EPIDAURUS LYCEUM
International Summer School on Ancient Drama
The Epidaurus Lyceum is an international summer school of ancient drama studies and practice located in the area of ancient Epidaurus, operating annually during the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, and aiming at the participation of students and recent graduates of Theatre Academies, drama schools, dance schools and university departments (undergraduate or graduate level) of performing arts (acting, dance, performance) from around the world.
Its main focus lies on researching ancient Greek theatre (tragedy, comedy, satyr play) on a practical / experiential level, combining a wide range of approaches, from the most traditional to the most experimental methods, aesthetic trends and interpretative approaches.
The programme’s practical and theoretical workshops, lectures, masterclasses, educational visits and other activities take place at specifically chosen venues around the Epidaurus area, such as ancient theatres, archaeological sites, open air spaces, cultural centres, and school facilities, with the support of the relevant administrative bodies.
Since the inauguration of the programme in 2017, are than 400 students and 70 teachers from Greece and abroad have participated in the summer school. Since 2018, the programme is academically accredited by the University of Peloponnese.
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
International collaborations are fundamental in order to secure the Lyceum’s philosophy and its studies’ and teaching staff’s level of excellence.
Its basic aim is to create an international network that will exchange knowledge and experience on modern educational methods, dramaturgy, acting and directing. Working alongside major institutions and universities from across the globe will also help establish a forum on contemporary research and performance of ancient drama.
In this context the Epidaurus Lyceum has hosted students and teachers from more than 50 educational institutions and artistic organizations from around the globe, while, in previous years it was affiliated with the Shanghai Theatre Academy, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the Kadir Has University in Turkey, the School of Creative and Performing Arts, University of Calgary and the Dramatic Arts Centre of Iran and the Fajr International Theatre Festival, among other institutions.
INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The International Advisory Committee can help establish the guiding lines, regulations and teaching pillars of the programme. Its members can participate in the evaluation process of prospective teachers and affiliated institutions and organizations.
Current members of the Epidaurus Lyceum International Advisory Committee are:
- a) Εugenio Barba, director (Odin Teatret)
- b) Luca Biagiotti, director, Head of Prima del Teatro: European School for the Art of the Actor, Guildhall School of Music and Drama Honorary Fellow
- c) Effimia Karakantza, Assistant Professor at the Philology Department of the University of Patras
- d) Dennis Hilton – Reid, director, acting coach and teacher (Pace University, The New School, The City College of New York)
- e) Roberto Romei, theatre director, teacher, Director of the Department of Dramaturgy, Scenography and Choreography at the Institut del Teatre in Barcelona
GOALS
A meeting place for actors, playwrights, directors, musicians, choreographers, artists, as well as theatrologists, anthropologists, musicologists, the Epidaurus Lyceum aims at crafting a space where tradition and innovation, ancient and modern civilization will share a creative coexistence, fueled by two equally important factors – ancient drama and the actor.
From an educational point of view, the Lyceum’s courses will focus on applied research via the exploration of different acting techniques. The curriculum will not just artistically “inform” and familiarize students with directorial approaches to ancient drama but will include courses run by acclaimed teachers and artists creating a platform of experiential learning that will strengthen the research area related to different expressive techniques and tools of stage acting. Visiting scholars will be chosen on the aforementioned basis.
The Epidaurus Lyceum, therefore, aims at:
Providing young actors with extra abilities, technical knowledge and acting tools to match a varied spectrum of directorial approaches to ancient drama.
Facilitating an environment of coexistence between teachers and actors from different cultural backgrounds, through the process of intercultural communication.
Familiarizing young artists with ancient and contemporary Greek civilization.
Epidaurus Lyceum front stage (You can read here an introductory note by Georgina Kakoudaki, Head of the Epidaurus Lyceum and curator of Educational Programmes between 2016 and 2019)
The Epidaurus Lyceum is an Athens & Epidaurus Festival educational programme, an initiative of Vangelis Theodoropoulos, former artistic director of the Athens & Epidaurus Festival (during the period 2016 – 2019).
The Epidaurus Lyceum is realized under the auspices and the support of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports and it is a member of the Ministry’s International Network of Ancient Drama.
It is realized in collaboration with the Department of Theatre Studies, School of Fine Arts, University of the Peloponnese.
With the support of:
- The Epidaurus Municipality
- The Ephorate of Antiquities of Argolis (Nafplio)
- Institut Français
- Istituto Italiano di Cultura Atene and the Italian Ministry of Culture
We would like to thank:
- the Municipality of Nafplio for their support in the Educating Audiences in Ancient Drama programme
- the National Theatre of Greece, the National Theatre of Northern Greece and the Attiko School of Ancient Drama for their collaboration in the framework of the International Network of Ancient Drama of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture
Affiliated with:
- the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens “e-learning” programme and the “You Go Culture” online platform
Affiliated with:
