resulting in entities with dangerous behavior. Although so far all the "great" psychopaths and
The criminals that the world has given us were and are people; who supposedly have a conscience. So…

RR: How has the work process been going so far and what difficulties have you encountered?
TN: We worked efficiently, we made good use of the time we had, we adapted
the space we had to rehearse in. A constant challenge we had was how to
we conceive this universe, in which there are both humans and androids, as truthful as possible. Let it be a universe
SF, but at the same time it should be a palpable reality.

RR: For your future projects, especially theatrical ones, what are the topics you would like to work on?
would you like to address or that you feel should be addressed?
TN: When I come across some texts that mean something to me, then I'll know. Until then,
generally speaking, I'm interested in relationships between people... I know there's an answer
unspectacular, but ultimately from our actions, namely from the way we relate
and we interact with each other everything comes. I would like to do projects related to AI, in the future
androids and their increasingly significant presence in our lives.

RR: If you had to choose one thing from the show that people would stay with after they leave,
from the theater, which one would that be?
TN: The fact that both humans and artificial intelligence have strengths and weaknesses.