by Katharsis- purification through art and this says it all! What better name for something I truly love- the theater troupe “Katharsis Antic”,coordinated by the innovative teacher Coca Dorica, ever since 2006! But this is not only a theater troupe, this is a miracle where only miracles gather together to experience true love, faith and work. And it’s a miracle because the founder is a phenomenon herself. She teaches kids Romanian, Neo-Greek and Latin in two high schools: “Mihai Eminescu” National College (Colegiul National “Mihai Eminescu”) and “AT Laurian” National College( Colegiul National “AT Laurian”), from Botoșani. Just like anybody else, I am wondering how she still has the time to coordinate the theater troupe I was telling you about and a Greek dance troupe!
“In an ancient Greek class, because this is what the classical languages mean, Latin and ancient Greek, I taught Sophocles’ Antigone and the students began to read the roles. Gesturing there, I think a student came up with the idea to stage the play, the Antigone tragedy. I told Alexandru Matasă, a student from another class, who was my national Olympian: “look what your younger colleagues are proposing”, I think he was 12th and the others were 11th. And I said that I didn’t have the courage to do something like that, to set up, to actually stage a play. And he said we have to, we have to, we have to do this, I encourage you, I help you and he was my assistant in the first play I staged.”
The ancient theater troupe “Katharsis”, founded by the students’ desire to study more deeply the Greco-Roman culture, brings back to the modern day, the fascinating world of classics from Greek and Latin antiquity. The small number of hours devoted to this subject, the desire of many students to participate in national Olympics and the prizes obtained made them very excited not only to read about a character, but to even enter its role, playing it on stage. From the first play, Antigone by Sophocles, the theater troupe was very successful, being praised by university professors at the Faculty of Classical Languages, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi.
In the opening of the Classical Languages Olympiad, the National Phase, held in Botosani in 2009, the band members enchanted the audience from all over the country with the play Ifigenia at Aulis, a Greek tragedy written by Euripides, and then this piece was multi-awarded in Bucharest, during the Festival of ancient theater, Antic Fest. In 2010, the play Eros and Psyche was staged by the troupe’s members. It is the emotional story of a deep love between a god and a mortal that is intertwined with the subtle allegory of the barrier of stereotypes that may appear in the way of the arrows of Eros, but which true love overcomes.
In 2012,”Katharsis” took you into the fascinating world of the Aeneid, watching the play Didona and Aeneas, adaptation after Virgilius and Ovidius. Didona was played by Teodora Puianu and Aeneas was played by Cosmin Flutur.
In 2013, “ECHO AND NARCISSUS” took the audience for a few minutes in another dimension of culture. Each is an echo of the other, he, an overturned echo of her consuming love, she, a faded echo of his indifference. The echo of her melancholy mourning has remained over the centuries, perpetually calling and recalling an impossible love …
If they usually play tragedies, mythological and historical plays, this time the Katharsis Ancient Theater Troupe, under the coordination of Coca Dorica, who also signs the adaptation of the text, scenography and direction of the show, presents a comedy, “The House with Ghosts”, in 2015, adapted from the Latin comedian Plautus.
Ancient theater troupe “Katharsis” brought you into the fascinating world of mythology, in 2016, watching the play” Niobe “, the adaptation of the text after Metamorphoses by Publius Ovidius Naso, directed and set by the coordinator. A striking combination between ancient and modern, the play NIOBE has a very tragic ending, showing that people, in their condition as mortals, can never surpass the gods and that any hybris can be severely punished by divinity.
KATHARSIS presented a fragment from the play ARACHNE, in 2016, a meditation on the mortal condition, which must obey the divine will, otherwise it can bear heavy punishments.
The play MEDEEA is an adaptation of the tragedy Medeea, written by the tragic Greek Euripides, after Apollonius of Rhodes and Ovid. The woman who loves passionately but relentlessly takes revenge appears here. The great actors on the big stages of the world are waiting a lifetime to receive such a role, but here that, at only 15 years old, Ilona Dănilă receives the difficult role and will do it, you will surely notice, masterfully, just like Iustin Coca , at 16, as Iason.
The antique theatre group “Katharsis” is going to play the greek tragedy “ELECTRA”, adaptation after Sofocle. Electra has the quest to revenge her killed father, revenge that has been ordered by the gods and executed by the people. The voices of the old Ellada are being heard… Listen to them!
The play Acteea and Nero is composed, in an original way, after the Latin historians Suetonius and Tacitus, by the coordinator of this band, Coca Dorica. Acteea and Nero lived, perhaps, one of the earliest impossible loves. She had been a slave, but now she was a free woman. When she met him, she thought he was a slave too, but she would find out that he was the emperor of Rome himself. He was in an arranged marriage with Octavia and then with Poppea Sabina. So, Acteea became Nero’s mistress. We are in the first century AD, when we speak of the appearance of the first Christians. The act goes through all the stages, from Nero’s mistress to being a Christian and being baptized.
At the moment, “The misfortunes of the happy Augustin” (Nefericile Fericitului Augustin) is staged by the troupe members. It tells the story of Saint Augustin and shows how life and faith can bring you to places and moments you’ve never expected. This beautiful play has won several national and international prizes and even more are to come!
This is not it all, Katharsis Antic is getting bigger and stronger day by day! The troupe is being invited to several shows and competitions, all due to the hard work put throughout the years!
I LOVE Katharsis and I am simply honored to be a part of it!
You can watch some plays staged by Katharsis at this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd6Ta6XgVLSytPFNYiy6dQA
Follow Katharsis: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd6Ta6XgVLSytPFNYiy6dQA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katharsis.antic
