HYDRAMA THEATRE & ARTS CENTRE
History
History of Hydrama
Hydrama was founded by Corinna Seeds.
Corinna is a theatre director with many years' experience of professional and community-based theatre practice in the United Kingdom
She now lives in Hydra -where her daughters, (and donkey), were born.
How Hydrama started
In 1999 Corinna built a theatre in a field in Hydra and initiated free weekly drama workshops for the local children and youth. The group devised a play called "Tsounarisma" which they performed before the President of Greece, Costis Stephanopoulos, and which was considered a highlight of his visit to Hydra.
Later that year Corinna proposed hosting an international study course as she believed that the practice of ancient Greek theatre should be a vital component of drama training and that in order to fully understand the ancient texts actors should experience standing on Greek soil at least once in a lifetime.
One of the first people Corinna reached out to when she formed Hydrama was her close friend and Stirabout
colleague, the theatre director Peggy Shannon. Although they hadn't seen each other for twenty years, Peggy was immediately enthusiastic and gathered participants for Hydrama's first course in 2000 which was called "Playing to the Gods". Peggy has played a pivotal role in Hydrama's formation and growth and has brought students and actors to Hydra every summer - initially from the USA through accredited courses with the University of California and later from Canada through her role as Chair of the Ryerson School of Performance.
As demands increased the centre expanded over the years to include studios and further facilities.
Hydrama has become a unique theatre and arts centre which is now a popular hive of vibrant activity in the summers
Corinna Seeds
Corinna trained as an actress and theatre director with Joan Littlewoods’s E.15 Theatre workshop in the UK in the early 1970’s. She was Associate Director and actress with Theatro Technis UK and, for over ten years, founder and Artistic Director of Stirabout Theatre Company,
the first British theatre company to tour prisons, detention centres and mental institutions in Britain. She received a Churchill Fellowship and numerous awards from the Arts Council of Great Britain, regional arts associations; the Lankelly and Guilbenkian Foundations for her innovative theatre work in prisons. She has run workshops and lectured in Canada, USA, UK and Greece and is a cultural adviser for the Municipality of Hydra.
