Yannis Simonides – Artistic Director
Yannis Simonides was born in Constantinople and raised in Athens, where he graduate with honors from Athens College. He received a BA in Drama and Literature from Yale University and a MFA in Acting from the Yale School of Drama. He has served as professor and chair of the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Drama Department, as executive producer of Greek Orthodox Telecommunications (GOTelecom), and as executive director of Hellenic Public Radio, COSMOS FM, in New York. He is the founder and director of the Greek Theater of New York, which has been in continuous operation for 32 years.
His performance work includes plays by Euripides, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Shakespeare, Brecht, Korrés, Kazantzakis and others, along with solo and ensemble pieces based on the writings of Aristotle, Cavafy, Theodorakis, Makriyannis and Gogol. He has received the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Greek Ministries of Education, Culture and Foreign Affairs, the Prefectures of Athens, Piraeus and Cyclades, the Onassis, Kostopoulos, Niarchos, Tsakos and Leventis Foundations, IBM, Time Warner and the Mobil Foundation. He has narrated the PBS television specials Visions of Greece and Return to the Homeland, and received an Emmy award for his documentary A Light Still Bright on the Greek community of Istanbul. He co-produced the Mikis Theodorakis 75th Birthday Celebration at Lincoln Center with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and he recently wrote and directed Smyrne, a docudrama on the post WWI Asia Minor catastrophes, which will be touring North America and Europe in 2011-12.
He has performed the Apology of Socrates, in Greek, English, Spanish and French, at theatres, festivals, schools and universities in the USA, England, Greece, Cyprus, France, Turkey, Canada, Luxembourg, the United Emirates and Uruguay, and is scheduled to take it on tour in the US, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Mexico, Belgium, Latin America, Poland, Russia and New Zealand through 2013. As a founding member of The Readers of Homer, he has helped stage marathon audience-participation Readings-Celebrations of the Iliad and Odyssey on the islands of Chios and Kos in Greece, at the Library of Alexandria, the Dahesh Museum and the 92nd Street Y in New York, and in Troy, Delos, Pylos, Malta, Sicily and Ithaca—in Homeric Greek, Modern Greek, Arabic, English, Spanish, and the languages of the world. He is honored to be able to contribute, along with his colleagues, to the day-long presentation of the Iliad at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California, in April 2011, and to co-produce upcoming readings-celebrations of Homer in Dallas, Philadelphia, Boston, Alexandria, Greece, Europe and Australia through 2012.
In 2009 Yannis Simonides was honored by the city of Athens as Ambassador of Hellenism for his lifelong service to Greek arts and letters worldwide. In 2010, along with a team of young visionaries, he founded Greek Theatre International, with the express mission not only to help expand the boundaries of Hellenic theatre, but to help contribute decisively in Greece’s upcoming renaissance.
Stephania Xydia – Managing Director
Born in Athens and raised in Luxembourg, Stephania is fluent in five languages and has accumulated professional experience coordinating major arts events in Europe, the USA and South America. From a very young age she was involved in diverse theatrical, dance and musical productions and obtained an advanced diploma in Dance from the National Conservatoire of Luxembourg. Upon graduation from the European School of Luxembourg, she was accepted to pursue a BA in Education & Modern Languages at Cambridge University from which she graduated with distinction, completing research projects in Arts Education, Hispanic Theatre and issues of National and European Identity. At the same time, she led the organization of numerous cultural events for the Hellenic Society, the ADC Theatre and the Corn Exchange. During her undergraduate studies, she spent a year in Madrid, where she studied Cultural Heritage Management at Complutense University and worked for the Greek Embassy focusing on press, tourism and cultural initiatives. Upon her return to the UK, she was accepted to pursue an MA in Cultural Policy and Management at City University in London, focusing on Cultural Diplomacy and Greek Cultural Policy. A fortunate meeting with Yannis Simonides and ensuing collaboration with the Greek Theatre of New York and The Readers of Homer led her to help coordinate major artistic and literary events in Montevideo (Uruguay), Kos (Greece) and New York (USA), and to become a founding member of Greek Theatre International. Being a child of the Greek Diaspora, a citizen of the world, with extensive experience in top academic and professional environments, she is part of a new, creative and prominent generation, fully committed to a methodical collective campaign to raise Greece’s international standing.
Athena Bounti – Marketing & Digital Media Project Manager
Athena was born in Thessaloniki and grew up in Patras, Greece. She graduated from the University of the Aegean with a BA in Cultural Technology and Communication, spending a semester at the Polytechnic University of Barcelona as part of the Erasmus programme. Upon completion of her undergraduate studies, she was accepted to pursue an MA in Digital Culture and Technology at King’s College London, where she completed a thesis on the design of location-based mobile applications. She went on to pursue a second MA in Cultural Policy and Management at City University, from which she graduated with merit, completing a thesis on Social Media strategies for museums. Among others, she has gained professional experience at the Digital Media department of the National Gallery of London where she engaged in major digital projects. During her studies she was president of the Aegean University Theatre Group, participated in several theatrical productions, and has since decided to put her academic expertise into the service of the arts, theatre and Greek culture.
Dimitra Grigorea– Production Manager
Dimitra was born in Athens, Greece. She graduated from Theatre Studies Department of Athens University as well as from Acting School “RABA”. She received scholarships from Athens Concert Hall, Cultural Foundation of National Bank and Onassis Foundation to study Stage Management. She graduated with honours from Middlesex University of London – Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts with a BA Degree in Technical Theatre (Stage Management, Lighting, Sound and Set Design).She worked as a Production Assistant for Olympic Games – Athens 2004. In 2006 she started an MA research in Cultural Management (City University). She has worked as Stage Manager with National Opera of Greece, with Experimental National Greek Opera as well as with British Youth Opera. During 2005-2007 she worked as an Assistant Stage Manager in various productions in UK. She works as Production Manager for a private Events- Concerts Company based in Athens. She is now preparing many events in some of the best Greek Artistic Venues like: Pallas Theatre, Gazarte, Lycabettus Hill, Herodium Theatre etc. She is a tutor of Sound and Lighting Design in private education. She is a Member of Board of the Hellenic Scientific Theatre Association.