Back to Home

Illusions of Familiarity

A site-specific multimedia, devised, postdramatic theatre performance

The Work

Illusions of Familiarity is a mosaic of apparently disconnected stories about people from two generations struggling to connect. It interweaves an original adaptation of Falk Richter's Complexity of Belonging (2014) and Ivan Vyrypaev's Illusions (2011).

Questions of identity, belonging, ancestral memory, truth, and illusion illuminate a central question: where do we belong within a contemporary condition of dislocation? The site-specific performance by Ermione Garramone was presented by the Drama School of the National Theatre of Greece on July 2026.

Illusions of Familiarity audio excerpt

Illusions of Familiarity — audio excerpt

Multimedia Staging

The fragmented dramaturgy extended into the staging. Live bodies, masks, projected images, objects, music, and amplified sound overlapped throughout the amphitheatre, continually shifting the boundary between reality and representation.

Sound, Music Dramaturgy and Live Electronics

I co-developed the music dramaturgy and original music with Grigoris Sfakianakis and Dina Koumouli. I also designed a custom live sound-processing system and performed real-time manipulation and spatial treatment during the performances.

The system treated voices, instruments, recorded material, and the acoustics of the amphitheatre as one changing musical field. I also provided technical mentoring and contributed to translating the artistic proposal into a working multimedia installation.

Alongside the production, I developed Syzygy, an independent modular instrument for observing, capturing, transforming, and spatially routing sound.

Computer-Generated Graphics

I co-designed the video projections with Dina Koumouli and created computer-generated graphics for the performance. The graphics were inspired by the space and developed for the architecture of the space and composed to interact with performers, physical objects, and changing light rather than function as a separate screen image.

Credits

  • Direction, concept, adaptation: Ermioni Garramone
  • Supervising professor: Armin Kerber
  • Translation of Falk Richter's Complexity of Belonging: Grigoris Sfakianakis, Ermioni Garramone
  • Translation of Ivan Vyrypaev's Illusions: Eleni Bakopoulou
  • Dramaturgy consultant: Eri Kyrgia
  • Original music, music dramaturgy, live electronics: Grigoris Sfakianakis, Manolis Kyzalas, Dina Koumouli
  • Scenography: Dimitris Zarpopoulos, Ermioni Garramone
  • Set construction: Ermioni Garramone, under the guidance of Freddy Gkiza and Dimitra Spyridonos
  • Lighting design: Natasa Petropoulou
  • Movement: Eleni Vlachou
  • Costume design: Kostis Glykantzis
  • Artistic collaboration on costumes: Nikoleta Anastasiadou
  • Masks: Ermioni Garramone, Alexia Krimitsa, Dimitra Spyridonos, Athina Anze
  • Video projections: Dina Koumouli, Manolis Kyzalas
  • Assistant directors: Natasa Petropoulou, Danai Papakonstantinou
  • Graphic design: Aristotelis Papathanasiou, Athina Anze
  • Photography: Giorgos Athanasiou, Manos Karanikolas
  • Cinematography: Giorgos Athanasiou, Manos Karanikolas (trailer), Alexandros Papathanassopoulos
  • Performers: Alexis Arampatzidis (Athens) / Ilias Sgouralis (Larissa), Konstantina Katsiari, Katerina Olga Molferi, Meropi Riva, Giorgos Tolidis
  • Musicians on stage: Katerina Olga Molferi, Giorgos Tolidis