FAUST

THE FAUST LEGEND   Who was FAUST?  Also called "Faustus" or "Doctor Faustus", the story of the German necromancer and astrologer who sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for knowledge and power, is one of the most durable legends in western folklore. There was an historical Faust. He died around 1540, leaving behind a tangled tale of sorcery and alchemy, astrology and sooth-saying, studies theological and diabolical, necromancy and excess. 
 FAUST in artistic works  Faust came to be remembered in legend as the representative of an age, which produced such occultists as Paracelsus and Nostradamus. Faust owes his enduring notoriety to the anonymous author of the first "Faustbuch", a collection of tales of the Magi (wise men skilled in science and the occult), which had been told since the middle Ages and featured such renowned "wizards" as Merlin, Albertus Magnus and Roger Bacon.    Thomas Mann used some of the passages verbatim for his 1947 novel "Doktor Faustus". The "Faustbuch" was swiftly translated and read throughout Europe. An English prose translation of 1592 was the likely inspirations for Marlowes famous play, which, for the first time, invested in the Faust legend with a tragic dignity.The German writer Gotthold Lessing undertook to bring Faustus to salvation in an unfinished play (c. 1784). Lessing, an enlightened rationalist, saw Faustuss pursuit of knowledge as a noble obsession and arranged for reconciliation with God. The outstanding chronicler of the Faust legend, J.W. Von Goethe, pursued this theme.     Goethes poem contains a wide range of epic, lyrical, operatic and ballet elements, exploiting an assortment of poetic styles, to present an immensely varied commentary which included elements of theology, philosophy, political economy, science, aesthetics, music and, of course, literature. In the end, God saves Faust by bringing about his purification and redemption. One idea animates Goethes "Faust". All human souls are called to exist and struggle within a constant state of "Becoming", a lifelong striving towards greater and greater realms of knowledge, action and feeling; and those who stay true to this call, even when they stumble into excesses and error will not go unrewarded by God. In fact, it is by right the Devils place to blind man, to the end that man might come unto God.  Later, Wagner would use Goethes lengthy yet brilliantly written poetic production as t5he text for an opera.Hector Berlioz was inspired by a French version of Goethes work to create his own dramatic cantata, "The Damnation of Faust", which was first performed in 1846 and is still regularly staged as an opera. Gounods "Faust", premiered in 1859, was based on part 1 of Goethes epic.   In the 19th and 20th centuries, many other writers sought, with limited success, to emulate Goethes salvation of Fausts soul, while others retained Marlowes grim finale.  In recent times, some have seen in the legend an equation of the dangers of seeking absolute knowledge and power in a nuclear age, which possesses absolute destructive capability. An earlier collage production of "Doctor Faustus" by Charles Marowitz compared Faustus to the architect of modern atomic weaponry, J. Robert Oppenheimer, giving expression to the widely held fear that the Faustian spirit of insatiable scientific enquiry has been given an all-too evident modern expression.  FAUST at TANDARICA Puppet Theatre Starting from the ideas which turned around Faustuss personality and around his legend and using them as a pretext, Gabriel Apostol, Ioan Brancu and Mariana Zaharia are building a performance -parable, FAUST, trying with the animation means to reinterpret the Faustian myth.The protagonists of the story are patients in a psychiatric hospital, who try to save themselves by assuming unconsciously the part of Faustus, Mephistopheles and Margarita.The conflict starts when each character begins to be aware of the role he performs.  GABRIEL APOSTOLHe graduated the Academy of Theatre and Film in 1994, section puppet art. Various grants at Charleville- Mezieres (1995), Brussels (shadow, 1997). Puppeteer representing the new generation is now hired at TANDARICA Puppet Theatre where re realized a lot of memorable parts such as: "The Assembly of Birds", "Puss-in-Boots", "Play Faust", "Sanziana and Pepelea", "The Fire Bird", "Pinocchio","Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves", etc. In 1998, he is the author of a project entitled "Wassilissa", an international co-production with "Ombres et Silhouettes" Theatre (Brussels, Belgium), and in 2002 he makes his debut at TANDARICA Puppet Theatre in directing " The Goat with three kids", a press and audience success, even abroad (Valencia, Spain). He obtained a prize for acting in 1999 at Constanta for the role Kascei ("The Fire Bird", directed by Irina Niculescu) and another prize for act in 2002, at Cluj-Napoca, during the Festival ANIMAFEST, for the leading part in "Puss-in- Boots. He is assistant lecturer at UNATC, section puppet art.  IOAN BRANCU He graduated in 1994 The Academy of Theatre and Film, section puppet art. Remarkable as puppeteer and mime he participated at various courses organized by Ildiko Kovacs and Liviu Matei. He worked as puppeteer at Timisoara Puppet Theatre where he realized important parts. From 1990 is hired at TANDARICA Puppet Theatre where he performed in: "The Assembly of Birds", "Sanziana and Pepelea", "Harap Alb", "The little Prince", "Bastien and Bastienne", "The Barber of Seville", "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves", etc. He directed " The cleverer Tailor", "The Dream" (together with Mariana Zaharia and Liliana Gavrilescu), "Pacala".In 1992 he received the Prize for best acting role at Constanta, and 1998 at Botosani, for the one man show " The story of a cuckoo clock".  He is assistant lecturer at UNATC, section puppet art.   MARIANA ZAHARIA From 1988 she is a puppeteer at TANDARICA Puppet Theatre where she realized a lot of important creations: Arlecchino in "Arlecchinos star", Isabela in "Il fortunate Arlecchino", "The Little Prince", "Cinderella", "Harap Alb", "Beauty and the Beast", etc.