Good practice:

Shepherd’s wedding

Shepherd’s Wedding is a theater play played by the villagers from Rasinari with great success in the ’50. The shepherd's wedding is a creation of C. D. Lubinschi, being staged with musical illustrations. The author, also a local, wrote this theater play especially for the Folk Ensemble from Rășinari, a dance group with old traditions in the artistic field dating back in 1884. The authenticity of the theater play and especially the authenticity of the songs, staging and the roles play was confirmed by obtaining the State Award in 1957, in Bucharest.
For 60 years this theater play was forgotten but it was again brought to life in 2017 by the villagers. The play was again a great success. The play is special due to the fact that it gathers villagers with ages between 12 and 70, meaning that children, parents, grandchildren, and grandparents from the community are all part of the play. The play it’s a great example of a mountain community that unites people of different ages for renascence an old pastoral wedding tradition. Through the play, the public discover old pastoral customs, superstitions of the mountain community, as well as elements of traditional clothing, traditional songs and stories.
The play reached its objective of bringing to life an old tradition. The ‘actors’ from the village gather once a week for rehearsals. The play is being staged in unconventional places such as old farmhouses, market places and so on.

For the organisation of the play every year an amount of approximate EUR 1.000 is being spent, out of which 90% is public financing and 10% private contribution. The public pay a symbolic entrance fee. The actors from the village of Rasinari are all volunteers.

Reviving an old tradition had a great success from its edition in 2017. The community was involved and more that 400 people participated at the first show. The following shows had in general 200 participants. Many media appearances occurred at local, regional and national level.
The event it’s a good example in what regards the revival of an old mountain tradition and bring it in attention of the general public and an example of good collaboration between local authority and local NGOs.

The main challenge encountered was to set up a stage for the play. We succeeded in solving this issue by working with a local NGO that has a theater director with experience in organizing events in unconventional places.

The event represents an example of good practice on how to revive an old theater play and involve the entire mountain community in a cultural activity.
The Shepherd's wedding play brings together all the community. Children and grandparents play together on the same stage. Around 40 ‘actors’ with age from 12 to 70 are involved in this play that brings to life stories, legends and superstitions related to ancestral mountain pastoral life. The play is a great way to show off the beautiful traditional clothing of the shepherds in the mountains in Southern Transylvania.
The theater play is organised by a local NGO that has a theater director in collaboration with the local authority for the benefit of all the community and the visitors of the region. The play is a good example in what regards using cultural heritage in developing sustainable development of a region.