Artistic Statement

Artistic Statement

As PLAYWRIGHT my work ranges from dystopian, comedy, political, family drama, the absurd, and historical, in the form of 10 minute plays, one-acts and full-length. My plays explore such issues as: being part of the Tamil minority in civil war-torn Sri Lanka, the ambiguity of dreams and reality when diagnosed with a debilitating mental illness, exploring how dictatorship is sustained by the passivity of citizens and how dangerous revolution can be if religion is involved, and how Nazi concentration camps were taken over by the conquering Soviet army and used as internment camps after WWII - among many other topics. I also write spoken word poetry (see my book "Green Horses on the Walls) and essays, as well as my most recent book about Romanian fascism (see bio!). I am multilingual and write creatively in English, Romanian, German, French, and Bislama (South Pacific pidgin).

My ARTIST MANIFESTO guiding my way since 2009: I am fundamentally an artist who loves to learn. I come from a family of dreamers on my mom’s side and a family of thinkers on my dad’s. My friends and family can tell you that I am much more openly a dreamer, but you will find Kant or Susan Sontag under my pillow. I am a Romanian-American woman and I love to dance.

Balancing my passions for creating and study has been an ongoing process. Thus I wear many hats: playwright, actress, director, researcher, dramaturg, teacher, producer, translator, author, eternal student, feminist, yogist and wandering poet.

My mother taught me to question the status quo and my father taught me to get good grades. After an intense period of rebellion, I achieved a degree of academic success I never thought possible and this enabled me to live the dynamic journey I have these past few years. For this chance I have been given I am and will be forever grateful.

Now I am embarking on the next step, post-PhD. It’s murky, it’s nebulous. It’s like closing your eyes and seeing all the colored bright lights of possibilities and not knowing which one to reach towards next. I am excited.

I know I want to create. I know I love to listen. And I know we have so much to learn from each other.

*Please visit my website: cristinaabejan.com if you are interested in an artistic/creative collab!*