Born on August 4, 1961, in Doroțcaia, Dubăsari district, in the Transnistria region (Republic of Moldova), Ion Sapdaru built his artistic training between two important cultural spaces. He graduated from the Theater Institute in Chișinău (1979–1983), continued his studies at the prestigious VGIK Institute of Cinematography in Moscow (1985–1989), and later pursued a master's degree in directing in the Russian capital.

His artistic career combines theater and film acting with directing and dramaturgy. He is an actor and director at the "Vasile Alecsandri" National Theater in Iași, but he has acted and directed on numerous important stages in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, including the Oradea Theater. In cinema, he has collaborated on representative productions of Romanian film, being awarded the Gopo Award in 2007 for the best actor, for the role in the film Was it or wasn't it?, directed by Corneliu Porumboiu. At the same time, his artistic vocation also manifested itself in the pedagogical field, working as a professor at the "George Enescu" University of Arts in Iași.

On the occasion of the new production "The Suitor" that he is staging at the Regina Maria Theater, Ion Sapdaru agreed to give us a short interview, in which he tells us a little about his artistic background, the show, and the reunion with the Oradea troupe.

Florina Dometi: You are an actor, director and playwright in some situations. They are different hypostases of the same artist. How do you manage to harmonize them and what does each of them offer you?

Ion Sapdaru: Harmonization is quite difficult. These professions are part of the same field, but they have a lot of specific peculiarities. As an actor, I am more jovial, more willing to joke, to do tricks, as they say. As a director, I am often sullen, difficult to approach, always in doubt. When I write, I try to put myself in the shoes of the characters, I often read the lines out loud to see if they are valid for the acting. The most difficult problem is that sometimes all these facets of our profession happen to exist in some projects simultaneously.

FD: The play "The Suitor", which you stage at the Regina Maria Theater, starts from a Georgian text signed by A. Tsagareli and adapted by you. What inspired you to write this text that you considered it necessary to revitalize it and open it to other cultural spaces?

IS: First of all, it is a text with all the ingredients of an excellent vaudeville. Sparkling characters, ingeniously constructed, irresistibly comic situations, a bright story about love, our sweet sins, in short, a rich and generous material from a theatrical point of view.

FD: You chose to go with a canvas inspired by Commedia dell'arte, an old recipe, but with fantastic humor and social irony, which you transposed into a more modern language, primarily giving up the mask. What led you to make this choice and how do you think contemporary audiences relate to the conventions of this type of theater?

IS: The show is more like a kind of end of the Commedia dell'arte period and a transition to the great comedies of Goldoni and Gozzi. I did a literary exercise in this sense, combining techniques from Comedia dell'arte and modern Italian dramaturgy. I was fascinated by the idea of such a flamboyant mix.

FD.: This is not the first time you have staged this title, and each time you have done so, it has been a success with the public. What are the new nuances you find with each revisitation and why do you consider it necessary to return to this text, knowing that you already have an impressive number of titles in your repertoire?

IS: The version at the Regina Maria Theatre has been revised and enriched with new scenes, even characters. It's like a jewel that, in my opinion, I finally managed to polish as best I could, giving it its true shine. I think it was a working process in which we were all able to enjoy it equally. Both the actors and those who helped us (the set designer, the choreographer, the musicians, the technicians), and, obviously, I enjoyed myself the most.

FD.: Being an actor as well, how does this experience influence the way you lead rehearsals? Are you a director who offers solutions or one who prefers to discover them together with the actors?

IS: All options are good when you reach a good result. Of course, I have to offer the actors valid solutions for shaping the character, but the ideas (findings) that arise during rehearsals are welcome and very precious. When the actor brings a new nuance to the character, I am extremely happy and open to accepting it.

FD: Since we mentioned your repertoire as a director, this is not your first time staging in Oradea. How was the reunion with the actors and crew of the Regina Maria Theater?

The reunion was emotional. I found an ambitious group, with several resounding successes under their belt. My old actor friends, with whom I once worked with great joy, were also extremely professional, extremely warm-hearted this time. The new ones for me, whom I met now, are equally talented and open to performance.

FD: „"The Suitor" is a vaudeville, a comic text, full of energy and vitality. Beyond laughter and good humor, is there a message you would like viewers to come away with after watching "The Suitor"?

The message is simple: enjoy life! Lorenzo de' Medici (the Magnificent) said in "Canzona di Bacco":

How beautiful youth is,
That's how it runs away!
Whoever wants to be happy, let him:
There is no certainty about tomorrow.

Celebrate youth and the joys of life; don't forget the transience of time.

FD: Finally, I propose a challenge to all my guests: what is the question you would have liked to receive in an interview that has not yet been asked? And, of course, what would be the answer?

IS: Are you happy, Mr. Sapdaru? …