PLAUDITS

"Yannis Simonides and Loukas Skipitaris gave us a sensitive reading of Plato's text in this exciting performance. They managed to turn the elusive Socratic character alive with immediacy, playful irony, and the dramatic depth that make The Apology an inexhaustible source of wisdom, as meaningful in our times as it was in fourth century Athens."
Constance Tagopoulos, Prof. of European Studies, Queens College, NY

"This superb production brings home to the entire audience what Socrates—and philosophy—is all about, in a way that no written commentary could ever do. Having seen Socrates interact with his listeners one understands why Plato adopted the format he did for his own philosophical works. He was his master's student."
Fred Purnell, Prof. of Philosophy, Queens College, NY

"The idea was bold . . . the actor's interpretation of Socrates' Apology had
many virtues: clarity, modesty, and grace. Yanni Simonides' performance under the direction of Loukas Skipitaris—unassuming and flawless. Bravo!"
Ekaterini Myrivili, Director, Foundation for Hellenic Culture, New York

THE COMPANY

Yannis Simonides, Actor

Born in Constantinople and raised in Athens, Yannis Simonides is a Yale Drama School trained actor/writer and Emmy-winning documentary producer. He has served as chairman of the NYU Tisch Drama Department and as executive producer of GOTelecom Media; he is the founding director of the Greek Theater of New York and the executive director of Hellenic Public Radio - COSMOS FM in New York.

Mr. Simonides' performance work includes plays by Euripides, Aristophanes, Shakespeare, Brecht, Korres and Pontikas, along with solo and ensemble pieces culled from the writings of C.P. Cavafy, General Makriyannis and Nikolai Gogol. He has received the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Greek Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs, the A. Onassis, L. Kostopoulos and Levendis Foundations, Time Warner and the Mobil Foundation. He co-produced Mikis Theodorakis' 75th Birthday Celebration at Lincoln Center with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and he is associated with the Annual Festival of Greek Music and Dance at Symphony Space in New York City, presented by the World Music Institute and AD&M Productions.

Mr. Simonides narrated the PBS specials Axion Esti and Visions of Greece, and the upcoming PBS documentary Return to the Homeland. He is currently completing the script for a one-man show based on the life and work of the Alexandrine poet C.P. Cavafy. Mr. Simonides is the founder and president of Mythic Media International, a communications and entertainment company developing theatrical and television projects worldwide.

Loukas N. Skipitaris, Director

Loukas N. Skipitaris came to the United States after brief careers in medicine and political science at Thessaloniki's Aristotelian University. Upon arriving in the United States, he studied acting with some of New York's finest teachers and completed his master's degree in theater direction in 1976.

Mr. Skipitaris made his Broadway acting debut in Ilya Darling, with Melina Mercouri, and subsequently appeared in the original Broadway production of Zorba, directed by Harold Prince. He has acted Off-Broadway, in National Tours, and in addition to his featured role in the prime-time TV series The Andros Targets, has had running roles in As the World Turns, The Guiding Light, and One Life to Live. He recently appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Mr. Skipitaris began directing in 1971 at the Off-Broadway Gate Theater in NYC. His credits in the United States and in Greece include productions of Greek classics and plays by Anton Chekhov, Tennessee Williams, George Bernard Shaw, Neil Simon, Ira Levin, and others. At Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall he directed the World Premiere of the oratorio Erotocritos, and as the producer-director of the LAMA Summer Musical Theater, has staged, among others, the musicals Oklahoma, Carousel, Of Thee I Sing, and West Side Story. Mr. Skipitaris' latest directorial assignment, the comedy Smile Please!, was recently performed at the Hellenic Cultural Center theatre in Long Island City. His next project is the play O Mamakias (Mama's Boy) which opened at the same theatre in the fall of 2004.

Mr. Skipitaris is the founder and director of The Acting Place, an ongoing professional acting workshop as well as the founding and artistic director of Theatron, Inc., a non- profit Greek-American performing arts center in NYC.

Theoni V. Aldredge, Costume Design

With over 150 stage productions, numerous ballets and several films to her credit, Theoni V. Aldredge ranks as one of the most prolific and successful costume designers of the late 20th Century. Born and raised in Greece, Aldredge was inspired to become a costumer after seeing the film version of Caesar and Cleopatra in 1946. Moving to the USA, she trained at the Goodman Theatre School where she made her debut with 1950's The Distaff Side. In 1953, she married actor Tom Aldredge and the couple settled in NYC. After debuting in films with Girl of the Night, Aldredge began her long association as one of the resident designers at Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival with the 1961 production of Much Ado About Nothing. Over the next three decades at the NYSF she crafted appropriate clothing for many Shakespearean productions, as well as the landmark musicals Hair and A Chorus Line. With over 100 Broadway shows to her credit, Ms. Aldredge was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 1986. Her credits include Sweet Bird of Youth, Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolf, Anyone Can Whistle, A Chorus Line, Three Penny Opera, Annie (Tony Award), Barnum (Tony Award), 42nd Street, Dream Girls, La Cage Aux Folles (Tony Award), and Gypsy. Ms. Aldredge's film credits include The First Wives Club, Addams Family Values, Moonstruck, Network, The Rose and The Great Gatsby, for which she received an Academy Award and the British Society of Film and Television Arts Award. She is the recipient of the New York City Liberty Medal and was honored with the Costume Guild Career Achievement Award. In addition, the Theatre Development Fund has presented her with the Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in Theatre, Film and Television.

Caryn Heilman, Percussionist

Caryn Heilman is a percussionist, vocalist and dancer with the World Music of Nana ensemble, which blends musical elements from around the world. Specializing in frame drums, she plays the daf, a Sufi drum from Kurdistan, and the tar. Her rhythmic roots began with tap dancing at age five. She had a ten-year career as a modern dancer with the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Meredith Monk invited her to join her vocal ensemble the same year that she joined Taylor. She can be heard on Nana Simopoulos' CD, Daughter of the Sun, which was number one on NAV world and new age radio charts. She has also recorded for Navras Record's tribute to Nusrat Fateh All Khan. Film and television credits include work for Toby Twining and Score Productions.

ABOUT THE ORIGINAL SOCRATES’ APOLOGY BY PLATO

(By Richard M. Jacobs, associate professor, Department of Education and Human Services, Villanova University, for his Core Humanities Seminar)

Socrates' "apology" is not a statement of regret or sorrow for his way of life and his actions in seeking wisdom but is, rather, a statement of defense of his position. A "philosopher," not a "theologian" or "learned" person, Socrates has spent his time searching for truth in order to discover what it means to live a truly good life. And, through probative questioning of those whom Athenian society had identified as "wise" and capable of directing Socrates towards his quest, Socrates endeavors to attain divine (or eternal) wisdom rather than human (or temporal) wisdom.

Socrates' search, however, pits him against the ruling powers of the allegedly democratic Athenian city-state and its entrenched oligarchs and plutarchs. In particular, his search has exposed the Sophists' complicity in propping up this anti-democratic regime. Now, facing a jury of 501 of his fellow citizens, Socrates must argue his position to sway a simple majority of the jury from judging him guilty of the charges against him condemning Socrates to death. The task is not easy as Socrates himself admits: "I must surely defend myself and attempt to uproot from your minds in so short a time the slander that has resided there so long.”

Socrates' apology is not simply a defense of his search for wisdom and a demonstration of his innocence. That it is, at least, at the literal level. At the symbolic level, Socrates' apology is a challenge to the authoritarianism of any ideology whose purpose is to shelter human beings from recognizing the peril confronting them when they are unwilling to face the truth. In this sense, The Apology is a classic treatment of perennial themes of importance to human existence and to living a truly good life, namely, the confrontation of good (virtue, wisdom) against evil (vice, ignorance), of speaking the truth versus testing public opinion, of possessing true self esteem rather than seeking adulation from the crowd, and of honestly accounting for one's actions versus slandering others so as deflect any consideration away from holding one accountable.

There is yet a third and more substantive level to The Apology. At the moral level, Socrates' apology speaks not only to his jury and places its members on the "hot seat." Because Socrates is dealing with the truth, his apology puts any and all of his progeny who seek wisdom and are concerned about the future of democratic freedom in any time and place on the hot seat as well. Perhaps that is why so many people would prefer to live in the illusory world of blissful delusion than to seek wisdom and to test one's beliefs and behavior under the searing heat of its light.

MORE PLAUDITS

"Yannis Simonides gives a penetrating performance and brings history to life, making the immortal words of Plato as relevant today as they were when he first wrote them in ancient Greece. . . This is a must see for lovers of Plato and Socrates and those who enjoy learning about the wisdom of the ancient Greeks--wisdom that still holds true today. . . Director Loukas Skipitaris' novel concept of Plato's The Apology of Socrates is spellbinding from the opening scene. He begins with dialogue in ancient Greek, and has the actor shed his Socratic mask and attire, thus transforming the character into a contemporary man. This creative approach works exceedingly well as it brings the audience messages that are as true and relevant today as they were 2500 years ago." Sophia Apessos, The National Herald

"An exciting, daring performance that brings Socrates to vivid life. Yannis Simonides, directed by Loukas Skipitaris, allows the audience to experience the immortal gadfly in all his dimensions—restless, humorous, brilliant and fascinating."
Penelope Karageorge, Odyssey magazine

"Yannis Simonides as a contemporary Socrates molds Plato's Apology into remarkable theatre. He defends himself against his accusers with wisdom, wit and dialogue that draws us to him. His performance is gripping. Under Loukas Skipitaris' direction, the performance moves in a fast, arresting tempo that is impressive, classic theatre." Aspasia Smith, Cultural Committee, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, New York