Elena Mavridou, director, actor, and acting teacher, is offering a three-month workshop titled **“Acting with Mask in Comedy.”**
Drawing on her years of study and extensive experience in teaching, acting, and directing theatrical mask work, participants will explore the creation of a character.
The workshop focuses on training the body and voice to build a character from scratch.
Elena Mavridou will guide participants through a structured methodology and mask techniques combined with:
* Jacques Lecoq techniques
* American acting system
* Body language and observation of human behavior
* Commedia dell’Arte techniques
* Improvisation techniques
* Textual and physical rhythm
Participants will practice these methods to achieve the full transformation necessary to embody a character of their own invention.
Elena Mavridou and the participants become co-creators in this process. The actor brings their thought, body, imagination, and expressive tools, gradually discovering the character. The methodology aims to combine technical skill with the organic flow of the moment and spontaneity — this is where the character is born.
Elena Mavridou was born in Drama, Greece. She is a graduate of the **National Theatre of Northern Greece** and studied Theatre Studies at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She is a founding member of **Horos Theatre Company**.
She has collaborated with the **National Theatre of Greece, K.Th.V.E., Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens & Epidaurus Festival**, among others.
Her stage work includes performances in: *Frogs, Antigone, Golfo 2.3 beta, Golfo director’s cut, Apokopos, Melted Butter, Recycle, Erofili synopsis, To Telos, Greek Freak, Don Quixote, Woyzeck*, and more.
She has worked with directors such as **Simos Kakalas, Michalis Marmarinos, Katerina Evangelatou, Dominik Moll, Mustafa Avkiran, Sotiris Chatzakis, Viktoras Arditis**, and others. Her performances have been featured in international festivals including: Sibiu Festival (Romania), Tampere International Theatre Festival (Finland), Dialog Festival – Wroclaw (Poland), International Street Artist Festival – Szczecin (Poland), Heidelberger Stückemarkt – Heidelberg (Germany), Blagoevgrad Festival (Bulgaria), and the Athens & Epidaurus Festival.
In cinema, she has participated in feature and short films such as: *Moni Sera Margaritaria* (Vasilis Kehagia, N-orasis, ERT1, 2005), *Ultimate Substance* (London, Lisson Gallery, 2012), *Medea Melea* (Christos Karabelas, Festival de Cannes Corner, 2014), *Oxtes* (Panos Karkanavatos, 2015), *Black Box* (Anthí Tsirouki, Festival de Cannes Corner, 2018), *Rages* (Elina Fessa, 2017), *EDEN* (Dominik Moll, Lupa Film & Atlantique & Port au Prince – Arte, 2019), *Identity* (Panos Pappas & Despina Charalambous, 2019), among others.
She has received the **Best Actress “Melina Mercouri” Award** (2008), **Best Actress “Karolos Koun” Award** (2008), and the **Best Actress award for the Greek short film “Rages”** by Elina Fessa – Nychtes Premieras (2017). In 2018, she was a member of the jury for the Drama Short Film Festival awards.
She has worked extensively on adapting plays and creating new works for the stage, including: *Melted Butter* by Sakis Serefas (dramaturgical adaptation based on the original play, research material, novella, and pre-existing screenplay), *Recycle* (National Theatre), *To Telos* (Onassis Cultural Centre, devised theatre methodology), *Wuthering Heights* (Horos Theatre, literary adaptation for the stage, funded by the Ministry of Culture), and *Erofili* by Chortatsis (Athens Festival).
She has directed *Waiting for Godot* (Beckett, 2018), *The Wing* (2020), *Little Red Riding Hood and the Wild Leaves* (2020), and *Lambros* by D. Solomos (2021).
Elena teaches acting and improvisation at the **Higher Drama School of the Municipality of Agia Varvara “Iakovos Kampanellis”** and at the **Higher Private School of Dramatic Arts “Technon Ekato”** by Lakis Lazopoulos.
