 Although Roma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe, they still experience high level of racism and have to deal with many societal issues. Also, Roma are being represented in a very stereotypical way in the media and art world. The Roma Theatre has more than a century long past with active professional theatre groups in many European countries, but unfortunately they are still hardly known. The Roma Heroes Theatre Festival initiated by the Independent Theatre Hungary is the only International Roma Theatre Encounter in the world, which have been organized in every year since 2017. Some of the present artists and their work are introduced in our series. Today, my guest is Tamás Sagedi, the director of the play called Camille Engel and Martin Illich, the writer of the play, who will also do some translation during this discussion. So, hi guys, how are you? Hello. Hi. Fine. Good to be here. My first question would be, Marti, could you please summarize very briefly what the play is about, who and what inspired you by writing it? So, the play Camille Engel, which was presented on the second festival, was inspired by real stories of Roma youngsters who participated in workshops based on the plays of the first festival, and in this workshop they focused on their heroic stories of the dramas and their own heroic stories, and the stories of the heroes of these young people who live in Hungary and Belgium, because we also had workshops there. And it was important to put together different real stories of these young Roma people. And this way, without to build an imaginary character, the Camille Engel, who is like an average teenage girl, but with very special superpower, that she can go to the minds of their relatives and friends and relieve the experiences of her grandparents. And this way, through one character, we were able to present very different stories also in history and geographically and so forth. So, that's how it started. Thank you. Do you have a favorite part in the play, because it was challenging or because it's close to you? And it's a question also to Tommy. Thank you for the question, but if you want to say something before, you can, if you want to Okay, so we started to do this story based on the existing stories, but we still didn't have the end of the story, because this teenage girl shares a lot of story. And then we went to Belgium, and we also were supposed to use the stories which we need there. And then there was a girl who shared her own story that she went to school and she became pregnant, and she decided to keep the baby and to leave the school. And as we met this story, we saw that it should be like the end of the play, which is like a very usual problem or challenge of young girls, even Roman, non-Roman girls, that they are pregnant and during their studies and what are their decisions. And we don't want to say that it's a good decision to keep the baby or to continue the study, but we wanted to put in focus that you have to make your own decision based on your own values, whatever they are. And my favorite part of this job or this period when I directed this show, I think that was the most great challenge to directing a show with just one person. I had some experience earlier to make a theater performances with three, four actors or sometimes more, but that was the first time when I made a show with one actor on it, and it was a great challenge for me and that was a great challenge for Emilia Lovasz II, who is the actress of the show, because that was the first monodrama for her, too, and for me, too. We wanted to work together for a long time with Emilia. Also ten years, so it was a great, great chance to work together, and I think that that was the most important, the most big challenge, and of the story, my favorite part of the story, when the old man in Emilia's life, the Kamiya down girl's life, this is the beginning of the story, he's reminding into the past, and it was a great challenge, too, how to directing this situation with one person in the same area on the stage, to jumping in the time, to the past, to the future, to the present, so it was a good practice and it was good to thinking on how we do it, so we wanted to use many furniture on the stage, we only wanted to use some usable boxes to the stage and just visual art in the background to make the feelings of the scenes. Thanks, so my next question would go for both of you, actually. Could you please share a few sentences about your artwork, what are your principles when creating art, what is your art, Cree? Okay, so what I think is very important for me and also for in a very general to show like different perspectives, so we never want to show just one perspective or to be a tool of just one ideology, but to show like that life is very diverse and also Roma communities and majority can be very diverse and all decisions can have different aspects, but it's always important to show the values, but also the disadvantages of any situation, so not to paint black and white situations. Maybe this is important for me, mostly the same as independence theater and personality, if I work as a director or if I work as an actor too, I would like to work not just for the art, I would like to do it for the message of the show, for the message of the story. This is what is the most important to me. So I think I wouldn't able to work as an actor at all in my life because I don't want to stay on the stage just because I would like to be an actor to be a celebrated actor. I would like to be an artist who wanted to say something for the something for general. Thank you. I would go with this on and it's this question is to Tommy, but more to feel free to add your thoughts if you if you would like. So Tommy, what does Roma theater mean to you? Do you consider it necessary for Roma theater makers to have their own institutions? For me, the Roma theater, it means there is some Roma people in the theater group, in the artistic group. And it is it is a good if the writer or the director is a Roma, but it not so it is not not not not it is not the most important for me. The first, first important message, as I said earlier, how it works for if it goes from Roma community, the story, the message and work together Roma and non-Roma artists. This is the idea for me. So I prefer work mixed Roma and non-Roma artists together because for me, it's closer to the mainstream theater artists or any artistic way. So I will be happy. I would be glad if it if the Roma theater goes to the mainstream theater or Roma art goes to the mainstream art. So I think it's most important to look to the to the performances, to the stories, to the artistic as an art, art object, art story, theater play, not just Roma art, not not Roma theater play. At first, the coming home girl, for example, the story about the girl, about the young girl. So it can be at first woman's story. And this is the second way, if I'm thinking on this girl is a Roma girl in Hungary, but it's at first it can be a girl story. So it's the best way it goes into the mainstream artistic way. Thanks. Marci, do you have something to add? Yeah, just very shortly, maybe that this is important, this culture of mainstreaming, so not to keep the Roma art in a culture ghetto or slum, but it's only presented in Roma events or in different places. And we think it's also important to cooperate with Roma and Roma people together, but it's important to have a decision making position that Roma people like director or writer, so not just actors, not just, but also the ones who figure out the whole concept of the story. Thank you. I think it's super important that these points that you both of you raise. Okay, so lastly, my question would go to both of you in general about your future plans or goals regarding the career and also Marci regarding independent theater. So maybe Marci, you could start or Tommy or Okay, so regarding independent theater or maybe all these Roma heroes initiative and frame of this retrospective is also organized. It's important to be of the bigger and stronger network of European Roma theaters because together all the initiatives can be stronger and to be of the also visible cultural heritage because the theater dies from day to day. But if you can record it and see it also for the next generation, it's very important and also to start corporations and create new place. We always focus in the lots of also focus in the future. I think on social issues and we are planning to have more use, use plays so targeting use or children because we think that this is the target group which can be raised the burners much better than the adults. So we will do probably this kind of performance beside our educational work. Thank you. And as a writer Marci in your career or professional work artwork because you mentioned independence. Yeah, I'm usually interested in in stories which come next to me so or which came to me so I will see but I'm new dramas or work as a drama to go to another place. We'll see you. Thank you. Tell me in my plan, I would like to make some educational programs in the future for maybe for these plays what what about Marci's talking and I would like to make I would like to make us pray a story about about my life about my last few days because it was a strong, strong period of my life. So as an artist, as an independent artist, I would like to work on this because it would be important to me to make my next step in my life. So at first, I would like to work on my past stories, stories of women in my life, in my past. And in my in my mind, I would like I would like to make it with another theater group with a corporation with the Jonathan theater because it could be interesting if I if I talking about my stories from my view, and it would be nice if the other theater group could talk about this story too, but not my point of view, but the women's women point of views. So it would be interesting if it goes six minutes in a week. And in the other other plans as I have, it's so open. So I can I try to be open many opportunities in my life. I would like to make theater plays as a director if I if I find some chance to do it. Or sometimes I would like to play as an actor too, mostly the same situation as I said, that kind of theater, which which talks something important topics, which is which is important to me. He talks about maybe maybe make some changes in the minds. Thank you. Do you have anything to add that you forgot what you wanted to say? And then I just didn't let you. Okay. Then thank you for the discussion. Thank you. Thank you for you. And now you can see the performance called Camille Unger directed by Thomas Segebi and written by Martin E. Leish. Enjoy the show. Okay. Bye bye.