Paata Tsikurishvili
(Artistic Director, Founder)

Paata Tsikurishvili, a native of Georgia, holds an M.F.A. in Film Directing from Tbilisi State University and a B.F.A in Acting from State Institute of Theater and Film, Tbilisi, Georgia. From 1978 through 1991, he trained under and became a principal actor for Amiran Shalikashvili at the world-renowned Georgian State Pantomime Theater. In 1991, he co-founded and then served as artistic director for Mimodrama Theater in Germany, and toured their productions throughout Europe.

In 1997, he became a co-founder and artistic director of the Stanislavsky Theater Studio (STS) in Washington DC, where he co-directed and played leading roles in numerous productions, including The Idiot (nominated for the 2000 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Direction), Le Malade Imaginaire, Faust, and Don Quixote. For Synetic Theater, which he founded in 2002, he has directed and performed in Hamlet…the rest is silence, Host and Guest, The Crackpots, The Master and Margarita. He also directed Salomé, Faust, The Fall of the House of Usher, and numerous other highly successful Synetic productions.

Synetic's inaugural production, Hamlet...the rest is silence, received three Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Director, Outstanding Resident Play, and Outstanding Choreography. As Synetic Theater's Artistic Director, Mr. Tsikurishvili has directed and performed in The Master and Margarita, The Crackpots, Dracula, Host and Guest, and Frankenstein. He has also directed the company's productions of Salomé, Bohemians, Jason and the Argonauts, The Dybbuk, Faust, Frankenstein, Macbeth, Animal Farm, The Fall of the House of Usher, A Christmas Carol, and Romeo and Juliet. Mr. Tsikurishvili's work has received 14 Helen Hayes nominations, including Best Director, Best Sound Design, and Best Resident play. Mr. Tsikurishvili has taught several courses at Catholic University in Washington DC, and also teaches at Georgetown University.