Thomas Papathanassiou Thomas completed his training in all aspects of theatre at Curtin University (Theatre Arts/Literature) and WAAPA (Music Theatre), and has since performed in numerous theatre productions as well as TV and short film appearances including the Australasian touring production of Chicago – The Musical. He has also been Head of Drama at a Summer Program in Upstate New York, a guest acting teacher/director at Charles Sturt University, and is a freelance drama tutor, director and choreographer, working at the VCA, St Martin’s Youth Arts Centre, Barking Gecko Theatre Company, Buzz Dance Theatre Company and Black Swan State Theatre Company. Focusing on devising new Australian work, he completed a Graduate Diploma in Animateuring (Performance Creation) at the VCA in 2004 and has collaborated on numerous Creative Developments and productions including projects with theatre practitioners Anna Tregloan (Contemptuous Perplexity), Vanessa Pigrum (The Things You Cannot Know) and Anthony Crowley (The Wild Blue Project, The Frail Man, Shadow Passion). Other work includes Associate Director for Non Parlo Di Salo (Melbourne Workers Theatre), Assistant/Rehearsal Director for Tribe (Victorian Arts Centre) and Director for Picasso’s Children (St Martins Youth Arts Centre). In July 2006, Thomas travelled to Greece on a scholarship to study the rehearsal and production processes of the National Theatre of Greece as they prepared for the summer season at the world heritage listed ancient amphitheatre of Epidaurus. His self-devised solo show Looming the Memory, which examines identity, memory and displacement, has been performed to successful seasons in the 2006 Adelaide Fringe Festival, two seasons in Perth where it has won him Best Actor (2006 WA Guild Equity Awards) and Best Production (2007 Blue Room Awards), the 2009 Singapore Fringe Festival, Melbourne (La Mama Theatre), the 2009 Darwin Festival and the 2009 New York International Fringe Festival. He has appeared in Don Quixote, La Fille Mal Gardee and The Nutcracker for Youth Ballet WA, The Greatest Woman in the World for Agelink Theatre, Irene the Musical for Peach Productions at His Majesty Theatre with Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, The Caucasian Chalk Circle and Portraits of Modern Evil for Black Swan State Theatre Company’s 2008 Hotbed Ensemble, and Café Rebetika, a project examining the political and social turmoil of 1930’s Greece and the rise of the urban Greek blues (Rebetika), and on a larger scale to the relationship between displacement, music and subcultures, which had its world premiere at The Victorian Arts Centre in April 2009, and will tour Queensland, New South Wales and ACT in 2011 (www.caferebetika.com).

Thomas Papathanassiou

Thomas completed his training in all aspects of theatre at Curtin University (Theatre Arts/Literature) and WAAPA (Music Theatre), and has since performed in numerous theatre productions as well as TV and short film appearances including the Australasian touring production of Chicago – The Musical. He has also been Head of Drama at a Summer Program in Upstate New York, a guest acting teacher/director at Charles Sturt University, and is a freelance drama tutor, director and choreographer, working at the VCA, St Martin’s Youth Arts Centre, Barking Gecko Theatre Company, Buzz Dance Theatre Company and Black Swan State Theatre Company.

Focusing on devising new Australian work, he completed a Graduate Diploma in Animateuring (Performance Creation) at the VCA in 2004 and has collaborated on numerous Creative Developments and productions including projects with theatre practitioners Anna Tregloan (Contemptuous Perplexity), Vanessa Pigrum (The Things You Cannot Know) and Anthony Crowley (The Wild Blue Project, The Frail Man, Shadow Passion). Other work includes Associate Director for Non Parlo Di Salo (Melbourne Workers Theatre), Assistant/Rehearsal Director for Tribe (Victorian Arts Centre) and Director for Picasso’s Children (St Martins Youth Arts Centre).

In July 2006, Thomas travelled to Greece on a scholarship to study the rehearsal and production processes of the National Theatre of Greece as they prepared for the summer season at the world heritage listed ancient amphitheatre of Epidaurus.

His self-devised solo show Looming the Memory, which examines identity, memory and displacement, has been performed to successful seasons in the 2006 Adelaide Fringe Festival, two seasons in Perth where it has won him Best Actor (2006 WA Guild Equity Awards) and Best Production (2007 Blue Room Awards), the 2009 Singapore Fringe Festival, Melbourne (La Mama Theatre), the 2009 Darwin Festival and the 2009 New York International Fringe Festival.

He has appeared in Don Quixote, La Fille Mal Gardee and The Nutcracker for Youth Ballet WA, The Greatest Woman in the World for Agelink Theatre, Irene the Musical for Peach Productions at His Majesty Theatre with Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, The Caucasian Chalk Circle and Portraits of Modern Evil for Black Swan State Theatre Company’s 2008 Hotbed Ensemble, and Café Rebetika, a project examining the political and social turmoil of 1930’s Greece and the rise of the urban Greek blues (Rebetika), and on a larger scale to the relationship between displacement, music and subcultures, which had its world premiere at The Victorian Arts Centre in April 2009, and will tour Queensland, New South Wales and ACT in 2011 (www.caferebetika.com).