Fanis Gkikas (He/Him) is an emerging actor, educator, director, mentor and a first-gen, very Greek immigrant. Fanis is a recent graduate from the MFA Acting program at Northwestern University (Chicago, Illinois) and an Irene Ryan nominee. Prior to that, he received a BFA in Acting from the New Hellenic Theatre (Athens, Greece), and studied Theatre at LAGCC and The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in NY. In these two rigorous programs, his acting training ranged from non-European methods (SoulWork: African American-based Performance Traditions by Dr. Cristal Chanelle Truscott) to European methods (Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, Lee Strassberg, and Michael Chekhov). His training also includes Directing, Voice work (Roy Hart, Cicely Berry, and Linklater), Theatre of the Oppressed, Viewpoints, Devised Theatre (Lecoq and Laban), Stage Combat, Clowning, and Acting on Camera. Fanis have worked on a variety of styles such as the Greeks, Shakespeare, Chekhov, and Theatre of the Absurd but also contemporary American and Greek plays. As a teacher, he specializes more in classical texts (from the Greeks to the 20th century), play adaptations, and Devised Theatre which leads to the creation of new work using all of the above methods/techniques, that activate and explore the performer’s imagination, body, and voice.

His most recent show is Are We Home Yet? which he created, produced, and performed at Northwestern University’s Abbott Hall. His most notable theatre acting credits are Athens on the Half Shell at LPAC, Manos Loizos Tribute Concert at Kaye Playhouse, Cockroach at GCC, Late, A Cowboy Song, and Dance Nation at Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts.

Fanis served as a director for “Are We Home Yet”? (Abbott Hall), The Man With the Flower in His Mouth (New Hellenic Theatre), The Crucible (LaGCC), and as guest Director for the “24 Hour Plays Viral Monologues”.