Giannis Kalatzopoulos

Giannis Kalatzopoulos was born in Athens in 1949. From a young age, he was involved in cinema, children's theater, and radio, becoming known as a "child prodigy." In adult theater, he played significant child roles, under the guidance of teachers and directors such as Alexis Minotis, Karolos Koun, Vasilis Diamantopoulos, and Dinos Dimopoulos. He attended Drama School as an exceptional talent while also attending high school, with teachers including Grigoris Vafias, Kostas Bakas, Eleni Zafeiriou, Vera Zavitsianou, Lambros Kostopoulos, Dimitris Konstantinidis, and Kostis Meraneos. As a professional actor, he played leading and supporting roles in the Myrat-Zouboulaki troupe, the Greek Popular Theater of Manos Katrakis, the Elli Lambeti troupe, the National Theater, the State Theater of Northern Greece (KTHBE), the Stoa Theater, the Theatrical Stage, and the Regional Theaters of Ioannina, Corfu, and Crete, as well as in the troupe of G. Kimoulis and many cooperative troupes and groups (People's Theater, Free Artists, Youth Theater, Street Theater, Contemporary Art Group, etc.). He graduated from Panteion University (1973) and the Athens Law School (1976) and attended theater directing courses at the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica in Rome (1985-87). He has directed over sixty theatrical performances for adults and children at the National Theater, the State Theater of Northern Greece, the Regional Theaters of Ioannina, Komotini, Corfu, and Crete, as well as in many private or cooperative troupes of the Greek Actors' Union. Since 1982, he has been directing the Contemporary Art Group, which until recently also included the Children's Stage. He served as president of the Greek Actors' Union (1990-92), director of the Children's Stage at the National Theater (2004), president of the Greek Center for Theater for Children and Young People, and of the Ministry of Culture's Committee for the State Awards for Children's Theater Works. He has adapted and staged works for children by Aristophanes, Shakespeare, Molière, Ibsen, Lorca, and others. He has published "The Emperor's New Clothes" with Kastaniotis Editions.