September 22, 2022 – October 2, 2022

Visionary Artistic Director Paata Tsikurishvili brings this Synetic classic back to the stage. Based on a Georgian epic poem, Host & Guest tells the ancient story of a family who takes in a lost stranger to discover he is from an enemy clan, and their valiant attempt to save him when their village wreaks vengeance. Performed around the world, Host & Guest is a timely and relevant tale of war, strife, the beliefs that tear us apart, and the humanity that brings us together.

COVID Safety Protocols

Special Events

Friday, September 23, 6:30 – 7:30pm  Georgian Wine Tasting
Sunday, September 25, After-show Talk-Back with the cast and crew
Friday, September 30, 7:00 -8:00pm Pre-Show Happy Hour

 

CAST

Joqola played by Dan Istrate
Zviadauri played by Vato Tsikurishvili
Agaza played by Irina Tsikurishvili
Musa played by Irakli Kavsadze
Mula played by Philip Fletcher
Zviadauri’s Wife played by Nutsa Tediashvili
Deer played by Maryam Najafzada
Villager played by Irene Hamilton
Villager played by Josh Cole Lucas
Villager played by Justin Bell
Villager played by Natan-Maël Gray
Villager played by Robert Bowen  Smith
Villager played by Lev Belolipetski
Villager played by Sebastian Newman
Daughter played by Max Ruckh
Understudies Rodin Ruiz, Pablo Guillen, Annette Hasnas, and Kaitlyn Shifflett

Creative Team

Play by Roland L. Reed, Based on Vazha Pshavela’s narrative poem “Host and Guest”
Paata Tsikurishvili | Director
Irina Tsikurishvili | Choreographer
Vato Tsikurishvili | Fight Choreographer
Silas Sandifer | Stage Manager
Vato Kakhidze | Original Music
Irakli Kavsadze | Sound Design
Irakli Kavsadze | Assistant Director
Koki Lortkipanidze | Resident Composer
Phil Charlwood | Technical Director
JJ Nichols | Sound Engineer
Carolan  Corcoran | Costume Designer (Remount)
Gogi Alexi Meskhishvili | Costume Designer (Original Production)
Brian Allard | Lighting Designer
Ian Claar | Associate Lighting Designer
Alex Keen | Master Electrician
Phil Charlwood | Scenic Designer (Remount)
Aleksandr Shirlaev | Props Master
Hester Kamin | Co-Company Manager

Cast

Irina Tsikurishvili

Irina Tsikurishvili

Agaza

A native of the Republic of Georgia, Ms. Tsikurishvili is a 58-time Helen Hayes Award Nominee and has won the award 14 times for her outstanding choreography and acting. Irina has choreographed all Synetic Theater’s productions including The Crackpots, Dracula, Host and Guest and Frankenstein, Island of Doctor Moreau, Salomé, Bohemians, Jason and the Argonauts, The Dybbuk, Faust, Frankenstein, Macbeth, Animal Farm, The Fall of the House of Usher, A Christmas Carol, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen, Dante, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Antony and Cleopatra, Othello, King Arthur, King Lear, Don Quixote, Othello, Twelfth Night, Much Ado about Nothing, Three Musketeers, Alice in Wonderland, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Jekyll & Hyde, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, As You Like It, and much more. Ms.Tsikurishvili has taught at Georgetown University, where she choreographed Lysistrata. She continues to run intensive movement workshops and train Synetic cast members. With her husband Paata, she is the co-founder of Synetic Theater and co-founder of Stanislavsky Theater Studio. Paata & Irina were named Washingtonians of the Year in 2013. Irina Graduated from Chabukiani National Ballet Academy in Tbilisi Georgia and holds BFA in Performing Arts.

Vato Tsikurishvili

Vato Tsikurishvili

Zviadauri

A native of the Republic of Georgia, Vato Tsikurishvili is an award-winning actor, choreographer, and educator with more than a decade of experience imparting Synetic Theater’s unique style to audiences and students of all ages. Performing with his parents, Synetic co-founders Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili, since the age of 4, Mr. Tsikurishvili also has an extensive athletic background, having trained in fencing under Olympic coach Vladimir Nazlymov and in gymnastics with his grandfather, the world-renowned Olympic coach Arnold Kvetenadze. Performing credits include lead and supporting roles in dozens of Synetic productions: 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, Hamlet… the rest is silence, Beauty and the Beast, Much Ado About Nothing, Alice in Wonderland, Dante’s Inferno, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Sleepy Hollow. His recent work as a fight choreographer includes The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dante’s Inferno and The Man in the Iron Mask as well as Titus Andronicus and The Adventures of Peter Pan, for which he was also Assistant Director and Co-Director, respectively. As an educator, Mr. Tsikurishvili has trained Synetic company members, travels throughout the DMV area teaching stage movement to students of all grade levels, serves as an instructor at Synetic Studio, and, alongside Irina Tsikurishvili, trains the Synetic Teen Company.

Creative Team

Paata Tsikurishvili

Paata Tsikurishvili

Director

A native of the Republic of Georgia, Paata is an innovative, award-winning international artistic director, director and educator with more than 30 years of experience fusing the classical elements of drama, movement, dance, pantomime and music. Since Synetic Theater’s founding in 2001, Mr. Tsikurishvili has received an impressive 25 Helen Hayes Award Nominations and has won the awards 9-times. Together with his wife and co-founder Irina, he was named “Washingtonian of the Year” in 2013. Mr. Tsikurishvili has directed and performed in Hamlet … the rest is silence, The Master and Margarita, The Crackpots, Dracula, Host and Guest, Frankenstein, and The Island of Doctor Moreau. He has directed over 60 productions including Salomé, Bohemians, Jason and the Argonauts, The Dybbuk, Faust, Frankenstein, Macbeth, Animal Farm, The Fall of the House of Usher, A Christmas Carol, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen, Dante, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Antony and Cleopatra, Othello, King Arthur, King Lear, Don Quixote, Twelfth Night, Much Ado about Nothing, The Three Musketeers, Alice in Wonderland, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Jekyll & Hyde, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, As You Like It, and The Man in the Iron Mask. Synetic’s inaugural production, Hamlet … the rest is silence received 3 Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Director, Outstanding Resident Play and Outstanding Choreography. As an educator, Mr. Tsikurishvili has trained hundreds of actors in movement technique through Synetic Theater and has taught at leading universities such as American University, Catholic University of America, and Georgetown University. Before moving to the USA he co-founded Mimodrama Theater in Germany and has toured worldwide. Paata holds an MFA in film directing from Tbilisi State University and a BFA in acting from The State Institute of Theater and Film in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Vato Tsikurishvili

Vato Tsikurishvili

Fight Choreographer

A native of the Republic of Georgia, Vato Tsikurishvili is an award-winning actor, choreographer, and educator with more than a decade of experience imparting Synetic Theater’s unique style to audiences and students of all ages. Performing with his parents, Synetic co-founders Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili, since the age of 4, Mr. Tsikurishvili also has an extensive athletic background, having trained in fencing under Olympic coach Vladimir Nazlymov and in gymnastics with his grandfather, the world-renowned Olympic coach Arnold Kvetenadze. Performing credits include lead and supporting roles in dozens of Synetic productions: 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, Hamlet… the rest is silence, Beauty and the Beast, Much Ado About Nothing, Alice in Wonderland, Dante’s Inferno, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Sleepy Hollow. His recent work as a fight choreographer includes The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Dante’s Inferno and The Man in the Iron Mask as well as Titus Andronicus and The Adventures of Peter Pan, for which he was also Assistant Director and Co-Director, respectively. As an educator, Mr. Tsikurishvili has trained Synetic company members, travels throughout the DMV area teaching stage movement to students of all grade levels, serves as an instructor at Synetic Studio, and, alongside Irina Tsikurishvili, trains the Synetic Teen Company.

Irina Tsikurishvili

Irina Tsikurishvili

Choreographer

A native of the Republic of Georgia, Ms. Tsikurishvili is a 58-time Helen Hayes Award Nominee and has won the award 14 times for her outstanding choreography and acting. Irina has choreographed all Synetic Theater’s productions including The Crackpots, Dracula, Host and Guest and Frankenstein, Island of Doctor Moreau, Salomé, Bohemians, Jason and the Argonauts, The Dybbuk, Faust, Frankenstein, Macbeth, Animal Farm, The Fall of the House of Usher, A Christmas Carol, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen, Dante, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Antony and Cleopatra, Othello, King Arthur, King Lear, Don Quixote, Othello, Twelfth Night, Much Ado about Nothing, Three Musketeers, Alice in Wonderland, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Jekyll & Hyde, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, As You Like It, and much more. Ms.Tsikurishvili has taught at Georgetown University, where she choreographed Lysistrata. She continues to run intensive movement workshops and train Synetic cast members. With her husband Paata, she is the co-founder of Synetic Theater and co-founder of Stanislavsky Theater Studio. Paata & Irina were named Washingtonians of the Year in 2013. Irina Graduated from Chabukiani National Ballet Academy in Tbilisi Georgia and holds BFA in Performing Arts.