"The Forgotten Woman" in New York
- RCI USA
- 11 hours ago
- 5 min read
Based on Cătălina Florescu’s "The Woman Who Kept Forgetting to Be Born" adapted and directed by Matei Stoian
About the Event
Memory fractures. Voices rise. One woman refuses to disappear. In a world shaped by silence, ”The Forgotten Woman” dares to speak. Romanian-American playwright Cătălina Florescu imagines a charged landscape of identity, resistance, and release. In this visceral adaptation of her text The Woman Who Kept Forgetting to Be Born, director Matei Stoian constructs a stage-world that pulses with urgency and raw emotional energy. Performed by a seasoned ensemble of actresses, "The Forgotten Woman" unravels the inherited codes of patriarchy—those passed down in whispers, in traditions, in love. Fragmented and filmic in structure, the piece reveals a haunting polyphony of selves, all reaching toward liberation. Memory becomes the battleground. Birth becomes the metaphor.
Adaptation and Direction: Matei Stoian
Cast: Adelaida Zamfira, Ana Pasti, Ioana Mărcoiu, Cristina Danu, Maria Dănescu
Set Design: Alexandra Budianu
Set Design Assistant: Anca Maria Ciofîrlă
Costumes: Valentin Teodorescu
Sound Design: Gabriel Galagan
Light Design: Cătălin Ion
Produced by Montage Association and co-financed through the Administration of the National Cultural Fund (ANCF), presented in New York with the support of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York and Pace University Student Center.
Meet the Creative Team
Cătălina Florina FLORESCU is a writer, playwright, and professor of comparative literature and theatre studies in New York. She holds a PhD from the City University of New York and writes in both Romanian and English, addressing themes such as identity, the body, migration, femininity, and trauma. Her plays and books are recognized for their intellectual depth and the courage with which they explore sensitive social realities. Her texts have been staged in Romania, the U.S., and across Europe. She teaches at Pace University and Stevens Institute of Technology. "The Forgotten Woman" continues her commitment to giving voice to the marginalized and confronting cultural taboos through a theatre of ideas and emotion.
Matei STOIAN is a theatre director and artistic coordinator with over a decade of experience in cultural and educational projects focused on interdisciplinarity and audience engagement. He has directed more than 12 productions based on classical and contemporary texts, staged at venues such as the National Theatre of Bucharest and Nottara Theatre. These include Chekhov adaptations like "The Seagull" and "Destinies" (Three Sisters), as well as comedies such as "The Show Must Go On" (Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, Jonathan Sayer), "Noises Off" (Michael Frayn), and "Out of Order" (Ray Cooney). His directing style is rooted in the dialogue between dramatic texts and current issues, aiming to create performances that resonate with today's audiences. Matei collaborates with interdisciplinary teams and treats every stage of the creative process—from concept to audience interaction—as part of a unified artistic vision. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Theatre Directing at UNATC "I.L. Caragiale", deepening his focus on theatre that is vibrant and community-connected.
Adelaida ZAMFIRA is an actress, professor, and director based in Bucharest, Romania. She is known for her stage performances ("Faithful" by Chazz Palminteri, "Weekend Comedy" by Sam Bobrick), film ("Q.E.D.", directed by Andrei Gruzsniczki; "The Conductor of Silence" by Ovidiu Georgescu), and television. Currently, she is part of the cast of the series "Ana, mi-ai fost scrisă în ADN" ("Ana, You Were Written in My DNA"), distributed by Antena 1 and produced by Dream Film Product. She graduated from UNATC Bucharest in 1992, in the class of Florin Zamfirescu, Doru Ana, and Mirela Gorea. She also holds a Master’s in "Acting and Ensemble Theatre" from the same university. In 2011, she defended her doctoral thesis titled The Actor Between Performance and Creation in the Consumer Society. Currently, she leads personal development workshops through theatre as a lecturer with the Calea Victoriei Foundation. In addition to her pedagogical and acting work, she directed a devised theatre piece – "My Bucharest", and Neil Simon’s "The Odd Couple" at Metropolis Theatre.
Ana PASTI is a graduate of UNATC (Dem Rădulescu’s class) and the first Romanian actress to receive a Fulbright scholarship, earning her Master’s in Acting at USC (California), one of the most prestigious theatre schools in the world. She has performed both in Romania and the U.S. in classical productions, contemporary plays, one-woman shows, and social theatre projects. She has collaborated with prominent West Coast directors and has been invited to international festivals, including the Kennedy Center Festival (Washington, D.C.). She creates and performs in independent projects and won both the Gopo and UCIN awards for her short film În Noapte, which she wrote, directed, and starred in. She currently teaches film acting at UNATC and also holds a Master’s degree in Political Science. "The Forgotten Woman" marks her second collaboration with the Montage Association.
Cristina DANU is an actress, dancer, choreographer, and musical theatre enthusiast. She is currently employed at "Stela Popescu" Theatre in Bucharest, is pursuing her PhD at the National University of Theatre and Film “I.L. Caragiale”, and performs in "Chicago" (also contributing to choreography), "Cabaret", "Mamma Mia!", "The Full Monty", and "The Addams Family". She practiced competitive sports dancing from age 4 to 18, earning national and international recognition.
Ioana MĂRCOIU is an actress who graduated with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the National University of Theatre and Film “I.L. Caragiale” in Bucharest in 2011. She has performed on the Odeon Theatre stage—where she has been a full-time actress since 2018—as well as on other stages in Bucharest, across Romania, and internationally, in a total of 39 different theatre productions. Her most recent role is Lady Macbeth, directed by Silvia Costa. She embraces each role with openness, joy, and a sense of challenge, and approaches her characters with great responsibility and respect. Passionate about her path, she has demonstrated sensitivity, inner strength, determination, patience, and above all, the joy of performing and collaborating with others who share her passion for theatre.
Maria DĂNESCU is a young stage and film actress from Bucharest, currently in her final year of the Master's program in Acting at the Faculty of Theatre, UNATC. She is also completing the Psycho-Pedagogical Module in Performing Arts – Acting. Starting next year, she plans to pursue a PhD in Performing and Cinematic Arts. She currently balances her acting career with her pedagogical training. Maria also holds an internationally recognized Master’s in Intercultural Management from the UNESCO Chair and applies this knowledge in crafting her roles, also drawing on studies from the Faculty of Psychology. She collaborates with major cultural centers in Bucharest supporting non-formal education, such as the Calea Victoriei Foundation, where she teaches acting-based personal development workshops for teenagers. As an actress, she works with both public and independent theatres in Bucharest (National Theatre, Odeon, Metropolis, Comedy Theatre, Dramaturgy Theatre, etc.), cultural hubs, and professionals from the performing, visual, and media arts fields.
An additional performance will take place on October 29, 2025 at Pace University (1st Pace Plaza Student Center), New York.
