Saviana Stanescu

Saviana Stanescu is a Romanian-born award-winning playwright, poet, and scholar who serves as a tenured Associate Professor and Chair of Theatre Studies at Ithaca College's School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. She has a distinguished career spanning both academic and artistic domains, with productions of her work presented internationally and across the United States. Her creative practice focuses on the immigrant experience, contemporary theatre, and re-imagining classical works through modern lenses.

Dr. Stanescu earned her MA in Performance Studies and MFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts (as a Fulbright fellow), and completed her PhD in Theatre Studies at the National University of Theatre & Film in Bucharest, Romania. Her educational background reflects her dual expertise in both Eastern European theatrical traditions and contemporary American theatre practices.

Her research interests center on playwriting, contemporary theatre and performance, script analysis, re-imagining the classics, devised theatre, and writing/performing the immigrant experience. She has developed innovative courses exploring Performing Autobiography, Performative Writing, Theatre & Feminism, and Contemporary Women Playwrights. Her scholarly work consistently bridges academic theory with practical theatrical creation, often drawing from her own experiences as an immigrant to the United States.

Stanescu's creative output reveals a consistent thematic focus on cultural identity, political commentary, and the immigrant experience within American society. Her works often employ experimental forms and multilingual elements while maintaining strong narrative structures. The evolution of her work demonstrates increasing sophistication in blending Eastern European theatrical traditions with contemporary American experimental theatre practices.

• New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Script
• UNITER Best Romanian Play of the Year
• Marulic Prize for Best European Radio drama
• Indie Theatre Hall of Fame induction
• Indie Theatre Person of the Year (2010)
• Fulbright Fellowship
• John Golden Award for excellence in Playwriting

As an educator, Stanescu has mentored numerous emerging theatre artists through her teaching positions at multiple institutions. She has received significant grant support including NYSCA playwright-in-residence funding with Women's Project and TCG fellowship support through the Lark Play Development Center. Her artistic leadership extends to her role as Director of Eastern European Exchange for The Lark Play Development Center.

Stanescu founded and serves as Artistic Director of 'Immigrant Artists and Scholars in New York' (IASNY), curating programs including 'New York with an Accent', 'Global Poetry Series', and 'LIBERTY's DAUGHTERS - Immigrant Women's Monologues.' She is also the curator of playgroundzero, the new play readings series of the experimental theatre festival undergroundzero in NYC. These initiatives demonstrate her commitment to creating platforms for underrepresented voices in the theatre community.