Panel Title:

Environment and Theater

Speakers:

Sophia Eftychiadou, Theater Historian and Critic; Christina Chatzivasileiou, Theater Director-PhD in Theater Studies; Maria Mikedaki, Archaeologist-Assistant Professor of Ancient Theater, University of the Peloponnese

Language:

Greek

Collaboration with:

MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art

Additional activity:

Short optional tour of the 7th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art. STASIS/TAKING A STANCE along with the speakers (starting: 18:30, meeting point: MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art entrance, no entry fee)

Title:

Space as Dramaturg

Synopsis:

"The play is the space", said the great Italian director Luca Ronconi. How does space determine the dramaturgy of a performance? What are the site-specific endeavors and why do they still inflict upon us endless charm? And how can the natural and built environment be a source of inspiration, imagination, a truly heterotopian space that promotes the idea of utopia? Examples from the international and Greek stage will be facilitating the discussion.

Short bio:

Sophia Eftychiadou is a graduate with honors of the School of Drama, Faculty of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, with a postgraduate degree in Cultural Management at City University, London. She has collaborated as a theater historian with the National Theater, the Onassis Stegi, the Athens Festival, the Experimental "Art" Theater, the National Theater of Athens, the Municipal Theater of Kozani, the Municipal Theater of Ioannina. Her stable partner is director Eleni Efthimiou. She has also collaborated with Giannis Paraskevopoulos, Maria Maganari and Glykeria Kalaitzi. Since 2018 she has taken over the theatrical column at elculture.gr.

Title:

"I came back, but Ι am not home": The Cherry Orchard as Utopia

Synopsis:

The lecture will focus on the recording and shaping of the Cherry Orchard's* stage direction as a site-specific performance at Villa Kapantzis (MIET), exploring the union of dramaturgy, stage direction and natural landscape in crisis-ridden Greece. * The Cherry Orchard, dir. Christina Chatzivasileiou, Experimental "Art" Theater, Villa Kapantzis (MIET), 2013-2014.

Short bio:

Dr. Christina Chatzivasileiou is a freelance stage director with a PhD from the School of Drama, Faculty of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki concentrating in the topic of In-Yer-Face theater. Among her directing credits she has represented Greece in Union des Théâtres de l' Europe (Rostov, 2016) and in the 50th Berlin Theatertreffen (2013) while her latest academic presentation was at RADAC conference, entitled: Crossing Borders: Contemporary Anglophone Theater in Europe (Paris, 2019). Ηer recent works include: The Reunification of The Two Koreas, Coriolanus, Sotiria is my name. She teaches at the School of Drama, Faculty of Fine Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Title:

The Impact of the Natural Environment on the Design of Ancient Greek Theater and the Stage Direction of Ancient Drama

Synopsis:

If there is a public building in antiquity that is completely in harmony with the natural environment and "converses" with it, this is the ancient Greek theater. This lecture concentrates on two areas: on the one hand it focuses on how the natural environment influences the design of the particular architecture, analyzing the issues related to the acoustics, orientation and selection criteria of the place, while on the other it examines whether the landscape is in itself a capable stage directing element that – along with the "poetic topography" – makes any use of stage props unnecessary.

Short bio:

Dr. Maria Mikedaki holds a PhD in Classical Archeology and is Assistant Professor of Ancient Theater at the Department of Theater Studies, University of Peloponnese. She has engaged with many excavations in Greece and Cyprus and has participated in research programs of the Academy of Athens, the Athens Archaeological Society, the University of Athens and the University of the Peloponnese. She has been teaching since 2006 in higher education (Universities of Patras, Peloponnese and Aegean). She has authored three books and a series of scientific articles and has participated with papers in conferences and scientific conventions.