Pe limba ta
In Your Own Language
Author(s): Viorel Cojanu, Radu Apostol, Mihaela Michailov, Cristina Gîrniceanu, Cosmin Costache
Contributor(s): Bogdan Slăvescu (Photographer)
Subject(s): Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts
Published by: Asociatia Culturala REPLIKA
Keywords: Inclusion; Deaf Culture; Romanian Sign Language (LSR); Accessibility; Integrated Theatre; Co-creation; Educational Inequality; Representation; Bilingual Performance; Artistic Research
Summary/Abstract: Pe limba ta is a hybrid book that accompanies the 2025 theatre production created by the Centrul de Teatru Educațional Replika in Bucharest. It combines essays, personal testimonies, contextual studies, and the full dramatic script. The book documents a artistic research project focused on Deaf and hard-of-hearing young people, their lived experiences in the Romanian education system, and the creation of a bilingual performance in Romanian and Romanian Sign Language (LSR).„Pe limba ta” is a hybrid book that accompanies the 2025 theatre production created by the Centrul de Teatru Educațional Replika in Bucharest. It combines essays, personal testimonies, contextual studies, and the full dramatic script. The book documents a artistic research project focused on Deaf and hard-of-hearing young people, their lived experiences in the Romanian education system, and the creation of a bilingual performance in Romanian and Romanian Sign Language (LSR).„Pe limba ta” is a hybrid book that accompanies the 2025 theatre production created by the Centrul de Teatru Educațional Replika in Bucharest. It combines essays, personal testimonies, contextual studies, and the full dramatic script. The book documents a artistic research project focused on Deaf and hard-of-hearing young people, their lived experiences in the Romanian education system, and the creation of a bilingual performance in Romanian and Romanian Sign Language (LSR).
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-973-0-43092-9
- Page Count: 84
- Publication Year: 2025
- Language: Romanian
„Pe limba ta” – un spectacol despre istorie, identitate și comunicare
„Pe limba ta” – un spectacol despre istorie, identitate și comunicare
(In Your Language – A Performance about History, Identity, and Communication)
- Author(s):Cristina Gîrniceanu
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):Language and Literature Studies, Fine Arts / Performing Arts
- Page Range:7-9
- No. of Pages:3
- Keywords:Deaf education; Romanian Sign Language (LSR); Inclusive theatre; Gestural performance; Representation; Co-creation; Accessibility; Deaf youth; Cultural inclusion; Educational theatre
- Summary/Abstract:This chapter offers a reflective and pedagogical perspective on the creation of Pe limba ta, a bilingual theatre performance developed with Deaf and hard-of-hearing students from the Special School “Sfânta Maria” in Bucharest. Drawing from over twenty years of teaching experience, the author describes how communication, trust, and multimodal expression lie at the heart of both Deaf education and theatrical collaboration. The chapter recounts the evolution of the gestural theatre troupe Necuvinte, the international contexts in which the young performers first worked, and the long-term partnership with the Replika Educational Theatre Center. Pe limba ta is portrayed as an inclusive artistic project that brings together spoken Romanian and Romanian Sign Language (LSR), professional actors and Deaf youth, past and present. Through historical references to early 20th-century Deaf education and an analysis of the contemporary challenges faced by students, the chapter highlights the transformative power of co-creation, accessibility, and representation. Ultimately, it argues that the performance is not only an artistic achievement but also a necessary social gesture that makes visible a community too often rendered invisible.
Pe Limbile Noastre
Pe Limbile Noastre
(In Our Languages)
- Author(s):Radu Apostol, Mihaela Michailov
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Language and Literature Studies, Fine Arts / Performing Arts
- Page Range:11-17
- No. of Pages:7
- Keywords:Deaf culture; Romanian Sign Language (LSR); Integrated theatre; Co-creation; Artistic research; Representation; Accessibility; Theatrical methodologies; Participatory documentation; Bilingual performance
- Summary/Abstract:This chapter examines a two-year artistic research project developed by the Replika Educational Theatre Center, focused on Deaf and hard-of-hearing young people and the creation of the bilingual theatre production Pe limba ta. Combining participatory documentation, situated pedagogy, and co-creation, the authors describe how the rehearsal room became a space of linguistic negotiation, cultural translation, and ethical reflection on representation. The chapter details the process of adapting theatrical methodologies—Brecht’s Gestus, Chekhov’s psychological gesture, and Stanislavski’s tools—to the visual-kinesthetic logic of Romanian Sign Language (LSR). It also highlights the challenges of translating concepts without existing LSR equivalents, leading to collaborative sign creation with Deaf performers. Through historical context (e.g., the case of Nicaraguan Sign Language), reflections on “nothing about us without us,” and practical experimentation without an onstage interpreter, the authors argue that integrated theatre can generate new aesthetic forms while supporting cultural visibility. The chapter concludes by emphasizing patience, attentiveness, and ethical responsibility as foundations for inclusive artistic practice.
Pe Limba Ta – O Întâlnire
Pe Limba Ta – O Întâlnire
(In Your Language – An Encounter)
- Author(s):Viorel Cojanu
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Language and Literature Studies, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Sociology of Art
- Page Range:19-23
- No. of Pages:5
- Keywords:Integrated theatre; Romanian Sign Language (LSR); Scenic translation; Actor training; Accessibility; Deaf and hard-of-hearing performers; Co-creation; Third space; Intercultural communication; Bilingual performance
- Summary/Abstract:This chapter offers a reflective account of the artistic process behind the bilingual performance Pe limba ta, created at the Replika Educational Theatre Center. Drawing on the author’s experience as a professional actor working alongside Deaf and hard-of-hearing performers, the text explores how rehearsals became a dynamic space of translation, negotiation, and mutual discovery. The chapter describes the challenges of transforming the traditional table read into a complex act of scenic translation into Romanian Sign Language (LSR), requiring the collaborative invention of visual metaphors and new signs. It also situates the process within broader theories of integrated theatre, accessibility, and actor training, referencing concepts such as the theatrical laboratory, cultural encounter, and the “third space.” Through these reflections, the chapter argues that accessibility can become not only an ethical obligation but also an aesthetic principle that reshapes the actor’s craft. Ultimately, Pe limba ta emerges as an encounter between worlds—spoken and signed, auditory and visual—revealing new possibilities for communication, representation, and inclusive performance practice.
O Viață Dedicată Semnelor: Contribuția la Spectacolul „Pe limba ta”
O Viață Dedicată Semnelor: Contribuția la Spectacolul „Pe limba ta”
(A Life Dedicated to Signs: Contribution to the Performance In Your Own Language)
- Author(s):Cosmin Costache
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Language and Literature Studies, Fine Arts / Performing Arts
- Page Range:25-26
- No. of Pages:2
- Keywords:Romanian Sign Language (LSR); Deaf community; Accessibility; Integrated theatre; Scenic translation; Linguistic consultancy; Co-creation; Deaf representation; Inclusive performance; Visual-gestural communication
- Summary/Abstract:This chapter presents the perspective of Cosmin Costache, an authorized Romanian Sign Language (LSR) interpreter and educator, whose professional trajectory informs his contribution to the bilingual theatre production Pe limba ta. Drawing on two decades of experience across education, television, and religious interpretation, the author reflects on the complexity of cultural and linguistic accessibility for the Deaf community. His role in the performance involved not only interpreting but also serving as a linguistic consultant, ensuring the fidelity, emotional accuracy, and theatrical coherence of the translation into LSR. The chapter details the collaborative process undertaken with Deaf performers and the Replika team, including extensive documentation, cross-referencing of sign language dictionaries, and the creation of new signs when Romanian resources proved insufficient. It highlights the challenges of adapting a spoken-language script to a visual-gestural medium and emphasizes the ethical responsibility of representing Deaf voices from within the community. Ultimately, the chapter frames the performance as a model of authentic inclusion, showing how integrated artistic practice can expand access, visibility, and expressive agency for Deaf youth.
Pe limba ta - piesa de teatru
Pe limba ta - piesa de teatru
(In Your Own Language – The Play)
- Author(s):Mihaela Michailov
- Language:Romanian
- Subject(s):Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts, Literary Texts, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Drama
- Page Range:27-58
- No. of Pages:32
- Keywords:Deaf theatre; Romanian Sign Language (LSR); Bilingual performance; Educational inequality; Representation; Oralism vs. sign language; Self-advocacy; Integrated theatre; Autobiographical performance; Inclusive education
- Summary/Abstract:This chapter presents the full script of Pe limba ta, a bilingual theatre production that combines Romanian spoken language and Romanian Sign Language (LSR) to explore the lived experiences of Deaf and hard-of-hearing young people in Romania. The play interweaves autobiographical fragments, historical reconstruction, and fictional scenes centered on a Deaf girl, Irina, whose struggle for self-expression unfolds between family pressure, restrictive school policies, and the systemic marginalization of sign language. Through the dynamic presence of the “Imaginary Friend,” the script stages an inner dialogue between silence and voice, gesture and sound, imagination and reality. Historical episodes—such as the 1921 inauguration of a school for Deaf girls and the impact of the 1880 Milan Conference—are placed in dialogue with present-day educational inequalities, highlighting the persistence of oralist ideologies. The final scene opens toward a collective vision of an accessible and dignified future, advocating for LSR-based education, adapted examinations, and structural reform. The play functions both as artistic work and as a political statement about representation, inclusion, and the right to one’s own language.
