Sitting humbly in the dark theatre hall, her soul is flying with the playing of actors on stage as she has achieved communion with inspiration.

Antoaneta-Maria Stoyanova has been living her life between the family- owned book store in the village of Branipole near Plovdiv and theater halls. She has been entering theaters with awe and excitement ever since she saw Stanislav Stratiev's “Suede Jacket” in the Ivan Vazov National Theater in Sofia.

After that she has not been able to forget the specific aroma of theatre stage that reminds her of a church.

“The first time I received the chance to step on the big stage of the National Theater and take a look, I stepped there the way I would go in a church. It was just before the 20^th performance of Hushove in memory of great Bulgarian actor Petar Popyordanov. I felt an overwhelming emotion; I felt that actors leave their soul on stage.”

For seven years now, Antoaneta-Maria Stoyanova has been gathering theatrical pilgrims together – her group of traveling spectators towards the stages of the Bulgarian capital city has been steadily growing. The more people you share the magic with, the stronger and more beautiful the experience is.

She first began to take her friends to the theater, before nine people needed to hire a bus. Last month at the National Theater, 118 spectators led by Ms. Stoyanova arrived in Sofia. She is the one who organizes everything - tickets, transportation, etc. She often gives the revenue from the bookstore to finance the activity. And her devotion has not gone unnoticed. It's no accident that director Alexander Morfov gave her one of his "Askeer" awards as a gift with the words: “For the world you have been creating!” But Maria-Antoaneta says modestly she does not deserve it.

“Others are doing much greater things. I'm looking to get people to experience something real in this difficult time. When you see their joy –singing together in the bus on the way back home, the feeling is incredible and it lasts for a very long time. Weeks after the show people call me to thank me and say they have not experienced such magic before. There are people who are 50-60 years of age and they are doctors or lawyers, but they have not been to the Ivan Vazov National Theater. After the performance we often meet the actors and take photos with them.”

In her bookstore in Branipole, Antoaneta-Maria has arranged a memorial place called "Altar of Theater". There she keeps her photos with great Velko Kanev and Petar Popyordanov. After Popyordanov’s death, she started writing poems and dedicated drawings of him.

But who is the greatest one, according to her?

“No, there is no way - I accept them all as one. But I think director Alexander Morfov is really great and whoever had contact with him has seen that. No matter what some people might say – a show performed for 16 years straight in front of a full hall is something big. People just walk out shaking with emotion.”

After a few months, the theater pilgrims will nominate an actor for their fans’ award and are currently preparing for another trip to the theatre stage. There Antoaneta-Maria will be quietly watching in the dark hall. “I'm fine there. I'm very small to stand on stage,” she says.

English: Alexander Markov