Dr. Catalina Florina Florescu

Short bio: 七転び八起き.
M-am născut într-o zi de duminică. Sunt soarele care aduce lumină şi caldură. ☀️ Fireşte, mă ard!

A tad elaborate version:
I came to the States to experiment with exile. I came here to see how it feels to be dual. I was born in Romania. I earned my Bachelor’s from University of Bucharest, Romanian Literature (major), American Literature (minor); I hold a Master’s and a PhD in Comparative Literature from Purdue University (specializations: comparative theatre & medical humanities).  I am grateful that along my journey I met incredible professors: Elizabeth K. Mix, Floyd Merrell, Keith Dickson, and Thomas Adler.

At Pace Univ., I teach undergraduate, honors, interdisciplinary courses in theater, cultural studies, cinema, and writing. At Stevens Institute of Technology, I teach "Writing & Speaking for Academic Purposes" to international, graduate students.

I am a published author: Transacting Sites of the Liminal Bodily Spaces (literary criticism; medical humanities); Disjointed Perspectives on Motherhood (mothers in literature & motion picture; feminist criticism), exhibited at the MLA, Chicago; Of Silences (philosophy; theater; art). Transnational Narratives in Englishes of Exile (cultural and literary criticism; immigration; Englishes and plurality) was exhibited at the MLA'18, followed by book launches at the U of Chicago and at Columbia U. 2017 marked my debut in poetry with The Night I Burned My Origami Skin, poems read at Symposia Bookstore and showcased at the Poets House, New York, and the Philadelphia Writers’ Conference. In Romanian, my debut was a memoir, Inventing Me/Exercitii de retrait, book launch at Craiova. Tracus Arte published the Romanian version of the plays, Teatru. Their English version was published in 2019 by NoPassport Press, ed. Caridad Svich. "Female Playwrights and Applied Intersectionality in Contemporary Romanian Theater" (Routledge) was released in December, and reviewed in World Literature Today. "Map of T/Errors" is going to be my first single-published play.

"Mia" had a reading at the Romanian Cultural Institute NYC and a guest speaker event at Harvard. In 2019, the play had a reading with a mixt cast at LPAC. With "Mia" I went to present at NYU during its annual Drama Therapy conference. "Mia" had its world premiere at HERE: Arts Center, New York (2021).  “Suicidal Dog & Laika,” had a staged reading at TheaterLab in NYC. The play had a talk in Berlin entitled "Playing a Game Called History." The play went to London where it had a reading at the Finnish Institute. In December 2019 the play was part of Testimony in Practice at the U of Birmingham. The play had its world online premiere with a cast from the US, UK, and Romania. On the day of the US 2020 Presidential Election, it had a live reading.  “The After/Tastes of Life" had a dramatic reading at the Museum of Romanian Literature in Bucharest and a talk at the Canadian Museum of Language.  "Am aflat ... acum" won the second prize at the 2019 National Comedy Competition. Its world premiere took place in Constanta (Romania). "Femeia care tot uita sa se nasca" was a finalist in the National Play of the Year Competition UNITER (Romania). It had a staged reading during Festivalul de Literatura (Iasi)."La Tiza," part of Voices on the Move: Writing by and about Refugees was read professionally during the Valdez Last Frontier Theatre Conference ('21) and at Yun Theatre in Seattle ('23). "Snowdrops and Chlorine" had its world premiere via a small portion from an AFCN grant. Like "Mia," it is part of STAGING BREAST CANCER TRILOGY. "Cliffhanger" had its world premiere via Women in Theater (Theater Y Project) and a professional production for NYC Short Plays Festival. "Cantec de leagan pentru Alexandra/ A Lullaby for Alexandra" was created to be part of the United Nation Women's 16 days campaign. "Unpack" made its debut during the International Stage on Screen Festival, Santa Clarita ('21). "Woman, a Choreopoem (or, That Time when Michelle Obama & I Had Da Hong Pao Tea)" had its world premiere at the Barons Court Theatre in London. "Sans Me" was my first commissioned play about lucid dreams and part of Science in Theatre festival. "Cancer, Choreographed" had its world premiere in 2023 (NYC-Bucharest-Cluj-Timisoara). "Moss" was performed in '20 and '24 and it focuses on LGBTQ. "The Phone Call" was performed during Queens Festival '23. "Map of T/Errors" will be read during the International Voices Festival in Chicago in '25.

If I were to reduce myself to two words those would be iktsuarpok and enthousiasmos, in Inuktitut and Greek, respectively. Obviously, what is not said remains to be unveiled at intervals. If patient. PS: If I write to you "bluntly," that may not be exactly the case, but a consequence of having a brain that is complex on account of having a disability. Do not judge. This "book" has loose covers that dissolve whenever I please.

http://www.catalinaflorescu.com/
Supervisors: Floyd Merrell, Elizabeth K. Mix, Keith Dickson, and Thomas Adler