Galery

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The story of Yannis is the story of a boy who has fought for his dream of becoming an actor. For years he hasn’t got the courage to oppose his parents for their sacrifices to give him good education – a guarantee of secure employment and salary. He has been running against himself for years. He studied, graduated and worked not what he wanted. And he was not happy. Until one day life itself came to ask if he will not at last turn to his dream of becoming an actor ...

Being an actor is a vocation. To find your vocation could be easy or ... difficult. It is difficult when you haven’t understood or fight against to understand who you are. What is your role in your own life. For to play roles, you have to find yours first. And this sometimes turns to be a serious battle. You have to find your personality and to build it. You need dreams. But a man needs personality to dream. Otherwise, what you have succeeded in falls into an abyss and looses its meaning. And man gets lost. Or, as Yannis says, "becomes indifferent spectator of yourself." Then, the man should swim a sea of mistakes and oceans of doubt before reaching the ultimate goal, yourself. Once you find yourself you have to win the right to be yourself and follow your dreams. But this is not always easy. Especially when they clash with the dreams of the people who love us. Yannis, however, made it!

I can tell you a lot about my childhood. I'm from the generation that grew up in blocks of flats. I have not had the chance to play in the street like many other children in the countryside or like the older generations. The 1980s generation passed from the street games and football to another way of life and children began to grow at home – with TV and games, more inside and less outside.

But when I think back, this certainly has something to do with my passions for acting. I got a sharp eye since I was a child. The children that spent their childhood in games in the streets are not so observant. Their manners are freer and easier, they have had more contacts. They have certainly found themselves faster. They were more extroverts. They say that previous generations have matured faster. I haven’t got a brother or sister. This is also a big disadvantage. When a child does not spend time outdoors playing but sits at home watching TV the presence of another child is very important. Otherwise, loneliness comes by itself. I am not saying that those who have brothers are the most social persons in the world, of course. But you can learn a lot from cohabitation. You learn life faster. You divide the family problems, the rules, you learn to fight.

Evidently, the 1980s generations and after have different growing models. Social medium has changed and many people at my age do not know themselves. We haven’t tried to hear ourselves. We have followed some established pathways, advices, guidance.

Going I was to theatre rehearsals with my father since I was 5 years old. But he had no connection with art. He was doing amateur theatre but very rarely. I remember to this day that I heard them all saying some strange words and laughing. I thought then that if I memorize these words they will laugh at me. So, I was getting on stage after the rehearsal without anyone seeing me and I said what I remembered. This was my first contact with theatre.

As a child I spent most of the time alone. My parents worked as servants and they went out at 06.30 in the morning and came home at 06.00 in the afternoon. I came home by bus after school, called up to tell them that I came back, I heated my meal and I was alone till the evening. My parents’ coming home was very important to me. There was life at home again. But they were usually tired. My mother was barely able to cook and to do some other two or three things. And help me for school. My father was playing with me a little, helped me in math and we went to bed at 22.00 o’clock.

Naturally, my life was very monotonous until I got 18. That was obvious in my behaviour. I was moody, I had friends and companies, but I was not a particularly happy child. The problems in my head were not resolved. I was not of those children who have understood the things and the only thing they were interested was to go and buy pants or socks. I thought about many things ...

The truth is that I matured earlier than my peers. Other people were telling me that too. However, compared to some kids I had a happy childhood. I was fortunate to have good parents who sacrificed a lot for me. Not only money but time too. In the summer, when there was no school, my father came from work and picked me up with the bike to go to play on the square. I have not grown up in a neighbourhood where children play free and their mothers only call them to go home to sleep. But on the other hand, I had parents whose priority was to spend my time well, as better as possible.

Of, course, my hobby in high school was the theatre troupe. I found myself. My roles were increasingly more significant. People were eagerly waiting for our performances. Teachers and students, they all convinced me that I should play. And right here, between the second and third class, appeared the theatre or University dilemma...
 
Likely at is it might be, my parents understood that I liked theatre while I was playing in the troupe, but the idea that it might be my profession did not fascinate them. My father agreed but my mother did not. And because everything depends on her in our family I had a serious dilemma and...I got scared. I got very scared. I was afraid to go against their wishes...which cost me a lot. It cost me two years of exams...because I wasn’t able to read. I didn’t take in the university the first time but the third. The reason for this was that I did not care where I would go and what I would do. I chose a discipline that was the easiest for a man who does not care about anything. Economics. I was admitted in Patras. If I read more, I could be admitted in an Athens university. But I was working against myself then.

I found myself in Patras and realized that theatre was over for me. Whatever it was, it was. I decided that this is not for me. I was not dealing with it at all for 4 years. It was all very strange; it was like I was deliberately walking against myself. I was trying to convince myself that economy is my vocation. I was another man during these four years without theatre. I closed. The circle I was in seemed strange, I did not like it. I had crisis moments when it came to exams. I was even concerned if I’d graduate at all. I could not explain why these things were happening. I was not involved in my life. I was watching myself from afar. It was like I was a spectator of myself. My parents asked me when I will finally graduate. They could not support me financially any longer. And I owed exams ...

Vividly has changed my life when they called me from the old theatre troupe at the end of my studies and told me they want to act again. They wanted to make a troupe of school graduates. My dream revived again. I spent a whole year traveling between Patras and Athens to rehearse.

Eventually I realized that when you like something nothing can stop you from doing it. Neither distance nor fatigue.

Then I returned to Athens. I started working, I prepared for the rest of the exams and at the same time I went to rehearse with the theatre troupe. I was tired but the fact that the theatre was still present in my life gave me incredible strength. I felt fulfilled. At one point, however, our troupe fell apart and theatre disappeared from my life again

Here was I, however, 25 years old already and I said to myself: 'This is the end of it, I have to get a job paying a secure salary.’ It was clear that my desire to deal with theatre was not particularly appreciated at home and I did not want to go against my family. Especially when I realized that these people have greatly sacrificed for me. They told me that actors hardly earn. But after I’ve been working with my specialty for 3-4years I realized that I was not able to go on. To wake up at 9 o’clock in the morning, to do things mechanically most of which have no meaning for me, but ... should just happen. And to do a job that I do not want from the bottom of my heart...

Evidently, I'm a lucky guy because a woman appeared in my life...a woman who knew me since I was a child. This was the mother of my good friend from school. She witnessed my childhood development and knew a lot about my love for theatre. One day she said: "Why do you go so much against yourself and against what you want to do?" I was terribly scared. I acted like a rock. I did not want to admit at all that this was true. Then she told me that if I do not do something now there will come the time when I can not do anything and that I must act while it is time for not to be unhappy in life. Not to become someone who does not enjoy anything, who is not excited by anything. To be 30 years old but to feel like 40. She told me also that she has seen in me another person when I got on stage before, not the child who played with her son.

Look, it was sad that I continued to struggle with myself and with her. To oppose I told her that I decided to continue to study. She told me that she would support me only if I really wanted to do the masters, and not because I have to do it...

I then saw my fighting during all those years to flash red. But if I didn’t fight we probably wouldn’t be talking right here and right now. I was very afraid of my parents; they have sacrificed so much for me. I thought it would ruin them. But they knew I wasn’t happy after I came home from work. This was a crucial moment. Life itself came to say: "Hey, buddy, this is your last chance. Either you make a decision now or forget about theatre forever. There won’t be fourth chance!"

Figure it out – I was still running against myself after this conversation. I studied for master degree!!! I, however, had to drop the master degree and my work to become a soldier. There I considered the situation. I came out in May and in June I had already submitted my documents for acting. A different Yannis was born!

 
                  I began to live the life I wanted to live!

 

End. I'm a different person now. I'm happy!

I can not go to work due to the busy schedule at school. And I'm of age of which you are not supposed to not work. Most people around me have already found their way. And I feel that I am a little behind ... But believing that I will do something I love.

Willingly, if you want to become a good actor it is not necessary to be theatre school graduate. That is true. There are no rules to learn and apply in acting. The school, however, is a very good start to get things square. You are learning theatre, reading art books, books about acting, theatre history. It provides a base that anyone could use in their own way.

As education, theatre means studying "the man". People are different. You learn to distinguish different characters at school because of rehearsals and the contacts with colleagues. But no one will teach you how to play a role. There is no patent. There are schools, there are theories, but then it comes to your personal contribution, your own signature.

Next, the experience of the actor is important. The actor has to be a multifaceted personality. The actor has to study and observe life, people and things that happen around. He gets stimuli that help to understand the roles and involve something new in the roles played.

The truth is that I don’t put myself in a category of actors. I'm ready to play any role. And I believe that every actor should be able to play different roles. But the choice is not always his. Categorization does not start from the actor. It is how the director, producer, audience see you. They put the labels, they give definitions. In fact, comedy is much more compelling than drama. It is more pleasant for the actor. But it is not easy to perform it. It is even more difficult than drama. It is much more difficult to make someone laugh than cry. The question is that whether you play comedy or drama, the atmosphere must always be exciting. Not to allow spectators to remove their eyes from you. That is the goal and this is the difficulty of the task.

Energy of the spectators defines whether things will get done because the spectators participate in the whole process. Spectators who come to track what happens on stage make you start from scratch. Spectators who did not come with such a primary purpose make you start from minus. It is up to you whether you could grab the spectators on a journey with you... The appraisal, however, is not whether the audiences will love the show but whether it noticed that you have given your soul on stage.

Dоes an actor want to succeed today? Then he needs everything like advertising, good PR, etc. You can not ignore these things. But you can not consider PRs and contacts more important than the role playing itself. Most importantly, the actor always should try to be as good as possible. Then, if the actor uses all the rest we could say there is a chance to survive. But as I said, the most important thing is to be a good actor. I will try not to lose myself ...

Turning back the time... If I had a chance to change things... Do you know what? These 10 years I have "wasted" if it is to say, while I studied economics and worked, made me sensitive. And they as if created a volcano in me that is much needed now. I am not saying that I only have volcano in me, but I feel that it is very strong. I did not do what I loved, but I created a source of energy. And I learned things about myself. Because it is difficult to play if you don’t know yourself. There is no way to put your personal stamp. And can get lost in the role...
 
Of course I am afraid. This field is full of people, there is no room for new ones. But this is what I like, what I want to do. And now I am completely sure of myself. I have made the right choice. I have an endless desire to work and this is something incredibly powerful.

Lots of categories of young people today, not one. I see at school that some aspire to become good actors, others are more interested in fame. There are those who are interested mostly in money. Others want little bit of everything. But this could be no young people’s fault. They should jump into waters that have already changed. You can not blame those who act just for fame. After offering it to them ... Once you have shown them that it is very important. We need to think over what is important and what is not and to follow this.

I know Greeks are emotional, passionate and love to express themselves... But I disagree that Greeks are natural born actors and that half of Greece sings. In this case, we could not consider this a feature of the people. The fact that half of the country is singing is due mainly to the fact that the media have promoted such a prototype to show that you would live better nowadays only if you are singer. This is a phenomenon not observed in other countries. We should ask ourselves not why half of Greece is singing and that people are talented, but why an 18-year-old youth wants to become a singer. Because he or she knows that as a singer of popular music with folk elements, with average text and music, he or she will earn money. Our society’s concept is money. It may sound sad, but it is true. This young man is continuously watching on TV people of no music talent to sing here and there and getting rich. So, why won’t he? Let me tell you that the relationship that has developed between the media and spectators is not entirely bilateral. And we are not talking just about music and acting. When each channel has two reality shows it means something... The channel does not ask the viewers "What would you like to see?”... But it is never too late to change this connection. Society continues to develop.  A new generation was born, another dies and another new is born again.

Virtually, it's nice and necessary to be optimistic. And I'm optimistic provided that we assume that none of us is faultless. Because everyone is interested only in his house, his pocket and what is happening around him. We should stop thinking that way. Our greed is to blame for the crisis too. A cup of coffee in not enough in the company of friends. We want more. Palace, nice car, villa, etc. Without making any efforts for all this. If you ask me, this is an American prototype. Incur debts, enjoy all good things in life and you have a lifetime ahead to pay for it all. This may sound good but things are different in practice. I do not know the system and the work in America in details but I know that the American dream became the World dream. For each country separately. The crisis is a good chance any of us to analyze the things..

Eventually, we should listen to our souls more