The National Theatre of Greece is organising its 8th International Ancient Drama Workshop from 7 to 22 July in Lygourio, Epidaurus, in partnership with the Municipality of Epidaurus. This year’s workshop, entitled “Deep within, he found language with words”, will be taught by actress Amalia Moutoussi in collaboration with musician and teacher of the Alexander Technique, Stelios Katsatsidis, with traditional Greek dance teacher Konstantinos Giournas, and assisted by the director and actor Emmanouil Kontos.
The title comes from the First Stasimon of Sophocles’ Antigone, in a translation by the poet Nikos Panagiotopoulos, which will also form the core of our work. The workshop is aimed at young theatre professionals, including actors, directors, graduates of drama schools, and stage practitioners who want on the one hand to deepen their knowledge of ancient drama and investigate how it functions, and on the other to try working on specific topics. At the same time, the main objective of the workshop is to encourage a fruitful conversation about the reception of ancient drama in the modern world, approaches to staging it, and issues arising from it, while also strengthening the dialogue that tragedy itself has with the individual.
The workshop’s intensive programme includes speeches, discussions with artists, masterclasses, and activities such as a guided tour of the archaeological site of Epidaurus, to help foster both a connection with the place and its history, and a sense of its importance. Participants will also be able to watch performances at the two theatres at Ancient Epidaurus.
The International Ancient Drama Workshop was established on an annual basis in 2016. It is a member of the International Ancient Drama Network created, coordinated and financed by the Ministry of Culture to educate people working in the theatre at various levels and in diverse capacities about ancient drama, familiarise the general public with the genre, and develop the conditions under which theatre people from different countries can work together. The academic head of the workshop is Dr. Irene Moundraki.
“Deep within, he found language with words”
A workshop on the power of collectivity in the face of enduring social adversity. With the overarching theme of celebrating the strength of the human spirit, the workshop will employ contemporary approaches to the development of poetic expression. Special attention will be given to embodiment and the vocalisation of the respiratory function as a basis for developing the process of interpretation and performance. The voice/voices will be armed with a common direction and the poetic language of Sophocles, in the equally poetic translation of Antigone by Nikos Panagiotopoulos; particular emphasis will be placed on the First Stasimon as the core working material, with key themes of the tragedy serving as focal points for exploration: resistance to authority and fanaticism, the role of women insociety, and empowerment of individual conscience and moral responsibility.
Key topics to be explored through practical tools will be collectivity and subjectivity in the articulation of the Chorus’ text, development of the process exhalation-sound-speech-silence as a dynamic cycle, and musicality in the prosodic and rhythmic delivery of speech.
The workshop's individual sessions will include techniques of physicality through bio-sensory methods (Alexander Technique, Greek traditional dance) and reinforcement of semantic support through breathing and movement exercises. The workshop will conclude with a composition of the First Stasimon from Antigone, utilising the workshop's methods to shape a unified and fully realised artistic expression.
Working languages
English & Greek (knowledge of English is also essential for Greek participants).
Participation fee
600 euros for participants from abroad. This covers tuition, transfer from Athens to Lygourio, Epidaurus (and return), accommodation in a hotel, breakfast and lunch, local transportation, a guided tour of the archaeological site, and tickets to performances that are part of the programme.
Those interested should email their CV, including one photo, by 3 June 2025 to drama2@n-t.gr with “8th International Ancient Drama Workshop” in the subject line. Participants will be selected on the basis of their CVs. An interview will follow where considered necessary.
Read more about the teachers here.
