July 31 – August 2

Synetic premieres The Immigrant, a new project from Paata and Irina Tsikurishvili based on the classic 1918 silent comedy. It is a simple, comedic story about the arrival of a new immigrant in turn of the 20th-century New York, with all the trials, adventure, mishaps, and high hopes of the American immigrant journey. As a theater founded, led, and populated by immigrant artists, Synetic considers this the perfect time and opportunity to adapt, expand, and develop its own version of story, bringing its adept physical comedy, innovative style, and great heart to the legacy of this cinema classic.

Cast

Paata Tsikurishvili

Paata Tsikurishvili

The Immigrant

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 multiple Helen Hayes Awards and nominations, for directing, sound design, and adaptation. Together with his wife and Synetic 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, and The Immigrant. 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, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Sleepy Hollow, and The Immigrant, among many others. Synetic’s inaugural production, Hamlet… the rest is silence, received three 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, the Catholic University of America, and Georgetown University. Before moving to the United States 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

Little Fellow

Maryam Najafzada

Maryam Najafzada

Hetty

Stella Bunch

Stella Bunch

Hetty's Sister/Understudy Hetty

Philip Fletcher

Philip Fletcher

The Producer

Zana Gankhuyag

Zana Gankhuyag

Ensemble

Natan-Maël Gray

Natan-Maël Gray

Ensemble/Understudy Little Fellow

Joshua Cole Lucas

Joshua Cole Lucas

Ensemble

Nutsa Tediashvili

Nutsa Tediashvili

Ensemble

Kaitlyn Shifflett

Kaitlyn Shifflett

Ensemble

Liam Klopfenstein

Liam Klopfenstein

Ensemble

Rodin Alcerro

Rodin Alcerro

Understudy

Kaitlyn Shifflett

Kaitlyn Shifflett

Understudy

Creative Team

Paata Tsikurishvili

Paata Tsikurishvili

Co-Director & Adaptation

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 multiple Helen Hayes Awards and nominations, for directing, sound design, and adaptation. Together with his wife and Synetic 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, and The Immigrant. 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, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Sleepy Hollow, and The Immigrant, among many others. Synetic’s inaugural production, Hamlet… the rest is silence, received three 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, the Catholic University of America, and Georgetown University. Before moving to the United States 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.

Irina Tsikurishvili

Irina Tsikurishvili

Co-Director

A native of the Republic of Georgia, Irina has been nominated for the Helen Hayes Award dozens of times and a 14-time recipient 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, The Immigrant, and much more. She has taught at Georgetown University and continues to run intensive movement workshops and train Synetic cast members. With her husband Paata, she is the co-founder of Synetic Theater. They 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

Fight Choreographer

Nathan Weinberger

Nathan Weinberger

Resident Dramaturg/Co-Adaptor

Nathan is a founding company member of Synetic Theater, having started with the company in 2001. He has been resident dramaturg since 2005 and has adapted many of Synetic’s most successful productions, including DraculaFaustAnimal FarmThe Fall of the House of UsherJekyll & HydeThe Picture of Dorian GrayThe TrialCyrano de Bergerac, as well as MacbethRomeo and JulietAntony and CleopatraOthelloThe TempestTwelfth NightMuch Ado About Nothing, and Richard III for Synetic’s wordless Shakespeare series. His adaptations of The Island of Dr. MoreauThe Hunchback of Notre Dame, Sleepy Hollow, and The Immigrant each received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding New Play or Musical Adaptation. He won the award for his adaptation of The Tell-Tale Heart.

Amy Kellett

Production Manager

Khue Duong

Stage Manager

Hansin Arvind

Assistant Stage Manager

Phil Charlwood

Set Designer

Josh Lucas

Technical Director

Erik Teague

Costume Designer

Rukiya Fields

Wardrobe Supervisor

Brian Allard

Lighting Designer

Dean Leong

Assistant Lighting Designer

Levi Manners

Audio Engineer

Aaron Kan

Additional Music