Theatre alum Nadia Foskolou '08 has recently translated Declan Donnellan's seminal text, The Actor and the Target, which has been published in Greece by the prestigious Patakis Publishers.
Translated from English into 15 languages, the book serves as a guide to actors for navigating the humor, joy, and psychology behind good acting. Donnellan’s work emphasizes the actor’s individual craft as part of a collective, and, since 2000, The Actor and the Target has worked as a guide for young actors to better strengthen the foundation of their practice.
With her straightforward, sharp translation, Foskolou makes this important work available to Greek readers and actors. "This latest publication is particularly meaningful to me as an alum of the Theatre Program," Foskolou said, "since Donnellan's work was referenced by both my Directing professors, Anne Bogart and Brian Kulick. In translating the book I tried to reactivate the voice of the author and to refresh his questions and ideas, since they are now acquiring a new life as they are articulated in a new language."
Foskolou is a New York–based theatre director, dramaturg, teacher, translator, and writer. She also works in Athens, Greece, where she is originally from. Throughout her career, she has been honored as a Fulbright, NATO, and National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation scholar. In 2014, she directed Hôtel Méditerranée, a new theatre piece based on Matisse’s Self Portrait by Theater Professor Charles Mee (world premiere) and the film documentary Yiannis Moralis by Stelios Charalambopoulos, at Between the Seas Festival in New York. She has acted, directed, and taught for numerous productions and institutions. She writes fiction, scholarly and narrative essays, and translates from English, French, and Greek.
