Meet the Director

Romualdas Vikraitis was born in Klaipeda, Lithuania, and attended secondary school in Vilnius, Lithuania. He studied drama at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in  Vilnius and at the State Institute of Theatre Studies in Moscow, Russia, where he studied under the supervision of Professor Y. Zawadskij and Professor M. Knebel, and received a Master of Arts degree with honors in producing and directing theatre  productions and a Diploma in acting. During his time in Moscow, he also completed a one-year course in directing TV and radio drama productions and
a nine-month traineeship in the development of professional skills. He also studied for one year at the International Theatre institute
in Liege, Belgium.
       Romas began his professional career in 1974 as a production assistant at the Jaunimo Theatre in Vilnius, and then served as an assistant director at the Malij Theatre in Moscow. From 1978-83 he was director of the Puppet Theatre in Vilnius, the State Drama Theatre in Kaunas, and the State Drama Theatre in Klaipeda. In 1989 he founded and began directing the Keistuoli? Teatras in Vilnius and, in 1993, he became head of the children and youth club, Antakalnis in Vilnius. In 1998 he founded and became director, pedagogue, and head of Elf? Teatras in Vilnius.
     As an educator, Vikraitis has been a professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in Klaipeda, Vilnius University, Vilnius Technical University, and at the Lithuania Academy of Music and Theatre, in Vilnius.
     Romas has directed a number of works for young people including Blue Bird by M. Maeterlinck, The Dog in the Sky, an original play by E. Ignatavi?ius, An Ordinary Miracle by E. Shwarc, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Septyni Gyvenimo Puslapiai, Upside Down, The Old Man and the Sea, based on E. Hemmingway's novel, Raggedy AnnStories, and The Nutcrackerand the King of Mice and A Christmas Carol.His directing credits also include such plays for adults as Every Clever Man Has Enough of Stupidity, Equus, Two Soffi, and A Streetcar Named Desire, to name just a few.Romas has directed three productions aired on Lithuanian National Radio: Charlotte by T. White in 2002, Dentist Ametistas by L. S. ?erniauskait? in 2003, and The Snow Queen, based on H. C. Andersen’s story, which he completed right before traveling to Lawrence.