On May 16, the drama workshop titled Art Education in Greek Schools: Building Citizenship Through Cultural Heritage was successfully held at the Staff Club of the School of Film and Animation at CCAA. Ms. Georgina Kakoudaki, a renowned Greek theater director, drama educator, and theorist, delivered a unique interactive theater experience. The workshop was attended by faculty and student representatives from CCAA, as well as theater performance instructors from several sister institutions.
With a career spanning 25 years in theater production, education, and research, Georgina Kakoudaki is a leading figure in ancient Greek drama and the education of young artists and students. Since 2009, she has directed professional theater performances for young audiences, focusing on reinterpreting classical texts from ancient Greek and world theater on the modern stage. She has taught drama education and related courses at the University of Patras and the University of the Peloponnese in Greece, as well as at the University of Athens and the University of Thessaly in Volos. Additionally, she has conducted drama workshops and lectures at universities and theater institutions abroad. She has also taught drama at numerous public primary and secondary schools and educational institutions in Greece. Since April 2016, she has served as the co-curator and director of educational programs for the International Summer School of Ancient Drama (Epidaurus Lyceum) at the Athens and Epidaurus Festival.
Titled Arts Education in the Greek Schools: Building Civil Identity Through Cultural Heritage, the workshop centered on the inheritance and development of Greece's cultural heritage resources. Ms. Georgina Kakoudaki demonstrated how drama education can foster civic awareness and identity, enabling individuals to engage in public life. Using Antigone, the timeless masterpiece by the renowned Greek playwright Sophocles, as the foundation, she provided faculty and students with a cross-temporal interactive drama education experience.
Throughout the workshop, participants engaged in a series of exercises—establishing safety protocols, sensing bodily rhythms, recognizing self and others, designing movements and empowering roles, and exchanging perspectives through group collaboration. Guided by Ms. Kakoudaki, they immersed themselves in the reenactment of Antigone, discovering striking similarities and shared values between Greek and Chinese civilizations.
In the end, the group successfully recreated one of Antigone’s most iconic lines: "I was born to join love, not hate. This is my nature." This became CCAA's rendition of Antigone—a fresh interpretation where ancient Greek mythological characters were infused with contemporary Chinese imagery and elements. The artistic harmony and interconnected civilizations of these two ancient cultures left everyone in awe, embodying the spirit of mutual appreciation and shared humanity.
In the end, all the faculty and students expressed their gratitude to Ms. Georgina Kakoudaki. Accompanied by the dean and faculty representatives of the School of Film and Animation, she toured the college and showed great interest in the animated and film works created by the students and teachers. She remarked that the future holds boundless opportunities for collaboration. Despite the vast geographical distance between China and Greece, our cultural foundations share remarkable similarities. As part of a shared human destiny, she hopes that art educators and practitioners from both countries will continue to learn from each other, preserve the treasures of human culture, and contribute to building a diverse and vibrant global civilization.
