Panel Discussion - Exploring the Synetic Theater Way

Meet the Panelists

• Vato Tsikurishvili

  A native of the country of Georgia, Vato Tsikurishvili is an award-winning actor, choreographer, and educator with more than a decade of experience sharing Synetic Theater’s unique style with audiences and students of all ages. Performing with his parents—Synetic co-founders Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili—since the age of four, Vato also has an extensive athletic background, having trained in fencing under Olympic coach Vladimir Nazlymov and in gymnastics with his grandfather, world-renowned Olympic coach Arnold Kvetenadze. His performance credits include lead and supporting roles in The Immigrant, Hamlet… the rest is silence, Little Comedies, Host and Guest, Othello, Antony and Cleopatra, King Arthur, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, Home of the Soldier, The Tempest, The Three Musketeers, Twelfth Night, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Beauty and the Beast, Much Ado About Nothing, Alice in Wonderland, Dante’s Inferno, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Sleepy Hollow. As a fight choreographer, his recent work includes The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dante’s Inferno, The Man in the Iron Mask, Titus Andronicus, and The Adventures of Peter Pan, for which he also served as Assistant Director and Co-Director, respectively. As an educator, Vato trains Synetic company members, teaches movement and stage combat throughout the DMV region, instructs at Synetic Studio, and co-directs the Synetic Teen Company with Irina Tsikurishvili.

• Paata Tsikurishvili

  A native of the country of Georgia, Paata Tsikurishvili is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning artistic director, director, and educator. With over 30 years of experience fusing classical elements of drama, movement, dance, pantomime, and music, Paata co-founded Synetic Theater in 2001 with his wife Irina. Since then, he has earned 25 Helen Hayes Award nominations and has won 9 times. Together, Paata and Irina were named Washingtonians of the Year in 2013. Paata has directed and performed in numerous landmark productions including Hamlet… the rest is silence, The Master and Margarita, The Crackpots, Dracula, Host & Guest, Frankenstein, and The Island of Doctor Moreau, and directed over 90 productions including Salomé, Phantom of the Opera, The Tell-Tale Heart, Faust, Animal Farm, Carmen, Dante, King Lear, Don Quixote, As You Like It, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Tell-Tale Heart, and the recent smash hit The Immigrant. Synetic’s inaugural production, Hamlet… the rest is silence, won three Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Director, Outstanding Resident Play, and Outstanding Choreography. As an educator, Paata has trained hundreds of actors in movement-based performance and has taught at institutions including American University, Catholic University of America, and Georgetown University. Before immigrating to the U.S., he co-founded Mimodrama Theater in Germany and toured worldwide. Paata holds an M.F.A. in Film Directing from Tbilisi State University and a B.F.A. in Acting from The State Institute of Theater and Film in Tbilisi.

• Ben Cunis is an artist, filmmaker, educator, and arts administrator who first joined Synetic Theater in 2006 after graduating from the Drama program at the Catholic University of America. He began training under Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili and debuted with the company as Macduff in 2007's Macbeth. Over ten years, Ben held numerous roles including actor, fight choreographer, teacher, Director of Development, Artistic Associate, director, and writer. He is a three-time Helen Hayes Award recipient for fight and action choreography and has contributed to ensemble wins for Twelfth Night, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet… the rest is silence. Ben earned his MFA in Film and TV Production from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in 2019. At USC, he produced, directed, performed, and stunt coordinated a number of festival-screened films, including appearances at the Telluride Horror Show, Golden State Film Festival, Knoxville Horror Show, and Artemis Women in Action Festival. He later joined the USC faculty and taught directing and production to both undergraduates and graduates. Ben also worked with Lunacy Productions to launch Trunacy, a nonprofit supporting independent filmmakers in Kentucky and the Midwest, and worked in Development with the Bethesda-based Hope Connections for Cancer Support. He recently directed the remount of Synetic's Beauty and the Beast, which he co-wrote with his brother, Peter Cunis, and has served as the Managing Director of Synetic since the fall of 2022.