Hellenic Theatre/Drama & Education Network (TENet-Gr)
THEATRE SUMMER CAMP 2023
Chiliomodi Town, Greece 25-30/8/2023
MAIN WORKSHOP
Literature into Theatre
Fotis Makris, Stella Krouska
The transfer of literature to the theatre stage has been gaining ground in recent years in our theatre scene. However, how can a text that is intended to be read also be performed? How do the characters of the narration transform into dramatic and theatrical characters? How does the performable text come into being? And will it remain faithful to the spirit of the author and the narrative? What are the tools of the dramaturgical process that allow a prose text to be staged? How do the structural elements of the text, such as the spatial and temporal conditions, as well as stylistic elements of the narrative, translate into scenes and dialogues when adapted for the stage?
These are some of the questions we will explore in this workshop, using excerpts from literary texts that have been incorporated into the performances of NEOS LOGOS theatre organization and Mavromichalis' studio during their twenty-six-year journey (NEOS LOGOS' first performance took place in 1997, and since 2008 they have made Mavromichalis studio their theatrical home). The artistic director, theatrical director, and actor Fotis Makris, along with actress and choreographer Stella Krouska, have collaborated on various adaptations of the texts, often involving other members of the cast.
From Dostoevsky's "White Nights" to the iconic "Box" by Aris Alexandrou, which has been performed at the Mavromichalis studio for the past eight years, to Katarina Bloom's "Lost Honor" based on Heinrich Böll's work, and Hans Fallada's "Everyone Dies Alone" (also known as "Alone in Berlin"), which received tremendous success last season at the Mavromichalis studio and will be reprised at the beginning of the next season.
We hope that these few days of coexistence and exploration will provide participants with ideas and hints, allowing literature to become a catalyst for teachers and students to discover the richness, timelessness, beauty, and value of texts when represented theatrically (as a counterbalance or not to an everyday life, which without art, can it be tolerated?).
Stella Krouska is a graduate of the Athens Drama School of G. Theodosiadis and the Hellenic Dance Company (K.S.O.T.). She has performed in various productions including Electra, Prometheus Bound, The Bacchae, The Clouds, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Three Little Musicals, Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Doll's House, The Miser, Bus Stop, Samia, Hecuba, Hypsipyle, Andromache, and others. She has worked with numerous directors such as Spyros Evaggelatos, Thomas Moschopoulos, Vangelis Theodoropoulos, Diagoras Chronopoulos, Yannis Moschos, Evis Gavriilides, Yannis Karachisaridis, and more. She is a founding member of the theatre organization Neos Logos, which has been based in Mavromichalis Studio since 2008. Stella has participated as an actor and choreographer-kinesiologist in Neos Logos' performances including Preparadise Sorry Now, Sir Bengt's Wife, The Collection, White Nights, I Don't Want to Know, The Holiday Trilogy, Vassa, Out of Town, Shiver, Fewer Emergencies, The Legacy, Macbeth, Contractions, Richard III, Zeibekiko, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, An Enemy of the People, The False Confidences, Jem, Harper Reagan, Every Man Dies Alone (directed by Fotis Makris), Destiny (directed by Elli Papakonstantinou), I Slept with My Hair in an Empty Pizza Box (directed by Stella Kroushka herself), and Listening to the Snow Fall (directed by Dimitris Kataleifos). She has also directed Nordost and Four of Four. Stella teaches acting at the Mavromichalis Studio Theatre Workshop. She has acted in the film "Five Minutes More" by Yannis Xanthopoulos, as well as in TV series such as Police Officer Bekas, Red Circle, Armchair for Three, C'est la vie, Forbidden Love, High Rock, The Lying Grandfather, Wild Earth, IQ 160, and more. She has also provided voice-over work for TV series. Stella participated in the radio play "The Larks of America Square," directed by D. Katalifos, as part of the Athens Festival (Radio Plays). She pursued postgraduate studies in classical dance in Brussels at the school of Dolores Lagas and attended seminars at the Royal Academy of Dance in London. Stella has taught classical dance, contemporary dance, Pilates, movement and improvisation at various dance schools and drama schools. Additionally, she has choreographed and curated movement for many productions including The Suppliants, Scapegoat, The Theatre of the Soul, Playback PS, Samia, The Swan, The Chocolate Tree, Maya in Dreamland, and more.
Fotis Makris graduated from the School of Dramatic Art "Art Theatre" (Karolos Koun) in 1988. He studied Mathematics at the University of Ioannina. As an actor, he has participated in the following plays: Aristophanes: The Birds, The Acharnians, The Peace (Director: Karolos Koun) Aristophanes: Thesmophoriasouses (Director: George Armenis) Aeschylus: The Persians, Agamemnon (Director: Karolos Koun) Aeschylus: The Oresteia (Director: Spiros Evagelatos) Sophocles: Philoctetes (Director: George Lazanis) Euripides: The Bacchae (Director: Karolos Koun) Shakespeare: As You Like It, Richard III (Director: George Lazanis) Nelson Rondriges: Glorinia (Director: George Lazanis) Bertolt Brecht: Man Equals Man (Director: George Lazanis) Panagiotis Mentis: Playmobil (Director: Pantelis Papadopoulos) George Skourtis: The Executioners (Director: Mimis Kougioumtzis) Gregory Xenopoulos: Temptation (Director: K. Kapelonis) Molière: The Doctor in Spite of Himself (Director: Antonis Antoniou) Molière: The Miser (Director: John Karachisaridis) Plautus: Menaechmi (Director: Stefanos Kotsikos) Manolis Korres: Dangerous Game (Director: Vasilis Mitsakis) Eduardo de Filippo: The Big Magic (Director: John Kakleas) Panagiotis Mentis: Reality and Show (Director: Diagoras Chronopoulos) Tennessee Williams: Kingdom of Earth (Director: John Margaritis) Victor Hugo: Lucretia Borgia (Director: Nikos Haralabous) Fyodor Dostoevsky: White Nights (Director: Fotis Makris) Carlo Goldoni: The Holiday Trilogy (Director: Fotis Makris) Martin Crimp: Fewer Emergencies (Director: Fotis Makris) Marivaux: The Inheritance (Director: Fotis Makris) Aris Alexandrou: The Mission Box (Director: Fotis Makris in cooperation with Cleopatra Tologou) He served as an Assistant Director for the plays Reality and Show by Panagiotis Mentis and Plutus by Aristophanes at the National Theater of Northern Greece (Director: Diagoras Chronopoulos, Artistic Manager of the National Theater of Northern Greece). As a director, he has worked on the following plays: For "Neos Logos" Theatre Group: R.W. Fassbinder: Preparadise Sorry Now (Translation: James Drossos) A. Strindberg: Mister Bengt's Wife (Translation: James Drossos) H. Pinter: The Collection (Translation: Minos Volanakis) F. Dostoevsky: White Nights (Translation: Aris Alexandrou) H. Pinter - B. Brecht: I Don't Want to Know (Translation: E. Belies - P. Markaris) C. Goldoni: The Holiday Trilogy (Translation: N. Hourmouziadis) Maxim Gorki: Vassa (Translation: Aliki Alexandraki) Panagiotis Mentis: Out of Town Declan Hughes: Shiver (Translation: Christina Babou-Pagoureli)