Interview with Zoe Costache<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Everyone in the theater calls her Zoe or Misses Zoe. She\u2019s 53 and wants to retire from <\/i>Teatrul Foarte Mic (The Very Small Theatre). She worked at the wardrobe, at dressing room maintenance, and now she\u2019s a technical director and handles dressing room maintenance as well. She\u2019s very high-spirited and very observant. She\u2019s fond of every performance and she\u2019s very devoted to her job.<\/i><\/p>\n
When did you start working for Teatrul Foarte Mic?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
I was transferred here from Teatrul Masca. I had been working there for two years. The actors cried when I left. I came here at the end of 1998. I was pregnant. They assigned me straight to the dressing rooms, but there weren\u2019t as many performances back then. There were only two or three. Teatrul Mundi were staging their plays here, they\u2019d rented the hall. After I gave birth, someone else was given my job and when I returned after two years, I was assigned to the delivery service. I spent six months there and then they sent me to the wardrobe. My colleague, Petronela, fell down the stairs, at dressing room 2. She was in a hurry, she had work to do both upstairs and downstairs at the dressing rooms. Then Mr. Mandiuc, the one in charge of all administrative issues, called me and said: \u201cZoe, get dressed now and come to the dressing rooms.\u201d It happened during the staging of Paparazzi<\/b>. And I spent 11 years at the dressing rooms.<\/p>\n
Why did you leave Masca to go to Foarte Mic?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
My husband was working at Masca, too – as a technical director – and he was transferred to Foarte Mic. And he took me with him. What could he have done, leave me there?<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your work schedule? What exactly do you do?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
I do the washing, the ironing, I take care of all the changes done backstage and in the dressing rooms. If an actor has any modifications to make for a certain scene, I have to be prepared. I really enjoy working with actors, it\u2019s a nice atmosphere.<\/p>\n
Could you take me through one of your workdays? A show day, perhaps.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
I come in at around 14.30-15.00, because I have to do the ironing and get the costumes ready. Then I make coffee. By the time the actors arrive, I have everything ready. The performance starts at 19.00 and I have to let the public in \u2013 I\u2019m also the technical director now \u2013 and I make sure everything\u2019s running smoothly during the performance. Because I\u2019m also a technical director now, I have to take part in the rehearsals, as well [\u2026].<\/p>\n
Where did you work before coming to work in the theater?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
I completed ten school years. Well, actually, when I finished eighth grade, I registered with an agricultural school. I didn\u2019t like it there, I said to myself \u201cwhat am I gonna do, go in the fields on a tractor?\u201d My brother came to take me away and I came back to the village to go through ninth and tenth grade. [\u2026]<\/p>\n
What did you do after school?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n