Rachel Karafistan

Rachel Karafistan:Co Artistic DirectorRachel is  a performer, teacher and director based in Berlin. in 2001 she completed her PhD research into Shamanic dimensions within contemporary theatre practice and has published her work in NTQ. Rachel runs regular workshops exploring the connections between the actor and the shaman in both the UK and abroad with her long-term collaborator, Professor Brian Bates. Rachel trained extensively with a wide range of theatre practitioners and companies including Odin Teatret, Kathryn Hunter, Philippe Gaulier and was an actor with internationally acclaimed Polish company, Teatr Biuro Podróży from 2000 - 2003. Rachel has taught extensively throughout the UK, in particular at the University of Leeds where she was a Lecturer in Theatre and internationally in Europe, Brasil, and the USA. She was the organiser of the Open Wide International Theatre Festival in 2005 and the Weekend Workshop Programme from 2004/5. She directed two site specific, outdoor performances 'Utopia?' and 'The Visit' for Greenwich Theatre, London in 2008/9 (See Other Projects). She is co-director of the BeintheworkFest (Berlin International Theatre Workshop Festival) which runs annually in May. Since October 2009, Rachel has been a visiting lecturer at the University of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznan, Poland.