The people
Members
Marilena Triantafyllidou is a founding member and artistic director of Artika Theatre Company (2006), director, actress, and has been teaching modern singing for since 2004. Her training includes studies in theatre, singing, higher music theory and voice therapy.
She started working as an actress in professional theatre performances in 2001, in Greece and abroad (Austria, 2004-2005). As a singer she has participated in various concerts.
Since 2013 she started directing performances for early years children, many of which have been presented at international festivals abroad. In 2022 she directed together with Katerina Alexaki the performance “Camp 22” for teenagers and adults, which took place in the framework of the programme “;All Greece one Culture”. In the autumn of 2023, she undertook the task to translate into Greek the book “Mapping. The Research”, the first book in the Greek literature on Theatre for the Very Young (THEPNI), published by Kapa Editions.
She is currently directing Artika’s new production entitled “Shall we dance?” and is involved in the organization of the 2nd International Theatre and Performing Arts Festival for Young Audiences 0-6, “From the Beginning” to be held in Athens in May 2025.
In 2023 she became a member of the Board of the Association of Non-Profit Theatres and has been a member of the Association of Greek Actors since 2008. She dances Argentine tango, speaks English and French and is also a graduate of the Business Department of the American College of Greece.
She is the proud mother of a wonderful boy.
Katerina Alexaki is a theatre practitioner since 1997. She is a founding member of Artika Theatre Company and Community and Educational programs Coordinator at Eclipses Group Theater New York. She created many theatre workshops for adults and children in Athens and in New York where she lived for ten years and she also has worked as an educator at the Academy of Hellenic Paideia in New York and as a theatre instructor at IEK Chalandriou. Her work as a director and actress includes classical and contemporary plays, musicals, performance as well as theatre for very young children and it has been presented on stages in both countries and in international festivals. She has studied acting and directing in Greece (National Theater of Greece, Arhi Drama School) and in New York (BA in Theater, Queens College, CUNY, MA in Applied Theater, S.P.S., CUNY and MEd in Educational Theater, City College, CUNY). She is a graduate student at
the Theatre Department of EKPA and she is a Drama Therapist candidate at the Aion Drama Therapy Center.
She is a proud mother of twin girls.
Vasilis Kazis is an actor, musician composer and songwriter. He has given many live concerts around Greece as a guitarist and a singer and he has composed the music for various theatrical performances.
He is a member of Artika Theatre Company since 2014 when he first wrote the music for the performance ‘Goodnight Day’. For the last two years he is performing as a musician, actor and composer at one of the latest performances of Artika called “Something like a garden”.
Kleoniki Karachaliou was born in Athens in 1981. She studied acting in Nelly Karra’s Dramatic School and Indian classic dance in Greece, France and India. As an actress, she has collaborated with the National Theatre, the “Labeti” Theatre, the Megaron Concert Hall, the “Morfes Ekfrasis” Theatre, and the “Mavromichali Studio” Theatre. During the last two years she is a member of the Artika company, performing in theatrical acts for infants.
She attended seminars regarding educational drama and music-movement education with Dimitris Adam (director) and Eleni Karagiorgi (actress and director), the Orff Approach with Thomas Kindinis (actor and director) and Maria Filianou (musician, at the National Conservatoire in Nea Smirni). Furthermore, she attended dance courses regarding dance for infants with Vitoria Kotsalou (dancer and choreographer).
She teaches educational drama and music-movement education at “Morfes Ekfrasis” Theatre/Company (2007-2014), “Athenaeum Conservatoire” (2014-2016), Lia Delimichali’s foreign languages school in Salamina (2014-today), “Filarakia” pre-school (2015-today) and at “Happy Mornings” pre-school (2016-today). Besides, she is Indian dance instructor at “Artistic Studio Oriental Expression” (2014-today) and at “Ayurveda Hellas Centre” (2017-today).
Collabolators
Giorgos Agiannitis Pavlopoulos was born in Athens in 1980 and was admitted to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Polytechnic School of the University of Patras in 1999. During his studies, he engaged in architecture and interior design and worked as a freelance collaborator for a furniture import company. He then specialized in architectural lighting, working for a well-known Italian architectural lighting company and participating in numerous training seminars and workshops on lighting design and technology in Greece and abroad.
He began working in theater in 2010, winning a lighting award at the 24th Panhellenic Theater Competition and later receiving three group distinctions at various festivals. He collaborated with the Panhellenic Scientific Association of Theater Studies as a lighting designer and as a lecturer in a two-day seminar on theatrical lighting, and also led a seminar on the importance of lighting design in urban environments. Under the supervision of the Digital Sound Technology Laboratory at the University of Patras, he conducted research titled “Lighting Networks, Control Protocols, and Communication of Lighting Fixtures.” He has served as the technical manager in three theater venues, simultaneously training new technicians.
He has designed lighting for over 80 performances, collaborating with directors such as Efcharis Papaioannou, Group XA!, Kostas Papakonstantinou, Kostis Basogiannis, Ilias Panagiotakopoulos, Gennadios Patsis, Maria Angelou, Panos Iliakopoulos, Marilena Triantafyllidou, Haris Marinis, Kostas Kazanas, Anna Anastasiadou, Alexandros Zouridakis, Kostas Xykominos, Zorzina Tzoumakas, Ilias Kounelas, Maria Savva, Dimitris Mylonas, Marili Mastrantoni, Elena Marsidou, Vasilis Koukalani, Pinelopi Flouris, Grigoris Karantinakis, Giorgos Paloubis, Stavros Stagos, Petros Filippidis, Thodoris Vournas, and Giannis Dalianis.
In parallel, he is engaged in photography, having curated press releases and participated in group artistic photography exhibitions, as well as lighting short films.
Maria Baloutsou is a graduate of the Department of Theatre Studies in the University of Patras, as well as the School of Physical Theatre in London, where she mastered in Le Qoq’s method. Recently she completed her retraining in Kapodistriako University of Athens in the
department in Special Education.
She is a member of the theatrical company Ab Ovo and also one of the creators of Bob Theatre Festival, the only festival for young theatre groups. Alongside, she’s been trained in street theatre, joggling and stilts, by HELIX, where she performed in numerous shows starting in 2005, and also in an Improvisation company along with Lambros Fisfis.
She’s been working in theatre, tv and cinema since 2005.
In 2002 she began working as a theatre teacher in schools and other educational organizations and performed several shows for kids, as well as a shadow player in the side of Ilias Karellas.
She has been collaborating with Artika Theatre Company since 2021.
Georgia Bourda Set & Costume Designer, Bachelor and master’s Degree in Drama & Theatre Studies (Subject:Set and costume design) in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) / Faculty of Fine Arts / Theatre department (2006). Bachelor’s degree of Music in Piano Performance, Municipal Conservatory of Thessaloniki (2001). She has worked as a Set & Costume Designer, at Athens & Epidaurus Festival of Greece, National Theatre of Northern Greece (N.T.N.G.), Theatre of Ancient Olympia, Theatre tou Neou Kosmou, National Opera of Greece, Olympia Munipicial Music Theatre “Maria Callas” Michael Cacoyannis Foundation, Theatre Chora, Thessaly Theater, Municipal Peripheral Theatreof Komotini (MU.PE.THE), Apo Mixanis Theatre, 104 Theatre in collaborations
with the directors: P. Dentakis, Th. Chalkias, V. Nikolaidi, I.Sideri, I. Leontaris, Th.Zeriti, E.Merkouri, I. Sarakatsanis, D.Adami, D. Finitsis, F. Gemtou, M. Magkanari, M. Skoufou, K.Markellos in Athens and Thessaloniki, in short movies and TV commercials. Permanent
collaboration with the Theatrical Group of Deaf “Crazy Colors” from 2013. Also, permanent collaborator of Thiasos Kanigunda. She has worked as assistant of Set & Costume Designer with the Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens & Epidaurus Festival of Greece, Pallas Theatre, Theatre de la Ville (Paris), Theatre Amore. She has been awarded of 27th, 28th & 29th Theatrical Competitions of Municipality Zografou and 13tr Festival Theatre of Korinthos. Also, has worked as a teacher in courses of Set & Costume Designer, history of theatre and cinema in public and private institutions.
Νatasa Efstathiadi is a visual artist living and working in Athens. She studied art at the Athens School of Fine Arts and has participated in many group shows in Greece and abroad, and in one solo show at CAN gallery in Athens, in 2014. Since 2011 she has been a member of the art collective Arbit City Group which focuses mainly on issues relating to public space and the collective unconscious. Natasa studied scenography under Andreas Sarantopoulos at Vakalo School, as well as furniture making at Sivitanidios School.
Olga Evaggelidou is a costume designer born in Athens in 1988. She graduated from the Fine Arts Department of the Athens School of Fine Arts (2006-12) where she continued her studies at the Master of Fine Arts (2014-16) with a scholarship from the Onassis Foundation (2015-16). From 2012 to 2014 she studied at the Fashion Department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. She is a PhD candidate at the Department of Art History and Theory of the ASFA (2017-present) and received a scholarship from the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (2019-2022, 2nd Call for PhD Candidates). Her PhD thesis is entitled “Women’s fashion and beauty standards in the Aegean. The case of Syros (1789-1850)”. Her research interests and visual art work focus on costume, clothing and the history of fashion. In 2019 she received the Artworks Award (2nd Artists’ Support Programme of Stavros Foundation), while in 2011 she was awarded the first prize in the Young Fashion Designers’ Competition (Next Generation) at Athens Fashion Week.
Maria Bahá was born in Athens in 1976. From 1995 to 2000, she studied painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts under Yannis Psychopedis. At the same time, she took courses in engraving and studied for a semester at the Utrecht School of Fine Arts, where she took courses in silkscreen printing, as well as at the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland, where she took courses in theatrical costume design. She has presented her work in solo and group painting exhibitions. She has taught painting to kindergarten and elementary school children in the municipalities of Keratsini and Nikaia. She also designed and sewed the costumes for the experimental theater productions “Hamlet” (2000) and “Macbeth” (2001), directed by Dimitris Rokos, in which she played leading roles. She was awarded second prize at the 4th Meeting of Young Creators organised by the Vakalo School in Athens in 2000. He is a founding member of the non-profit cultural action organization “Kormoranis,” which has organized concerts and other cultural events. She illustrates books for children and teenagers and designs sets and costumes for theatrical performances and television documentaries. She has been honored with the following distinctions for her painting and illustration work: Commendation from the Greek Children’s Book Circle in 2004, State Illustration Award and Greek Children’s Book Circle Illustration Award in 2008, and TigerCreate Adventure Book Competition Award in 2015/2016. She was also honored with a commendation at the Greek Graphic Design and Illustration Awards (EBGE) in 2008.
Graduate of the Department of Folk and Traditional Music at the Technological Educational Institute of Epirus, specializing in the lute, with a scholarship and award for academic excellence. Holds a Master’s degree in Special Education (Med) from Frederick University of Cyprus. Also a graduate of the Piraeus Music School and the “Alypios” Music Conservatory, with a degree in Harmony and a diploma in bouzouki, having also studied under the virtuoso bouzouki player Thanasis Vasilas.
Completed nine-month professional development seminars in Child Psychology (PA.D.A.) and Intercultural Education (Panteion University). Served as a presenter at the 2nd Panhellenic Conference on “Educational Play and Art in Education and Culture” (October 2021) with the presentation: “Planning Systematic Teaching of Urban Folk Songs in the Curriculum of Music Schools.” Also presented at the 4th Conference of the Hellenic Branch of Music Libraries, Archives & Documentation Centers (December 2021) with the topic: “Teaching Proposals for Using Audiovisual Material for Urban Folk Songs in Primary and Secondary Education.”
Since 2007, has performed in various folk and traditional orchestras, playing bouzouki, lute (both mainland and Constantinopolitan styles), tzouras, and tambouras, in concerts, entertainment venues, music stages, and recordings for music-educational books. In 2011, participated with a traditional ensemble at the Volt Festival in Hungary, representing Greece.
Since 2014, teaches four- and three-string bouzouki, mainland and island lute, tzouras, tambouras-saz, and Constantinopolitan lute (lafta), as well as theory of folk music. In the 2020-21 school year, served as lute instructor at the Preveza Music School, composing and arranging the song “Lord Byron”, performed by a student traditional orchestra and choir at the Athens Concert Hall during the Ministry of Education ceremony marking 200 years since the Greek Revolution. In 2021-22, served as substitute lute teacher (mainland and Constantinopolitan) at the Pallini Music Gymnasium-Lyceum, and in 2022-23 at the Alimos Music School.
Also participates as a performer (bouzouki and lute) and creator of two original compositions in the music-theater production “Camp 22” for teens and adults with the Artika theater group, as part of the Ministry of Culture and Sports program “All Greece is a Culture”, commemorating 100 years since the Asia Minor Catastrophe.
Irini Moundraki was born and raised in Athens, Greece.
She is a graduate, holds a Master’s degree, and earned her doctorate with distinction from the Department of Theatre Studies at the University of Athens. She also studied Italian Art and Language at the University of Milan as a scholarship recipient.
Since 1999, she has been working at the National Theatre of Greece as a senior artistic collaborator, where she is responsible for Dramaturgy, the Library, Archives, and International Relations. As a dramaturge, she has collaborated with renowned Greek and international directors, including Robert Wilson, Sofia Vgenopoulou, Irini Lambrinopoulou, Giannis Karaoulis, Stathis Livathinos, Giorgos Lyras, Sofia Marathaki, Nikos Mastorakis, Vasilis Nikolaidis, Tasos Pyrgieris, Thanasis Sarantos, Eleni Skoti, Takis Tzamargias, Stamatis Fasoulis, and Sotiris Chatzakis. She is the scientific director of the International Ancient Drama Workshop.
She is the founder and director of the Greek Play Project (GPP), a bilingual online platform for the study, promotion, and dissemination of contemporary Greek plays (greek-theatre.gr), through which she also organizes initiatives such as Greek Play Project New York.
Irini teaches in the postgraduate programs of the Theatre Studies Departments at the University of Athens (Greek and World Theatre: Dramaturgy, Performance, Education) and the University of Peloponnese (Creative Writing, Theatre and Cultural Industries), as well as in the postgraduate program of the Department of Education, specializing in Humanities: Literature, Theatre, and Language in Education. She has also taught at the Theatre Studies Department of Nafplio, at drama schools, and at the Hellenic Army Academy. She has directed performances with amateur actors (S.A.N.).
From 2000 onwards, she has contributed as a theatre critic to magazines such as ANTI (2000–2008), Highlights (2000–2010), MONO (2012), and sporadically to others like Creative Theatre and Fouaire. Her essays, reviews, and studies have been published in journals, newspapers, collective theatre volumes, and theatre programs. She has curated dozens of theatre programs at both the National Theatre and independent theatres. She has participated in numerous conferences and theatre research workshops in Greece and abroad, organized workshops, seminars, and theatrical events, taught creative writing workshops, and curated exhibitions.
Her books published by Aigokeros Editions include Carlo Goldoni: Life, Work and Reception in Greece (2019) and Inside, Outside, and Likewise: Texts on Modern Greek and Global Dramaturgy and Performance (2020). She is the scientific editor of The Dynamics of Greek Speech in Theatre (Municipal Theatre of Piraeus). The National Theatre of Greece published her translation of Carlo Goldoni’s The New House (2019). She is also responsible for the “Dramaturgy” series (covering the dramaturgical output of contemporary Greek playwrights) at Aigokeros Editions.
She led the project Mapping Contemporary Theatre in Greece for the National Theatre and was a member of the Pythagoras Theatre Research and Documentation Lab at the University of Athens.
In 2013, she participated in the International Visitors Leadership Program in the United States on “Promoting Social Change Through the Arts,” invited by the United States Department of State – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
She is a member of the Horn Award Committee and the State Theatre Award Committee. She served as Chair of the Advisory Committee for Independent Theatre Grants of the Ministry of Culture (2017–2021) and has been a member of numerous theatre committees, including festivals, grant advisory boards, play competitions, awards of the Hellenic Association of Theatre Critics & the Koun Award, and the Athens ITI system. She has served as President and Vice President of the Hellenic Association of Theatre and Performing Arts Critics.
She is a board member of the European Theatre Convention, Europe’s largest theatre network, and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Association of Theatre Critics.
She speaks English, Italian, and French.