Biography
She has directed and produced performances, festivals, and major cultural events across the United States and Europe, with her work presented at diverse international venues including Los Angeles, London, Paris, Athens, Orlando, Baltimore, and beyond.
She is the founder of the nonprofit organization ithakArts and serves as artistic director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Arts and Performance, where she develops platforms for experimentation, collaboration, research, and artistic dialogue.
Her producing credits include the International Documentary Association’s Getting Real ’22, the Los Angeles Tribune International Film Festival, the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, and the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, reflecting a sustained engagement with global storytelling and independent voices.
Her writing includes plays, scripts, poetry, and scholarship, with published articles in The Greek Edition for the Arts and Culture – Highlights Magazine, where she contributed as a performing arts specialist and correspondent.
As an educator, Dr. Kafetzi has held teaching and mentorship roles at leading institutions such as UCLA, California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), and Loyola Marymount University, supporting emerging artists and fostering boundary-crossing creative work.
Recent work includes directing a production for the National Theatre of Greece, broadcast internationally on public radio; creating a poetic documentary commissioned by the University of Athens; producing international film festivals; and developing original interdisciplinary works.
Education
University of Paris Sorbonne, France
Ph.D.
Theatre
University of Paris Sorbonne, France
M.A.
Theatre
UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television
M.A.
Theatre
MFA Acting | Multi-country MFA/M.A. program with Sorbonne University
University of Paris Sorbonne, France
B.A.
Performing Arts
Los Angeles College of Music
Graduate Diploma
Music and Vocal Performance
Areas of Expertise
Industry Expertise
Accomplishments
WRITING: SELECTED PLAYS
The Return: Orpheus and Eurydices [2020]
Perseus [2011]
Alexander Pothos by A.Krajewska-Wietzorek _ Adaptation & Dramaturgy [2009]
SELECTED STAGE & FILM CREDITS
Writer|Director|Performer
Writer|Director|Performer
The Return, Writer|Director
Orpheus’ Lament, Writer|Director
Creditors, A. Strindberg, National Theatre of Greece|Director
Unseen, Film|Director
Eurydices, Writer|Director
Perseus, Multimedia performance, Strub Theatre|Writer|Director|Performer
Danae, CalArts|Writer|Director|Performer
Exit the King, E. Ionesco, CalArts|Co-Director|Performer
Home Sweet Home, performance installation, Skirball Cultural Center|Performer
Trojan Women, Euripides, Downey Theatre|Performer
Writer|Director|Performer
Alexander Pothos, Barnelle Theatre|Director|Dramaturg|Adaptation
Philoktetes, dir. M. Hackett, Getty Villa|Performance/Text Consultant
The Saviors of God, N. Kazantzakis, Apollo Theatre, Syros, Greece|Director|Adaptation
Lysistrata, Aristophanes, Dionysus Theatre, Greece|Director
Electra Fragments, dir. M. Hackett, Freud Playhouse, CA|Performer|Choreographer
Shaiba, short film - Writer|Director|Editor
The Saviors of God, N. Kazantzakis, Apollo Theatre, Syros, Greece|Director|Adaptation
Writer|Director|Performer
Jeux d’Amour, Poker Face, feature film theme song|Lyricist
Baba-Rum, Odyssey Theatre|Performer
Magic Mother, M. Kontoleon, Dionysus Theatre|Director|Adaptation
Suitcase & teapots, Iliopoulos, Touring|Performer
Veronika Decides to Die, P. Coelho, Dionysus Theatre|Director|Adaptation
Mystras, Boston, MA|Director
Rebeticon, Zaneion Theatre|Director
Alexander & the Snake, performance & shadow theatre, Helsinki Finland|Director
Chorus, Rome, Italy|Director
Musiche, Santander, Spain|Director
Languages
- Greek
- French
- English
- Italian (Basic)
Sample Talks
RESEARCH & CONFERENCE SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
-Ancient Narratives Contemporary Voices: Interdisciplinary Performance as Collective Ritual Both on and Beyond the Stage. Panel: Indigenous Storytelling & Myth, 47th Comparative Drama Conference, London, England [2025]
-The Return: In the Crossroad of Theatre and Film. Panel: Theatrical Music(als): Technology, Adaptation, and Sponsorship, 46th Comparative Drama Conference, Orlando, FL [2024]
-An acoustic approach to imagery: Creating images through music and sound in a radio adaptation of Strindberg’s Creditors. Panel: Radio Drama, 45th Comparative Drama Conference, Orlando, FL [2023]
-Staging The Return: A Contemporary Orphic Performance. Panel: Contemporary Versions of the Greeks, 44th Comparative Drama Conference, Orlando, FL [2021]
-Mythology Adaptations in Performance: Orpheus’ Journey to the Contemporary Interdisciplinary Stage. Panel: Myths and Legends, 43rd Comparative Drama Conference, Orlando, FL [2019]
RESEARCH & CONFERENCE SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
-Multiplication and Duality in Contemporary Interdisciplinary Performance. Panel: International Musicals/Dance, 42nd Comparative Drama Conference, Orlando, FL [2018]
-Interdisciplinarity and Improvisation in Live Performance: A Conversation Between the Visual and the Performing Arts. 40th Comparative Drama Conference, Baltimore, MD [2016]
-Ancient Chorus in Modern Interpretations: Modern Choruses in Contemporary Interdisciplinary Performance. 39th Comparative Drama Conference, Baltimore, MD [2015]
-Sound and the Human Body Speak Louder than Words: Themes and Ideologies Conveyed Through Music and Dance. 38th Comparative Drama Conference, Baltimore, MD [2014]
-Treatment of the Spectacular Within Contemporary Staging of Ancient Myths. Panel: Pageantry and Spectacle in Contemporary Performances, 37th CDC, Baltimore, MD [2013]
-Staging Perseus - An Examination of ithakArts’ Interdisciplinary Performance. Panel: Theatrical Mush-Ups, 36th Comparative Drama Conference, Baltimore, MD [2012]
-Elements of Musical Theatre within Contemporary Interdisciplinary Performances. Panel: Crossing Media Boundaries, 35th Comparative Drama Conference, Los Angeles, CA [2011]
-Presiding Panel: Crossing Boundaries: Science Theater, 43rd CDC, Orlando, FL [2019]
Research Focus
Interdisciplinarity in Theatre Performance
Elements of Musical Theatre in Contemporary Interdisciplinary Performance
Doctoral Dissertation [Dec 2017]
Courses
Modern Greek Theater: Influences and Performance
The Caloyeras Center is thrilled to welcome back Dr. Eleni Kafetzi for her 3rd year as artist-in-residence for the Creative Experience Seminar, Modern Greek Theater: Influences and Performance as part of the Center’s commitment to supporting local artists.
Dr. Kafetzi facilitates an annual 2-week workshop where students go through the process of staging and performing a contemporary Greek play while experimenting with form, spatial awareness, set design and modes of storytelling.
Articles
Icarus Defying Gravity on Stage - Lookingglass Τheatre Company
HIGHLIGHTS MAGAZINE, THE GREEK EDITION FOR THE ARTS & CULTUREEleni Kafetzi
[Issue #42, Sept-Oct 2009]
Monkey Madness! - The Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble
HIGHLIGHTS MAGAZINE, THE GREEK EDITION FOR THE ARTS & CULTUREEleni Kafetzi
[Issue #41, July-August 2009]
Garden of Earthly Delights: A Canvas Animating Both Dream and Nightmare
HIGHLIGHTS MAGAZINE, THE GREEK EDITION FOR THE ARTS & CULTUREEleni Kafetzi
[Issue #40, May-June ‘09]
Showtime! Musicals and Contemporary Staging
HIGHLIGHTS MAGAZINE, THE GREEK EDITION FOR THE ARTS & CULTUREEleni Kafetzi (Co-authorship)
[Issue #39, March-April 2009]
Writers On America
HIGHLIGHTS MAGAZINE, THE GREEK EDITION FOR THE ARTS & CULTUREEleni Kafetzi (Translations)
[Anniversary Issue, 2004]
Them - Osseus Labyrint, Spectacle or Scientific Experiment?
HIGHLIGHTS MAGAZINE, THE GREEK EDITION FOR THE ARTS & CULTUREEleni Kafetzi
[Issue #39, March-April 2009]
Dramaturge, A Backstage Protagonist
HIGHLIGHTS MAGAZINE, THE GREEK EDITION FOR THE ARTS & CULTUREEleni Kafetzi
[Issue #15, March-April 2005]
Ancient Theatre Reinvented, A Contemporary Point of View
HIGHLIGHTS MAGAZINE, THE GREEK EDITION FOR THE ARTS & CULTUREEleni Kafetzi
[Issue #12, Sept-Oct 2004]
Invaded by the Blue Men
HIGHLIGHTS MAGAZINE, THE GREEK EDITION FOR THE ARTS & CULTUREEleni Kafetzi
[Issue #11, July-August 2004]