Team


Christina Gyftaki – Owner and Founder

Christina is a performer – director and kinesiologist.
She has studied alongside Terzopoulos, Ecole Internationale de Théâtre Jaques Lecoq, Grotowski’s Institute, Philippe Gaullier, Jan Fabre, etc. Her postgraduate studies were carried out in fields such as Dance, Cultural Tourism and Contemporary Performance Practices. As an actor – performer, she has collaborated with notable directors in Greece and abroad.
She has directed a significant number of performances, while also directing thematic events and festivals. She teaches acting and movement at Drama Schools in and outside Greece.
In recent years she has been experimenting with digital media in creative performance, with Video Art, as well as with light and shadow in space and in various materials. She is active both in UK and Greece, while collaborating professionally with various theater companies in both countries.


Lazaros Lazaridis

Lazaros is an actor and co-founder of TerrArte.
He was born in Thessaloniki and graduated from the A. Voutsinas Drama School. He is a young actor with outstanding acting skills. His love and knowledge of dance add an additional tool to his resume. In addition, his talent for tailoring helps him to take on stylistic as well as creative suggestions in artistic performances with theatrical costumes in his capacity as a costume designer.
His relationship with children is highly creative. He has participated as an actor in children’s performance shows, in theme parks, and has engaged many children in interactive and informative games in various schools in the city.


Anastasia Ladopoulou

Anastasia is a performing arts tutor and artist.
She graduate of the Department of Performing and Digital Arts of the University of Peloponnese, with a deep love for theatre, pedagogy and creative expression.
She has many years of experience in customer service, from which she has cultivated communication and organizational skills necessary in any pedagogical and collaborative context.
She worked for two years in a childcare center, where she developed a meaningful relationship with children, strengthened her ability to organize creative activities and manage groups with sensitivity and care.
Her arts education has equipped her with flexibility, open-mindedness and the ability to inspire and energize those around her.


Ada Tsesmeli Edwards

Ada is a professor of English Language & Arts, author, and director of theatrical works.
With studies in Biochemistry, Neurosciences, and Cognitive Science, she combines academic research with art, emphasizing the connection between science and theater.
Since 2008, she has been creating and directing original works and musicals, while teaching English language and theatrical monologue in higher dramatic schools.
She lives in Thessaloniki with her two sons.


Lia Giofka

tbc


Andreas Balaouras

Andreas is an artist and a visual arts teacher.
He is a graduate of the Department of Visual and Applied Arts of the School of Fine Arts of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and holder of the integrated master’s degree. For the last 13 years he has been working as an Educational Visual Artist in Primary/Secondary schools, both General and Special Education. As an artist he has participated in both group and solo painting exhibitions for more than a decade.
Furthermore, his inner need for development led him to the field of theater, taking on the visual performance, in his own conception and direction. As a visual artist whose main subject is the image, he believes that it is more important than speech, it opens horizons and broadens the way of thinking. In this way, the liberation of the limited discourse is achieved and the viewer can create his own story through the plasticity, expression, movements and emotions of each scene and draw his own conclusions.
He has created a significant number of performances conceived and directed by him.


Stratis Argyrakis

Stratis is a cinematographer and photographer.
He was born and raised in Thessaloniki.
He has been working professionally in the field of video and photography for the last six years. He is a cinematographer, photographer, editor and drone operator. He has participated in various productions such as : Doglike (2023) in England, Still Here (2024) in Greece, “Elderless” Short Film (2018) in Greece etc.
He has been attending theatre classes since his teenage years and participates in amateur performances. He is a Judo athlete, while he delivers classes at the club he belongs to.


Konstantinos Mavromatakis

Konstantinos is a musician and educator.
He studied Folk and Traditional Music with a specialization in folk guitar and continues postgraduate studies in Community Music.
He has taught in elementary schools, kindergartens, and groups of children and adults. At the same time, he gives private lessons in guitar and traditional percussion instruments. In his programs, he combines music, movement, storytelling, painting, and play, cultivating a joyful environment where participants communicate and express themselves.
He has performed with musical groups in concerts throughout Greece and is involved in music production and composition. For him, music is a way to connect, share, and enjoy life—a gift that belongs to all of us.


Sofia Karakantza

Sofia is a Director
She was born in Great Britain, where she studied directing and creative writing. In 1991 she settled in Thessaloniki, where she spent a decade at the State Theatre of Northern Greece (KTHVE) as an artistic collaborator and teacher at its Drama School. She worked as an assistant director alongside V. Papavasileiou, M. Langhoff, M. Marmarinos, A. Voutsinas, E. Gavriilides, D. Chronopoulos, S. Tsakiris, and K. Kazakos. She herself directed the productions Common Sense by G. Maniotis (KTHVE, 1994) and Alice in Wonderland by L. Carroll (KTHVE, 1996).
She taught for ten years in the Department of Music Science and Art at the University. She founded the non-profit urban company for theatre, music and other arts, Mavros Gantzos. Since 2009 she has been teaching acting at the Andreas Voutsinas Higher Drama School and at the State Conservatoire of Thessaloniki in the Melodrama and Solo Singing programmes. She collaborated with the Primary Education Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for eight years. In 2020, together with a new group of actors and artists, she created the artistic company Vagabonds.


Evangelia Vragga

Evangelia is a preschool educator.
She works in a nursery and daily draws inspiration from their imagination and spontaneity. Sensory play (messy play) and process art (art that emphasizes the creative process rather than the final result) play a central role in her work.
Through colors, textures, and materials, children express themselves freely, experiment without limits, and discover the world with all their senses in a safe environment.
With this philosophy, she created her Instagram page Playday Creative Mess, a space where she shares ideas and snapshots from activities. Her goal is to inspire parents and educators, showing how art and play can become valuable tools for creativity, confidence, and connection.


Chrysa Serafeim

Chrysa is an actress.
She is from Thessaloniki and a graduate of the A. Voutsinas Drama School.
She is actively involved in the theatre, having worked with renowned directors such as G. Rigas, G. Mastrogeorgiou etc. For the last two years she has been a constant member of the theatre group Blackbird, participating in children’s productions directed by A. Ioannidou, while with the same group she took part in the Thess Fringe Festival 2024, where they received the first prize.
She has attended seminars with S. Kakalas and E. Tsolakidis and has participated in workshop performances under the guidance of Ch. Gyftakis, L. Orfanidou and N. Kapelios. At the same time, she is involved in singing, having been trained by G. Lizzos and V. Mavridou.
Recently she has taken over as a teacher in the children’s theatre workshops of Lemon Art Studio.


Nefeli Kyriakou

Nefeli is a Visual Artist.
She studied at the School of Fine Arts of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in the Department of Visual and Applied Arts with a focus on painting. She continued her studies in the Department of Archaeology and Art History at the School of Philosophy of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
In recent years, she has been active in primary and secondary education and maintains her studio in the Vardari area. She works with screen printing, painting, and printmaking. Her works have been distinguished and exhibited abroad and are found in private collections.


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