Get to know the members of Dra.ma through the series
"In Conversation with..."
Andreea Helen David
Andreea is an actress and media producer, originally from Vaslui. She has lived in England for 13 years and has a career in film, TV and theater for over 10 years. Andreea made her debut in a Teatrul National London production in the play "An Inspector Calls" directed by Stephen Daldry, immediately following "The House of Bernarda Alba" where she played Adela. Several roles for British television in series such as Birds of a Feather ITV, Things not to say BBC 3 were followed in 2018 by a voice over role for Bohemian Rhapsody. Andreea produces projects such as the documentary "Series of Stories - Don't mention Dementia", the comedy "At first Sight" which premiered at Raindance Film Festival 2018, "3rd Degree". Andreea is currently working on the series "AB EXTRA- From Outside". Other roles worth mentioning are the Tormented Citizen from "A Lost Letter" performed at the Romanian Cultural Institute London, Miriam in "Bout 2'" which was screened at the BFI London festival, Ana in "Ana, A legend" adapted by Cătălina Florescu after the poem "Meșterul Manole" and Eloise in "Screams from a marriage" for the 24h Moonlit Theater Festival in the US
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Beatrice Bowden
Beatrice is an actress, storyteller and piano and Romanian language teacher.
She graduated from Kingston College (University of West London) in 2016 with a BA in Acting for Stage and Media with the highest distinction (1st Class Honours).
She is also the co-founder of Eye Opening Productions, with whom she produced, among other things, a tour of a play she wrote, The Olympians, in 2018. Also in 2018 was on tour in Italy with a theater in education project organized by an Italian company. Eye Opening Productions is currently hard at work staging another original play. This time the play, which was nominated and awarded at theater festivals, is written by Ioana Goga, another Dra.ma member.
Over the years Beatrice has acted in a number of short films and independent and regional theater productions. In 2019, she collaborated with the Romanian Cultural Institute in London on a number of reading performances, including one directed by Chris Simion-Mercurian, in which she starred alongside Maia Morgenstern. In 2020 he played in a digital show, Suicidal Dog & Laika by Cătălina Florescu, produced by the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York. Beatrice most recently starred in Emma Dawson's Left, right, east, west at Kibo Productions' Reboot festival.
Beatrice is also the co-founder of the Make-believe Storytime project, a YouTube channel dedicated to children, where she reads original and illustrated stories for children aged 6-11.
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Ioana is an actress, writer, poet and director from Romania. She moved to London in 2014 to pursue a degree in drama and later a career in the industry. In 2016, she became one of the co-founders of the theater company Eye Opening Productions, and in 2018 she graduated from the Theater Arts and Cinematography courses at the University of West London. Also in 2018, her first piece - Love (to) Bits - was nominated for the "Best of the Fest" award and won the "Brighton Fringe B. Fest" award at the International Youth Arts Festival. In 2020, Ioana's second original piece won the "Best Solo Show" award given by Binge Fringe magazine in the online edition of the Paris Fringe festival.
Ioana Goga
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Nicoleta Marica
Nico has a degree in Acting from the University of Arts in Târgu-Mureș and a graduate of the MA in Acting at UNATC Bucharest.
Among the directors with whom he collaborated are: Mihai Măniuțiu, Jesus Del Cerro, Mihai Gruia-Sandu, Andreea Gavriliu, Ștefan Lupu, Luca Nicolaescu.
Recently he tried to dabble in the field of film production, but he likes to participate in acting workshops the most, being in a continuous search and professional development.
Olivia Negrean
Actress, Writer, Practitioner dra.ma and Co-founder of the theater company begin:begin Olivia is trained in physical theater and studied with Actors Class in London. Her first play, "Feast (a play in one cooking)", in which she plays the role of Ophelia, was performed at the International Shakespeare Festival in Gdansk, in the SzekspirOFF section, the York International Shakespeare Festival, the European Theater Festival Voila! London and at the Romanian Cultural Institute in London. As an actress, some of her roles: member of the ensemble in "Far Away" (Donmar Warehouse), "Bourne" (Vault Festival), the main role in the play "Ecaterina Teodoroiu" (Romanian Cultural Institute), Kate in Shakespeare's Women (Redbridge Drama Centre) and a young Mother Teresa in Andras Visky's The Unburied (Rose Lipman Building). Olivia is a collaborator of the Parrabbola theater company with which she participated in the last two editions of the International Shakespeare Festival in Craiova.
Stela Toba
Stela graduated from the Faculty of Theatre, within the Spiru Haret University Bucharest, majoring in Actor's Art. Wanting to explore the relationship with the theater in another direction, he followed the Master of Drama Therapy at Roehampton University in London.
She worked as a film, theater and TV actress in Romania and Great Britain. The most recent appearances were: Ana, in Memento Amare, directed by Lavinia Simina; the international production Lovebinge, directed by Simona Žemaitytė; Minor Planets, Chelsea Theatre, directed by Niki Orfanou.
As a drama therapist, she uses the therapeutic aspects of play, improvisation, stories, art, etc. to provide support to people facing emotional and mental difficulties. She has worked with children in schools with teenagers in the NHS, young people with disabilities and with adults.
Alex Elswood
Alex, 15, is Andrea's daughter and the inspiration for this project and associations.
Alex grew up in the UK and tried a career in theater and film, being drawn to the dramatic arts from an early age. Alex has written stories and film scripts as well as made films and even though she has no plans for a career in film or theater she is proud of them. She does dramatic arts at school as part of the curriculum, went to weekend workshops for many years and that is why her role in the Dra.ma association is as a consultant in the design of Dra.ma competitions and events. Alex wants all the chances and options she has to be valid for children and teenagers in Romania and for those from the Diaspora to access them.