ESPA PROGRAM

Upgrading of the Drama School of the National Theatre

The project “Upgrading the Drama School of the National Theatre”, implemented during the academic years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 with the contribution of the NSRF staff structure, enabled the rapprochement of the School’s program and its enrichment with new courses, the drafting of a curriculum, the composition of special manuals and the establishment of a schoolyear of specialization for graduates with training seminars and a five-month internship program in National Theatre plays. It also became possible, among other things, to study programs of drama schools abroad as well as to research the first years of operation of the Directing Department. Responsibility for the implementation of the program has been undertaken by the director of studies of the School, Dio Kangelari.

Actions of the Program

I. Interdisciplinary Study

The Interdisciplinary Study identified key directions and options in order to upgrade the Drama School and contributed to the formulation of the appropriate specifications for a Detailed Study Program for each course.

As part of the study, a detailed recording of the main directions in the teaching of acting in the history and evolution of the Drama School of the National Theatre over the years was carried out. The courses in the early years of the Directing Department, as well as the study programs of corresponding schools abroad, were also recorded.

A comparative study with programs of other schools in Greece and abroad was carried out in cooperation with the persons responsible for the educational aspects of the project, while the evaluation of the experience gained so far in the first years of operation of the Directing Department was completed through semi-structured questionnaires. Department was completed through semi-structured questionnaires. Subsequently, the resulting data were then analyzed to draw conclusions regarding the experience of the first years of operation of the new Department. In addition, a study of the relationship between graduates and the labor market (connection with a database) and a sustainability study for the future of the School were carried out.

Finally, legislative material was created in order to establish a pilot training program for the acquisition of professional experience in the workplace, as well as to formulate a new presidential decree for the operation of the School in the future.

II. Upgrading with new courses & seminar cycles

The existing study program of the School was upgraded by the inclusion of new courses, the expansion of existing modules as well as the integration of seminar cycles on a fixed basis in order to intervene in a targeted manner in the main body of the program as well as feed the interconnection of studies with the social fabric.

Seminar cycles

Anestis Azas (director): Documentary Theatre
Makis Gazis (casting director): The Rules of a Successful Audition
Stefania Goulioti (director, actress): Flowing Through Method
Charalambos Gogios (composer): Operetta
Alexandros Efkleidis (director): Operetta
Alexandra Kazazou (actress): The Pulsating Actor, based on the principles of the Grotowski Method
Simos Kakalas (director, actor): Acting with a Mask
Panagiota Kallimani (choreographer): Body and Object
Akyllas Karazisis (director, actor): Theatre and Orality
Rinio Kyriazi (actress, director): Poetic Speech and Musicality
Eva Manidaki (stage designer): Choro-graphy
Sofia Marathaki (actress, director): Tools of the Comedian
Ioanna Toumpakari (dancer, martial arts teacher): Kung Fu
Prodromos Tsinikoris (director, dramaturg): Documentary Theatre
Nikoleta Filosoglou (director): Directing: Connection with the Labor Market
Martha Foka (set designer, costume designer, mask maker): Mask Making

ΙΙΙ. Masterclasses

Masterclasses were implemented for the students of the faculty and the training of the teachers.

Masterclasses

Vangelis Thodos (make-up artist): Theatrical Make-up
Dafnis Kokkinos (director of KSOT): Dance-theatre / / What Moves Us
Anna Kokkinou (actress, director, founder of the Sphendoni theatre): Stage Speech
Euripidis Laskaridis (director, performer): Metamorphosis and Ridiculousness – An Experiential Workshop
Amalia Moutousi (actress): The Speech in Ancient Tragedy, Interpreting Antigone
Sakis Birbilis (light designer): Theatre Lighting
Christos Papamichail (theatrologist, actor) assisted by Georgina Kakoudaki (theatrologist, director): Liminal Space: Workshop for Inclusive and Accessible Theatrical Practices
Roula Pateraki (actor, director): Shakespeare Meets Cavafy, Cavafy Meets Shakespeare
Giorgos Rodosthenous (professor of Directing and Deputy Head of the School of Performing Arts and Cultural Industries at the University of Leeds) and masterclass assistant Dimitris Zavros (music composer): Acting and Directing the Song
Christos Stergioglou (actor, acting teacher): What it Means to be Present on Stage
Davit Baroyan (collaborator of the Theatre Academy of Wroclaw and the ZAR Theatre of the Grotowski Institute): Speech Education
Lilo Baur (member of Théâtre de Complicité, winner of the Dora and Manchester Evening News Award, collaborator of Peter Brooke): Devising a Play or Theatre and the Absurd
Giorgio Bongiovanni (graduate of the Scuola di Teatro diretta da Giorgio Strehler, performer of the role of Pantalone in Goldoni’s Servant of Two Mistresses for the last thirty years): Commedia Dell’ Arte
Jamie Bradley (actor, director, winner of the Royal National Theatre Foundation Playwright Award): Shakespeare and Physical Impulse
Jaroslaw Fret: (director of the Grotowski Institute, artistic director of Teatr ZAR) and Monika Wachowicz (artistic associate of the Grotowski Institute): Four Centres – Body and Space
Jakub Gomtarski (coach and certified trainer): Martial Partnering
Cezaris Graužinis (director): The Method of Acting in the Perspective of the Theatre of Imagination: An Introduction
Piotr Gruszczyński (theatre critic and dramaturg): Dramaturgy – Freedom of Using Texts Without Abusing Them
Nina Hellmuth (professor at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts, Berlin): Acting / Improvisation
Peter Hussey (director, founder of Crooked House Theatre Company): Making Magic Realistic Theatre
Armin Kerber (dramaturg, writer): What Is a Dramaturg?
Aleksandra Kugacz-Semerci (actress, performer, co-founder of Teatr Studio Czykowy): Embodied Creation
Felice Ross (light designer): Theatre Lighting
Robert Schuster (Ernst Busch professor in Berlin): Principles of Directing
Andrew Visnivski (director, former director of R.A.D.A.’s M.A. Theatre LAB): The Naked Actor
Daniel Wetzel (member of Rimini Protokoll): Documentary Theatre
16 of the masterclasses were videotaped with the aim of creating suitable material for educational use within the course.

ΙV. Supervision of dissertations

The supervision of dissertations of the Directing Department contributed to the optimal, from an educational standpoint, utilization of the student’s experience and to their well-founded presentation at the end of the year. The action involved a total of 16 dissertations, each of them requiring 50 hours of supervision.

The professors who supervised the dissertations of the Directing Department were: Anestis Azas, Argyro Chioti, Simos Kakalas, Nikos Karathanos, Akyllas Karazisis, Georgia Mavragani, Thanos Papakonstantinou, Aglaia Pappa, Petros Sevastikoglou, Marissa Triantafyllidou, Prodromos Tsinikoris, Io Voulgaraki.

V. Educational material

Within the framework of the project, the writing of textbooks and new educational material was completed, while two books were translated for the needs of the courses.

Textbook titles

1. Aspects of Acting
2. History of Directing in Greece: Main Milestones
3. Modern Vocal and Musical Training of Actors
4. Dance and Movement in Modern Actor Training
5. Stage Dramaturgy
6. Dramatology, Theatre History, History of Literature

Translations

1. Anatoli Vassiliev: L’art de la composition by Stéphane Poliakov
2. The Director’s Craft: A Handbook for the Theatre by Katie Mitchell

VI. Formation of the Detailed Study Program

The final Detailed Study Program was formed and compiled –after multi-dimensional research– in collaboration with the faculty members of the School. The National Theatre’s Drama School Study Program is multi-faceted and aims at a high level of artistic training for future actors and directors. At the same time, course plans were drawn up for all of the School’s academic years and for each of the 26 weeks of teaching per year.

VII. Pilot program for graduates to train and acquire professional experience in the workplace

Τhe pilot training program (4-month duration) and subsequently the program for the acquisition of professional experience (5-month duration) provided theoretical training, knowledge at a professional level and an allowance for each beneficiary in accordance with the current institutional framework. The program was applied to productions of the National Theatre.

Training Seminars

A. For the Acting Department graduates
Konstantinos Valakas (associate professor at the Department of Philosophy, University of Patras): Theory and Interpretation of Ancient Drama
Katia Gerou (actress): Messenger Quotes
Lenia Zafeiropoulou (lyric singer, poet, translator) and Tasos Karahalios (dancer, choreographer): Movement, Voice and Rhyming Speech as Dramaturgical Tools
Simos Kakalas (director, actor): Theatrical Mask
Giota Kallimani (dancer, choreographer): Body as an Object
Filareti Komninou (actress, acting teacher, School of Drama, Aristotle University Thessaloniki): Messenger Quotes in Ancient Drama
Lydia Koniordou (actress, director): Ancient Drama From The Cherry Orchard to Ion
Georgia Mavragani (director): Aristophanes’ Frogs: Studying Attic Comedy
Thomas Moschopoulos (director): Keys and Techniques for Structuring and Systemic Exploration of a Role
Amalia Moutousi (actress): Speech and Ancient Tragedy
Angela Brouskou (director, actress): Eumenides
Vicky Panagiotaki (director of studies of the Alexander Technique Center Athens / ATCA): Alexander Method
Vassilis Papavasileiou (director, actor): Theatricality
Eleni Papazoglou (associate professor of History and Theory & Perception of Ancient Drama, School of Drama, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki): Nature and Function of the Dramatic Person in Tragedy, Perception of Ancient Drama in Europe and Greece
Evi Saoulidou (actress): Aspects of Rhetoric in Ancient Drama
Ioanna Toumpakari (dancer, martial arts teacher): Eagle Claw Kung Fu
Marissa Triantafyllidou (actress, translator, dramaturg): Acting on Camera
Kostas Filippoglou (director, actor): Physical – Creative Theatre and Ancient Drama
Lena Filippova (acting teacher): Personal Experience and Acting – From K. S. Stanislavsky to A. A. Vasilyev
Martha Foka (set designer, costume designer, mask maker): The Theatrical Mask as a Tool for Acting and Transformation
Taxiarchis Chanos (actor): Body Preparation – Breathing Technique
Giannis Houvardas (director): From Ancient Drama to Performance

B. For the Directing Department graduates:
Stefanie Carp (dramaturg): Seminar on Dramaturgy
Andreas Andreou (director): Ancient Drama / Contemporary Dramaturgies
Dimitris Gerardis (director, editor): Montage
Christina Thanasoula (lighting designer): Introduction to Stage Lighting
Dimitris Kamarotos (composer): Use of Musical Techniques for the Development of Stage Drama
Ilias Kounelas (director, actor): Giving Face to the Audience or How to Direct a Sick Actor
Emmanouil Manousakis (composer, sound designer): Soundscape and Sound Composition in Theatre – Multimedia – Multi-Technical Performances
Alexandros Mistriotis (dramaturg): For a Modern Narrative and Dramaturgy
Christina Papagiannouli (research fellow at the University of South Wales): Online Theatre: The Whole World as a Stage
Angeliki Poulou (dramaturg, teacher at the Digital Arts & Film Department of the University of Athens): Performing Arts and Digital Media
Aktina Stathaki (theatrologist, cultural manager): International Collaborations, Exchanges, Connection between Research and Artistic Practice
Christos Stergioglou (actor, director, acting teacher): What it Means to Be Present on Stage / Messenger Quotes
Manolis Tsipos (director, author): DasArts Feedback Method
Nikoleta Filosoglou (actress, director): Directing: Connection with the Market
Kyriakos Chatzimichailidis (director, film producer): Handmade Cinema / Basic Principles of Directing, Writing and Production
Taxiarchis Hanos (actor): Body Preparation – Breathing Technique

C. Participation of graduates in performances:
During the academic year 2022-2023, 11 directors and 19 actors participated in the following productions:
1. Goodbye, Lindita, directed by Mario Banushi
2. A Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner, directed by Giannis Moschos
3. A Night at Epidaurus, conceived – directed by Nikos Karathanos
4. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, directed by Dimitris Karantzas
5. Topography of Death or Let us not forget, directed by Brikenna Gisto
6. The Broken Jug by Heinrich von Kleist, directed by Nikos Hatzopoulos – Akyllas Karazisis
7. The Final Tholuthion by Kostakis Anan and Suyako, directed by Sotiris Roumeliotis
8. City Lights by Charlie Chaplin, directed by Amalia Bennett
9. The Provocateurs by Giannis Aposkitis, directed by Orestis Stavropoulos
10. Man from Podolsk by Dmitry Danilov, directed by George Koutlis

VIIΙ. Internship during studies (1st, 2nd, 3rd year)

During their undergraduate studies, the students of the first three years completed a ten-day internship in performances of the National Theatre. For the academic year 2021-2022 the internship was carried out at the plays Aias of Sophocles directed by Argyris Xafis and Medea of Bost directed by Giannis Kalavrianos. For the academic year 2022-2023 the internship took place in the play Wasps of Aristophanes, freely adapted and directed by Lena Kitsopoulou.

IX. Graduate database

A freely accessible database was created for graduates with the aim of better networking with the labor market.

This database was created for the first time in the history of the Drama School and aims to connect the 180 graduates of the last ten years with the market in the context of the constant evolving theatrical and digital reality. In the future, the database will also be linked to the e-curriculum, forming a new educational and professional tool for the Drama School of the National Theatre.

Χ. Educational trips

In September 2022, the students traveled for the first time to Wroclaw, Poland to participate in a residency organized by the Grotowski Institute. The third-year students of the School attended a series of seminars, masterclasses, presentations and screenings.

In July 2022, the students visited Epidaurus on the occasion of the performances of Sophocles’ Aias directed by Argyris Xafis and Bost’s Medea directed by Yiannis Kalavrianos. The visit had an educational nature and included tour in the museum and the premises of the Ancient Theatre.

In July 2023, the students attended the performance Philoctetes by Christos Oikonomou in Mikri Epidaurus (inspired by the work of Sophocles) and Frogs by Aristophanes directed by Efi Birba at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus.

ΧΙ. Library upgrade

In the context of the program, a detailed plan for the modernization of the Drama School Library was developed. Educational material was digitized, a librarianship program was secured and a data and digital library survey was conducted. The School was further integrated into library networks (universities and other schools), the organization of the library was enhanced with an appropriate library system and with quick access to free journals or artistic forums in the form of a list or a suggested catalogue was secured. The Library was enriched with 2,000 new book titles.

Partners

Coordinators of the project “Upgrading of the Drama School of the National Theatre” in the framework of the Operational Program “Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning” NSRF 2014-2020
Giannis Panagopoulos (actor, director, acting teacher, professor of acting, PhD candidate of Theatre Studies)
Olga Gratsaniti (theatrologist / cultural management)

Persons in charge of the preparation of the Interdisciplinary Study
Eleni Gouli (PhD in Theatrology)
Anastasios Angelopoulos (PhD theatrologist, director)
Katerina Karra (PhD in Theatrology, special teaching staff, Department of Theatre Studies, University of Athens)

Persons in charge of the educational aspects of the project
Anastasios Angelopoulos
Katerina Karra

Person in charge of the evaluation of the project
Eleni Gouli

Expert advisors

Expert advisor on the acting courses
Dimitris Imellos (actor)

Expert advisor on the acting and directing courses
Andrew Visnevski (director, former director of the M.A. Theatre LAB of the R.A.D.A.)

Expert advisor on the Directing Department and on organizational – administrative issues
Konstantinos Arvanitakis (graduate of the Drama School of the National Theatre, of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Athens, of the New York University and the University of California)

Expert advisor on kinesiology and dance courses
Vicky Maragkopoulou (dancer, dance teacher)

Expert advisor on vocal courses
Konstantinos Thomaidis (permanent assistant professor in the Department of Drama, College of Humanities, University of Exeter)

Expert advisor on kinesiology and dance courses

Vicky Maragkopoulou (dancer, dance teacher)

Expert advisor on vocal courses

Konstantinos Thomaidis (permanent assistant professor in the Department of Drama, College of Humanities, University of Exeter)

Person in charge of the Detailed Program Study
Anastasios Angelopoulos

Person in charge of the legal aspects of the project
Emmanouil Eleftheroglou (Supreme Court lawyer, doctor of Administrative Law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)

Librarian
George Katsamakis

Theatrologists for the recording of the masterclasses
Antigoni Neta, Agathi Kontou, Marina Mergou

Company for filming and editing masterclasses
ERMIS Productions

Authors and editors of the manuals
Georgia Achilleopoulou, Lena Filippova, Konstantina Georgakaki, Charalambos Gogios, Nikos Hatzopoulos, Grigoris Ioannidis, Aris Ioannis, Dimitris Kamarotos, Ekaterini Konstantinakou, Panagiota Konstantinakou, Rinio Kyriazi, Iris-Eleftheria Nikolaou, Melina Peonidou, Konstantina Pitsiakou, Effrosyni Rigopoulou, Manolis Seiragakis, Kyriaki Selioni, Erasmia Stavropoulou, Konstantinos Thomaidis, Athina Trevlia, Eleni Triantafyllopoulou, Angelos Triantafyllou, Anna Tzakou, Steriani Tzintziloni, Andreas Vafias, Io Voulgaraki, Thanos Vovolis, Eleni Zafeiropoulou

Textbook translators
Evita Lykou, Ismini Fragkioudaki

Website construction and design
Intraway

Website and database content manager
Ilektra Zargani

Accountants
Ioannis Fliakos, Thanos Tselepakis