Dr Christina Kapadocha

Biography

I am a London-based theatre and somatic practitioner-researcher and founder of Somatic Acting Process®. My earliest artistic and professional development included studies and qualifications in classical piano and singing (Advanced Certificate-Distinction), music theatre (LCM, Level 5-Distinction), dance and literature (BA-Dissertation Distinction). My ongoing professional experience in theatre and acting practices started formally in 2005 when I began my studies at the Greek National Theatre (GNT) Drama School, which operates in tandem with the National Theatre of Greece. As a Greek-born actress, I shaped the ground of my expertise in acting as a first-class GNT Drama School graduate (Diploma in Acting). While in Greece, I performed, among others, in productions of the National Theatre of Greece and the Athens Festival. In 2010 I was awarded a full-time scholarship from the Greek State Scholarship Foundation (IKY) to advance my acting studies in the UK. I moved to London and completed my postgraduate degree in acting at East 15 Acting School (MA Acting International-Distinction). During my studies at East 15, I also got the opportunity for a residency in Bali (ISI Denpasar) and Moscow (GITIS) where I studied and performed. After my MA, I started developing an expertise in the interrelation between modern somatic movement and theatre practices through a Practice-as-Research PhD at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (RCSSD) and my professional development as somatic movement educator (RSME, Diploma IBMT/BMC®). For these studies I was additionally awarded an Elsie Fogerty Research Degree Studentship by RCSSD. As part of my PhD and the critical investigation of actor-training pedagogies, I shaped a new actor-training approach introduced as Somatic Acting Process. I started teaching my practice and related subjects in major London-based drama schools (such as RCSSD, East 15, Mountview, Rose Bruford) and independent contexts. Since April 2018 I am a full-time Lecturer in Movement for Acting & Research at East 15 as a member of both the Movement and Research teams. As a practitioner-researcher, I focus on the investigation of embodiment processes through somatically inspired practices into theatre-performing environments and beyond. I particularly introduce new praxical (practical-theoretical) discussions on the somatic in theatre-performance and voice studies, including the edited collection Somatic Voices in Performance Research and Beyond (Routledge, 2021), several articles for international journals, blog posts and practice-research videos. For my artistic research activities, I have been awarded 2020 Outstanding Early Career Researcher in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Essex and Outstanding Research Supervisor of the Year 2023-2024. My theatre experience in the UK includes performances at the Cockpit Theatre and Roundhouse, as an independent artist and as a member of Andreas Skourtis-Performing Architectures company. I have, among others, directed and/or facilitated performances (as acting coach, movement director, embodiment/intimacy/stage fight facilitator) at the Park Theatre, Cockpit Theatre, Arcola Theatre, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Hoxton Hall, Embassy Theatre (RCSSD) and Corbett Theatre (East 15). My latest artistic-research focus is the investigation of a theatrical form that re-evaluates the dynamics between performers and non-performers/active participants through embodied dramaturgies and contemporary approaches to catharsis. I identify it as Somatic Theatre.

Qualifications

• PhD Royal Central School of Speech and Drama,

• MA in Acting East 15 Acting School, University of Essex,

• BA in Acting Greek National Theatre (GNT) Drama School,

• BA in Greek Literature University of Patras,

Appointments

University of Essex

• Lecturer in Theatre and Movement, East 15 Acting School (9/4/2018 - present)

• Movement Tutor, East 15 Acting School (7/10/2014 - 9/4/2018)

Other academic

• Visiting Lecturer, Rose Bruford College (6/3/2017 - 9/4/2018)

• MA Tutor, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts (1/2/2016 - 9/4/2018)

• Visiting Lecturer, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (3/6/2013 - 9/4/2018)