PRESS RELEASE | Arcadia Troupe laureate at the "Under Merlin's Wand" International Animation Festival„
The Arcadia troupe of the Regina Maria Theatre won the Puppet Creation Award at the International Animation Festival "Under Merlin's Wand", organized by the "Merlin" Children and Youth Theatre in Timișoara. The distinction was awarded for the show "Frederick the Mouse - I Know Who I Am", a script by Ana Crăciun Lambru, inspired by the book "Frederick" by Leo Lionni.
The 2025 edition of the festival took place between September 28 and October 5, marking ten years of existence of one of the most important events dedicated to animation theater in Romania.
The festival brought together animation troupes and theaters from across the country: Timișoara, Oradea, Brăila, Galați, Brașov, Alba Iulia, Bucharest, Craiova and Petroșani, but also from abroad, with guests from the Republic of Moldova, Hungary, Israel, Spain and Poland.
A particularity of this edition was the competitive nature, the performances being evaluated by a specialized jury formed by: Maria Cuța Gornic – puppet actor, director, Jelena Stojanović Patrnogić – director of the Children and Youth Theatre Kragujevac, Serbia, and of the International Puppet Theatre Festival „Zlatna Iskra” and Claudiu Groza – theatre expert and theatre curator, president of the jury. The jury awarded ten prizes in total, rewarding excellence in directing, best performance, interpretation (main and secondary role), handling (main and secondary role), puppet creation, music, visual design and a special prize for valorizing tradition
The Arcadia troupe opened the competition with the show "Frederick the Mouse - I Know Who I Am", which enjoyed an enthusiastic reception from the audience and the jury. The Puppet Creation Award was given to creators Răzvan Chendrean and Ana Crăciun Lambru, being one of the three trophies awarded to theaters in Romania at this edition.
Congratulations to the team! We thank the organizers for the invitation and the jury for the recognition. The Arcadia band is now embarking on other adventures: shows, new projects, festivals.
See you at the theater!
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