Tolis received his formative education and professional training in Greece and the UK. He attended the Athens Technological Institute: School of Applied Arts: Stage & Costume Design - Greece ; City Literary Institute (Film)-London UK; Sir John Cass School of Art- London UK. He has been working in the Performing Arts in Greece, UK, USA, Australia, Cyprus and New Zealand. In general he has designed sets, costumes and lighting and /or directed more than 100 stage productions. He has visited the USA, Germany, Czechoslovakia (1991), Czech Republic (1999), Sweden, The Philippines and Indonesia in a professional capacity, as a speaker, researcher or teacher and has exhibited in national & international Stage Design exhibitions in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Japan, Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, and The Philippines. He was elected Commissioner General as well as an exhibitor, for the Australian Exhibit to the Prague Quadrennial International Exhibition of Theatre and Stage Design 1991. He was a member of the New Zealand Scenographic exhibition delegation to the Prague Quadrennial International Exhibition of Theatre and Stage Design 1999, awarded the special UNESCO prize for "Creativity & Innovation". He has also participated in the inaugural WORLD STAGE DESIGN Exhibition, 2005, in Toronto, Canada. Tolis is an OISTAT Individual Member He has taught, and continues to teach, Set Design and History of Theatre in tertiary institutions in New Zealand, Australia and the USA. Between August 1999 and March 2000 he was Visiting Professor at the UIW University in San Antonio, Texas, USA, occupying the Amey Freeman Lee Chair for Theatre Arts. While in this position he co-created a Multicultural Arts Course and Designed / co-Directed a Multicultural Production involving Greek, NZ / Maori, Mexica, Native Peoples, Iranian and Gypsy cultures. He has had a long association with the DOWNSTAGE THEATRE in Wellington, New Zealand as Resident Designer, Associate Director : Production & Design and Director: Production & Design. He was a key speaker and exhibitor at the USITT (U.S. Institute of Theatre Technology) annual conference 2003, with subject In Distant Shores, Dreamings: Designing with Indigenous Cultures. Guest Designer with the Theatre Organisation of Cyprus for the production THE MAN OUTSIDE by Wolfgang Borchert, directed by Dr Hans-Uwe Haus, of the Berliner Ensemble. He has expanded his professional interests into Performance Spaces Design both in Australia and New Zealand. Most notably he did the Design Consultancy, and Performance Spaces Designs, for TE WHAEA: National Centre of Dance & Drama, home of the New Zealand School of Dance and Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School (Stage 1 was completed 1997). The citation reads: WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL Arts and Culture Category Te Whaea: National Dance and Drama Centre It is recognised as one of the best performance training facilities in the world. Tolis is based in Wellington, New Zealand and is working as a Freelance Designer & Director .
Work
- 2007, Director/Designer, ANTIGONE by Sophocles, VUW-Studio 77-Wellington, NZ/Aotearoa
