It all started with a slap. At least in my case. A slap that I received after a class mate had decided to stay in Denmark, a country we were visiting in an exchange summer program. After the slap, I was interrogated by Securitate and harassed that I would be expelled from school and my parents would lose their jobs. That was the summer of 1989. In 1998, I decided to leave Romania. Ever since then I have lived in the States, experimenting with exile, and being dual/or more. The play has been inspired by my experience in the ex-communist Romania, ex-soviet Russia, and questionable political practices in democratic societies. I have revisited the slap many times while composing the play. I had to because it was an abuse that ended my childhood. The slap taught me how to protect myself but also how to confront the abuse that exists in certain political discourses and practices so that the slap does not remain a personal encounter but is integrated in larger and more vibrant messages. Because I live in memories of a girl with a home in Romania and I live in the States now as a mature woman and educator, because I have spent my last 21 years in this complex state, the play reflects on that too. It had 4 stage readings, 3 in the States and one in London.
Here's its link from London: http://www.icr-london.co.uk/article/romanian-finnish-encounters-a-european-journey-through-culture.html