Ella Veres ArtVentures

Romanian Version

Please join us in our celebration of remarkable Romanian life stories.

On April 15^th, 2011 at 6:30 pm we’ll present for the first time to New York audiencesa dramatic reading of

This Also Passed

The Inspiring Story Of WW II VeteranTeodor Bodea

by Ella Veres

at the Ana Cristea Gallery in Chelsea

521 West 26th Street bet. 10&11 Aves. [E, C trains to 23^rd St. stop]

This is a fundraising event

$10 minimum donation

Also traditional Romanian food will be available for purchase.

To listen to the beginning of this text, please click on our soundcloud link here.

To purchase in advance our $15 book  or CDs, please email to ella@ellaveres.com

Author’s Note:

In the Spring of 2009, during one of my field trips to Transylvania, my old homeland, I interviewed people about their lives. One of them was Mr. Teodor Bodea. I found him during a short stay in the village of Sînmihaiul Almaşului. He was known for his willingness to talk about his war experiences. We had several meetings, both that year and in the Summer of 2010, and yes, dear Mr. Bodea could talk anyone under the table.

His exquisite recounting of his war odyssey that took him from his village to Bucharest, then Moldavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Germany Austria and back is remarkable. His generosity of spirit and his vivid memory make his wonderful recollections a treasure of emotional reflections. He’s not afraid to talk about his experiences and feelings. Amazingly, he didn’t clam up, in spite of seeing death and horror, he was willing to talk with wisdom and humor. He never ceased to be loyal to the place he was born, and he never tired of appreciating the generosity of kind hearted people he found along his journey.

He survived the absurdity and cruelty of Communism, continuing to be fair to his family as they became greedier and greedier, in spite of the sacrifices he made for them.

I share his words because he is an inspiration to me, and I hope he will be for others. His narrative shook me and stayed in my heart. In this age of pervasive corruption, greed, cynicism and disloyalty, I find his nobility, integrity, dedication to hard work, and responsibility to his family, nurturing and bolstering.

The text will soon be performed in Romanian in Cluj Napoca. As of today pieces shall be radio broadcast on blogtalkradio.com on the Ella Veres Show, and on Radio Cluj in Romania.

We’ve already made an audio recording here in New York City. And we’re looking forward to publishing a bilingual limited edition.

Eventually, we’d like to have a theater production both here and in Romania. I also think it would make an exciting and beautiful movie.

Please give your support to finalize this project. Until now, we worked on a voluntary basis, through everybody’s generosity, but to take it to the next level we need your support.

Ella Veres is a writer/image maker/performer from Transylvania, Romania currently living in New York City. Her artistic and social activism take her often to Transylvania. During her trips there, she gathered a wealth of material based on interviews with people from all walks of life. Some interviews she processed and had dramatic readings both in New York City through the various theaters she is affiliated with and in Cluj-Napoca through the Babeş-Bolyai University, Theater and Television Department.

This Also Passed is part of a collection of pieces based on interviews of everyday people who the author thinks can bring hope through their exemplary, dignified lives.

She heads her own company, Transylvanian ArtVentures. www.ellaveres.com

Lennart Vretholm, actor, musician and composer, has been performing new scripts at various Brooklyn public libraries on a monthly basis. He’s been part of the acting scene since the roaring sixties.

At a variety of Brooklyn bookstores, he reads poetry and sets poetry to music. He has performed works of Shaw, Wilde, and Barrie with A Company of Players in Manhattan and performed roles in a variety of pieces at Cornelia Street Café, St. Clement’s and at St. Peter’s at Citicorp. On YouTube, you will find his portrayal of Lee Iacoca, a former Chrysler CEO, speaking on national leadership.

For more info:

ellaveres@gmail.com • 917 620 9782 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            917 620 9782      end_of_the_skype_highlighting • P.O. Box 180 New York, NY 10108 skype: ella.veres • www.ellaveres.com