 Welcome to the Roma Theatre Retrospective 2020, produced by the Interbunded Theatre Hungary for the Haoran Theatre Commons. Although Roma are the largest ethnic minority in Europe, they still experience high level of racism and have to deal with many societal issues. Additionally, 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 has been organized in every year since 2017. Some of the present artists and their work are introduced in our series. Today, my guest is Frantisek Balog, the writer and the performer of the play called The Roma from the Little Cat, or Enter the Majority, and David Popovic will be the translator. Hi, both of you. Okay, my first question would be simple. Could you please summarize very briefly what the play is about, how the idea came, what inspired you when you were writing it? Okay. Okay. Okay. The monodrama, The Cat, was created by very by accident. I often told my loved ones, my friends or colleagues, my stories from the orphanage, from a children's house where I grew up. They seemed incredible to them. They always told me to write it down. So I finally did it and that's how the monodrama, The Roma from the Cat, or Enter the Majority, was created. The production is about motivation. These are various stories of the Roma boy from the environment of an orphanage on children's house to his adulthood. It's about the integrity of the Roma into Majority throughout the various stories and encounters with people who influenced his life. And do you have a favorite part in the play because it is very close to you or because it was very challenging? My favorite scene is when I play my first meeting with my mother via Skype. It's very cold, but at the same time, it has its irony and teasing humor. It always freezes the audience, but also entertains them a bit. It's a catharsis moment for both me and the audience. Thank you. My next question would be who inspires you or who inspired or what motivated you during your life choosing your career? David, tell me if you can tell us what motivated you during your life, during your career, your leader, and so on. From a young age, I grew up in the children's group and our leader, Hela Drodlova, was also an extremely young soul. When she visited us on the way to change singing, dancing, and so on, she gave us beautiful, beautiful dance moves. It was very interesting for me and I played with her for a long time in a meeting which in Slovakia and in Czech Republic was very famous. It inspired me to become an artist and to learn the art of professionalism. I became an artist in three years and it remained the same until today. I am a member of the state of the world in Košice and I respect it for my work. I grew up in orphanage or children's homes, house from an early age. Our director, Eva Drodlova, was and is an extremely artistic soul. She has always guided us and part of art, we sang, danced, etc. She put us on music and theater lessons. I was very interesting and amused. I have long been a soloist of an ensemble that was famous in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. It inspired me to become an artist and devote myself to art professionally. I have been on stage since I was three years old and I still have it today. I am currently a member of the state theater in Košice and I consider it my peak. I am also grateful to God for my inspiring Eva Drodlova, who was the director of the children's home for 52 years. Thank you. And could you also please share a few sentences about your artwork? What is your art creed? What are your principles when you are creating art? And not just when you are creating art, but also when you are performing in your play? David. I would prefer to have my own institution, because that is what I am asking for. Okay, so I am a hero, so I look at art and art as an artist, as a hero. What do you think about art? Today, I started to work as a director in Košice, and I was a host of various plays, such as Herets in Slovakia and Zahranjiči. And I also had various films in Brakusk, Czech Republic and Slovakia. I was also a guest in Slovak series, and the main priority of my work is to be a hero. And pedagogical activity in the area of heroic art in the Umelec schools. Currently, I am also a Umelec pedagogue at the Umelec School, which is a very important part of my work, because I am not a student, but a student of mine. My principles in Umelec art are based on three words, and that is freedom, understanding and feeling. In Umelec art, we always present an understanding and then a sound, and a healthy arrangement for the problem of the type of creative activity. The understanding that is in Umelec art is based on freedom. Heroic art requires the freedom of the soul, so that it can release the natural sound of the quote, the expression, the movement and the interest of the heroic artists. I respect that for two reasons, in Umelec art and in Umelec art. I am an actor, so I look at the theatre and art mostly as a creative artist. Especially when it comes to theatre, so far I have performed in the various theatres as an actor in Slovakia and abroad. I have acted in the films in Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Sometimes I also guest start in a Slovak series. The main and the priority work is theatre, acting and pedagogical activities in the field of acting at art schools. Currently, I am also a teacher of art education at an art school, which is a very rare activity for me. As I realize here that I do not teach students, but students teach me. My principles of artistic creation in a theatre are based on three words, freedom, reason and emotion. In acting, I always promote reason and therefore logic and a healthy view of the issue of creative activity. Reason in the creative arts is related to freedom. The actor needs freedom in the soul in order to release the natural harmony of feelings, moods, movement and interesting acting elements. I consider it very important in the artistic creation and art. Thank you. And what does Roma theatre mean to you? Do you consider it necessary for Roma theatre makers to have their own institutions or what do you think about that? What does Roma theatre mean to you? Do you think there would be more institutions or institutions in Slovakia? Roma theatre is a very important role in culture. It is important for the development and the creation of culture, because it is part of Roma theatre in this country. Roma theatre is a very important element in the culture for me. It is extremely important for development and creation in a culture. It is part, not only in the country of the Roma theater, but part of world culture. It is a great heritage that we have the opportunity to present, develop. It is important the Roma institutions for culture are set up in order to create a dialogue between different cultures. Thank you. And my last question would be a simple one. What's your future plan or what are your goals regarding your career and also your life? David. My plans are in the bank. We will prepare a new monodrama in which I will play. It is an author's project called Monology Dictator. It is about the name of the Roma in some way. It is named after what it is. Once there was a nightler, then there was Charlie Chaplin, then there was a current politician and then there was a Roma himself. He became a politician, people, culture and the relationship between them. Then there was a project called Havera Noc. It is a psychological drama about two heroes. One is a Roma and the other is an operator. It is a mentally educated person who is a Roma, who leaves a lot of space and gives a lot of space to the fascists. And then the terror starts to look at him as if it were himself. I believe that everything will work out for you. It is also a part of the current Covid-19 situation. Our project is successfully supported. My plans are big. We will be preparing a new monodrama in which I will play. This is an author's project. We called him the monologue of the dictator. It is about transforming the Roma into several ways. It changed according to the time. Once to Hitler, then to Charlie Chaplin, later to the current politician and then to the Roma itself. It basically addresses the current state of politics, people, culture, relations between them. Another project will be Havera's Night. It is a psychological drama with a touch of humor. It is about two actors. One is Roma and his babysitter. He is a mentally disturbed boy who gets caught up in a large mess of something like fascists. And then the terror against his babysitter starts. I believe that we will be able to do all this. And despite the current Covid-19, we will launch our projects. This sounds very interesting project. I'm really looking forward to seeing once them. I'm very happy that it will be interesting. Thank you very much. And I really wish good luck for your plans and your goals in the future. Thank you very much. So, but before we end up the discussion, I just want to ask if there is something as you forgot to say, but you still want to mention because you think it's very important. Then, you know, I just want to give you a space or time for that now. We actually have time. When you forget to say something, you can say it. And so we just have time. You can do it. You can cooperate with the Christian community. With the local community. And I played their monogram there. RS9. Yes, I have a cooperation with the theater in Budapest. And I have in this theater my monogram RS6. RS9. RS9. And this is very important and interesting cooperation with this theater. And I will also say that in the next year I will create a new theater. It will be a Roman theater. It will be called Parno Calo. It is a white or black theater. And next year I will create my own theater, solo Roma theater for Roma actors. And his name will be Parno Calo. And he will have a Roma problematics in his place. And it will be, like we can see it in Budapest or online or what's the plan? Will we be able to see it online or in Budapest? I communicated with them. They are also interested in the monogram, the monogram of the dictator. But we talked about hosting the Hellwera at night. Yes, I was communicating with this theater. And he's interested in Hellwera's night. And monologue of dictator. Great. Okay, thank you. So then thank you for the discussion for both of you. Thank you very much. And now you can see the performance called The Roma from the Little Cat for Enter the Majority, written and performed by Rancisek Balog. Enjoy the show.