Who we are - Art Vouveau

WHO WE ARE

Art Vouveau

Art Vouveau Theatre Group, based in Athens Greece, was founded in 2013 by Tassos Dimitropoulos, Thanasis Megalopoulos, Phivos Symeonidis and Danai Tikou. The four founders -actors and friends – share a common vision about theatre which is the formation of a theatrical dialect that transcends speech through physicality and that is able to move the audience in the most unexpected ways. The group’s artistic work springs from a fusion of references such as silent movies, physical and mask theatre, german expressionism, commedia del’ arte, film noir, contemporary dance, literature and multimedia. Another distinctive feature of Art Vouveau ‘s performances is live music, which sets the rhythm for their physicality on stage. Since their beginning, they have developed teaching methods related to their work, addressed to various ages and backgrounds, and they consider their workshops as an integral part of their research.

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We create silent performances with live music. This is what we do. Not as a means for reviving old genres but rather as a way of discovering endless possibilities, worlds, and universes through the condition of the absence of speech. We formed our theatre group out of necessity to articulate, sharpen and deepen our artistic language. Although our work demands great physical accuracy, at the same time it is so liberating, and can get us as close as possible to original childlike playfulness.

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FOUNDING MEMBER

Thanasis Megalopoulos

Actor, Director

❝ if you are looking for freedom on stage, you have to be very specific. ❞

Born in Thessaloniki, Greece. He graduated with honors from the National Theatre of Northern Greece in 2010. He has taken part in performances of the National Theatre of Greece, the National Theatre of Northern Greece, the Onassis Stegi, the International Blacksea Theatre Festival and the Bursa International Balkan Countries Theatre Festival. Since 2011 he has been working both with teen and adult drama groups and since 2018 he has been a teacher and director of the educational programme of Physical Theatre with teenagers, of the National Theatre of Greece.

FOUNDING MEMBER

Phivos Symeonidis

Actor, Director

❝ our tragedies are only as big as we make them ❞

Charlie Chaplin

Born in Athens, Greece. He graduated with honors from the National Theatre in 2011. Since then he has been working as an actor taking part in various productions of the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, the Philippi Festival, the International Blacksea Theatre Festival, the Bursa International Balkan Countries Theatre Festival. He is a stable collaborator of Baumstrasse theatre group and Kopernikos theatre group. He has also been working as a workshop facilitator for teens and adults in theatre workshops of the National Theatre of Greece, the Stegi-Onassis Foundation and the Municipality Theatre of Piraeus.

FOUNDING MEMBER

Danai Tikou

Actress, Director

❝ the light is always there; if not, reach for the light switch ❞

Born in Thessaloniki, Greece. She was granted an academic scholarship from the State Scholarships Foundation for her studies in acting. She graduated with honors from the National Theatre of Northern Greece 2010. Since then she has worked as a stage director, actress and workshop facilitator. She has collaborated as an actress with many distinct institutions such the National Theatre of Greece, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, the Santorini Arts Factory Festival, the International Blacksea Theatre Festival, the Bursa International Balkan Countries Theatre Festival. She has a strong interest in collective initiatives and, thus far, she has been involved in four ensemble theatre groups, two of which she co-founded.

FOUNDING MEMBER

Tassos Dimitropoulos

Actor, Director

❝ Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again.
Fail better ❞ – Samuel Beckett

Born in Athens. He graduated from the National Theatre of Northern Greece Drama School in 2011. He has collaborated with many remarkable directors and theatre companies in performances of the National Theatre of Greece, the National Theatre of Northern Greece, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, the Onassis Stegi, the Municipality Theatre of Piraeus, the Philippi Festival, the Municipality Theatre of Kavala, the Municipality Theatre of Larissa etc. He has taken part in masterclasses in physical theatre, contemporary dance and drama education. He also loves capturing life frames through his camera and constructing his material world with his own hands.

“The most valuable part of our work is our collaborators and partners. Beautiful souls from various artistic disciplines who contribute their experience and talent to making our art more diverse, more inclusive, richer and more meaningful. The fellows you see below are the artists with whom we share a constant collaboration.”