Grand Prize for Young Actor Gala - HOP, won by the actress Laura Gabriela Oana

The "Stefan Iordache" prize, the Grand Prize of the 25th edition of the Young Actor Gala - HOP, was won by actress Laura Gabriela Oana, aged 24, from Baia Mare, a graduate of Babes-Bolyai University from Cluj-Napoca, class of 2020.

Laura Gabriela Oana was present in the Individual section with the show "Ladies from Brunch" from the musical "Company", and in the Group section with the show "(Another) Musical!" from the musical "Something Rotten!".

"You are a revelation, you are the total actor. A wonderful group with voices, with talent, with ambition, with a lot of balance, respect and discipline. We congratulate you and don't forget that you won the 'Stefan Iordache' award," theater critic, Marina Constantinescu, when he handing the trophy on Saturday evening.

The young actress thanked for the chance to participate in the HOP Gala and for the experience she enjoyed during the contest.

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart, first of all to the jury that awarded me this award, the Romanian Association of Theatre Artists (UNITER), it was an honor and I felt a great responsibility to be in front of you in these three evenings. Thank you, thank you, thank you Razvan Mazilu for agreeing to be the director of the HOP Gala and because you proposed this theme exactly when I needed it, neither sooner nor later, and because this week I had the chance to work with you, with Maria, to have the meetings on that I had with my colleagues, to benefit from part of the experience that you shared, for the meetings that I had", said the winner of the Grand Prize of the HOP Gala.

The Grand Prize of the Gala is awarded in memory of Stefan Iordache, who was a member of the jury at several editions of the HOP Gala, a close friend of this event and a supporter of young people at the beginning of their careers. If initially, starting from the 2009 edition, it was awarded for the best actor in the Individual section, starting from 2013, the organizers decided that the "Stefan Iordache" Award will become the Grand Award of the Gala.

Present at the event, the chairman of UNITER, set designer Dragos Buhagiar, said that the idea of proposing Razvan Mazilu as artistic director of the HOP Gala was a very good one.

"I am very happy that our idea of proposing Razvan Mazilu for the Gala worked, because it worked to the full. I witnessed an explosion of energy. I think Razvan Mazilu knows how to push buttons, he has a real talent for mobilizing and involve emotionally, body and soul, the young actors. I think it was a good decision by UNITER and the UNITER Senate, because it seems that theater directors in Romania want the presence of this genius in their theaters more and more often. The musical is a genre that sells very well, it's a genre that the public receives with great joy. I'm probably also thinking in the social and political context, because we're not living in very pleasant times, I think that people need to they get, they need this energy that goes beyond the ramp. The musical offers this type of energy, it offers a type of taking people out of their worries, from the everyday, it's a genre that is more and more present on the stage, and I think that this thing must be looked at seriously, pen because there is no musical school in Romania yet, we don't know what the future has in store for us," said the chairman of UNITER, set designer Dragos Buhagiar, for AGERPRES.

He stated that "there were some very good days, and all the rehearsing, all the attempts of the young actors were approached with great seriousness", and during the three days of the gala, "some young people with potential" could be seen.

The chairman of UNITER urged the young winners to enjoy the prizes, but from the next day to forget and continue working.

"I received a lot of awards, but the next day I forgot because at some point this kind of recognition can confuse you. We have a path and we have to follow it. These awards fulfill a moment and we it gives satisfaction and maybe moments of happiness, but they are still some accessories. Our work is on the stage, I think we have to see each other, the road is very important, not the fact that you manage to reach a place, because many times they are pleasant and you stay there, you don't evolve anymore. (...) I think you have to go on the road all the time," said Dragos Buhagiar.

In the beginning of the Awards Gala, the chairman of UNITER also spoke about the artists from Ukraine who, because of the war, had to leave their native places. He also mentioned the humanitarian campaign "Romanian artists for Ukrainian artists", which took place between May 16 and June 15, and during which 17,900 euros were collected, money that was transferred to the account of the National Union of Theater Artists from Ukraine.

Also, Dragos Buhagiar read a letter of thanks sent by the head of the Department of the National Union of Theater Artists of Ukraine.

The artistic director of the Gala, the choreographer, dancer and director Razvan Mazilu, declared, for his part, that it was a gala full of emotion.

"It was a gala full of emotion, and because the musical means pure emotion, that's what I bet on. I hope that it's an emotion that these young people take with them and, at least, keep it with them for a few years. I tried to work concretely on certain moments, which we learned by staging genre shows. I also called other people who worked with them and we made some formative meetings, we called them, so that they leave with something extra and more chosen not to feel alone in this profession, this is very important, courage, the desire to throw yourself into the void without a net, to try untried things, to take risks, all these things are very important," Razvan Mazilu said for AGERPRES.

He admitted that in time some of the contestants who were present at the gala could end up in the shows they are performing.

"Sure, maybe they won't be in the next show, but in time, because it's also about an evolution that they have to have, a continuity, an exercise that they have to have, sure there are some personalities that interest me, which I can cast in a musical show, because they are very interesting personalities and with extraordinary potential," Mazilu added.

Razvan Mazilu revealed that for next year's edition, if he is also elected artistic director, the theme will also be musical.

"First of all, I hope to receive a new mandate because things must have continuity, I believe very much in continuity, and I am sure that maybe I would go again on the same musical theme, of course formulated differently and in a different direction, but with certainty in the idea of going further on this road," he also said.

The prize for the best actress in the Individual section was awarded to the actress Maria Grosu, aged 30, from Bacau, graduate of the Hyperion University in Bucharest, class of 2019. She presented the moment "Zuza from 14G" after "The girl in 14G" by Jeanine Tesori and Deck Scanlan.

The award was announced by Ioana Bogatan, the director of the "Prichindel" Puppet Theater from Alba Iulia, together with Ion Dumitrel, the president of the Alba County Council.

The prize for the best actor, Individual section, was not awarded.

The "Cornel Todea" award - The award for the best group of actors was awarded to the group of the performance "(another) Musical!", with Andrei Duţu, Dragoş Ioniţă and Laura Gabriela Oana. The award was announced by the chairman of UNITER, Dragos Buhagiar.

"Sica Alexandrescu" Award - The special award of the jury was awarded to the actress Cristina Danu for "Sexy" from the musical "Mean Girls" (Individual Section) and for "There's Gotta be Something Better Than This!" from the musical "Sweet Charity" (Group Section). The winner was announced by Aura Corbeanu, UNITER deputy chairman, and actor Petru Margineanu, the winner of the 2021 edition.

The Gala's jury included Marina Constantinescu - theater critic, Lucian Ionescu - actor, Elena Purea - actress, Carmen Stanciu - theater researcher and Lucian Varsandan - cultural manager.

The prize for performance, stage speech and body expression was awarded by the actress Dorina Lazar, the director of the Odeon Theatre, to the actor Tudor-Gratian Manea.

The award "1/10 for FILM at TIFF" was awarded by casting director Florentina Bratfanof to actress Sara Pongrac.

The public awards, decided after the vote on the website www.galahop.uniter.ro, were: for the best actress - Gabriela Porumbacu, for the best actor - Robert Agape and for the best group of actors - the show " I love you, but not you", supported by actors Eduard Crucianu, Andrei Margineanu, Mihai Andrei Pleşa, Sara Pongrac, Paul Stefan Tonca.

The anniversary edition of the Young Actor HOP Gala had the theme "Musical = Actor Total + Show Total".

The presenters of the HOP Gala 2022 were the actors Monica Odagiu and Alex Stefanescu.

The last day of the gala was opened with a musical moment in which all the contestants participated "Musical... show total!", followed by another musical moment supported by Lucian Ionescu and ended with the song "We are the champions" from the musical "We will rock you", performed by all the contestants.

A permanent program of UNITER, the Gala HOP is a competition that aims to promote and launch young graduates from higher artistic education. The first edition took place in 1998 under the direction of director Cornel Todea