About me
I am a London-based theatre and somatic artist-researcher and founder of Somatic Acting Process®, a multidiscpinary practice supporting embodied expression within and outside peerformance settings.
My earliest artistic and professional development included studies and qualifications in classical piano and singing (Advanced Certificate-Distinction), music theatre (LCM, Level 5-Distinction), dance and literature (BA-Dissertation Distinction).
My ongoing professional experience in theatre and acting practices started formally in 2005 when I began my studies at the Greek National Theatre (GNT) Drama School, which operates in tandem with the National Theatre of Greece. As a Greek-born actress, I shaped the ground of my acting experience as a first-class GNT Drama School graduate (Diploma in Acting). While in Greece, I performed, among others, in productions of the National Theatre of Greece and the Athens Festival.
In 2010 I was awarded a full-time scholarship from the Greek State Scholarship Foundation (IKY) to advance my acting studies in the UK. I moved to London and completed my postgraduate degree in acting at East 15 Acting School (MA Acting International-Distinction). During my studies at East 15, I also got the opportunity for a residency in Bali (ISI Denpasar) and Moscow (GITIS) where I studied and performed.
After my MA, I started developing an expertise in the interrelation between modern somatic movement and theatre practices through a Practice-as-Research PhD at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD) and my professional development as somatic movement educator and therapist (RSME, Diploma IBMT/BMC®). For these studies I was additionally awarded an Elsie Fogerty Research Degree Studentship by RCSSD. As part of my PhD and the critical investigation of actor-training pedagogies, I shaped and introduced Somatic Acting Process. I started teaching my practice and related subjects in major London-based drama schools (such as RCSSD, East 15, Mountview, Rose Bruford) and independent contexts. Since April 2018 I am a Lecturer in Somatic Acting & Research at East 15.
As an artist-researcher, I focus on the investigation of embodiment processes through somatically inspired practices into theatre-performing environments and beyond. I particularly introduce new praxical (practical-theoretical) discussions on the somatic in theatre-performance, community and voice studies, including the edited collection Somatic Voices in Performance Research and Beyond (Routledge, 2021), multimodal articles and practice-research publications for international peer-reviewed journals and platforms. For my artistic research activities, I have been awarded 2020 Outstanding Early Career Researcher in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Essex and Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year 2023-2024.
My theatre experience in the UK includes performances at the Cockpit Theatre and Roundhouse, as an independent artist and as a member of Andreas Skourtis-Performing Architectures company. I have, among others, directed and/or facilitated performances (as an acting coach, movement director, embodiment/intimacy/stage fight facilitator) at the Park Theatre, Cockpit Theatre, Arcola Theatre, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Hoxton Hall, Embassy Theatre (RCSSD) and Corbett Theatre (East 15).
My latest artistic-research focus as a creator is the investigation of new modes of participatory performance that re-evaluate the dynamics between performer as performer-facilitator and audience members as active participant-witnesses. Through what I introduce as inter-embodied dramaturgies, I develop a new performance form that I identify as Somatic Theatre or Somatic Performance.
For regular updates on my activities, check Somatic Acting Process on Facebook and Instagram.