Marina Katsari was born in Nicosia in 1986. She studied Early Childhood Education at the University of Cyprus and completed her Master’s degree in Drama and Theatre Education at the University of Warwick.
In 2026, Marina Katsari was nominated as Cyprus’s candidate for the 2027 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA), one of the world’s most prestigious international awards in the field of children’s and young adult literature.
As an adult educator, she collaborates with institutions, organisations and businesses across a broad range of sectors, including education, research and the wider economy. She designs and delivers seminars focusing on the application of storytelling in professional, organisational and educational contexts. Her collaborations include, among others, the Cyprus Theatre Organisation, Fengaros Music Village, the Cyprus Tourist Guide School, educational and research organisations in Cyprus and Greece, and the World Organisation for Early Childhood Education.
As an external associate of the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute (registered in its official Registry), she designs and delivers professional development programmes, school-based seminars and seminars for parents. Her areas of focus include Drama in Education, fostering a positive school climate, developing children’s communication skills, self-confidence and self-esteem, managing emotions through drama, and preventing violent and delinquent behaviour.
As a lecturer and special teaching scientist, she has taught at the University of Cyprus and European University Cyprus, delivering courses in Creative Drama and Children’s Literature respectively. She has also taught the Art of Storytelling and Contemporary Educational Issues. At various times, she has served as an external lecturer on the Global College Master’s programme, teaching Creative Arts and Facilitation.
As a drama educator, she has designed and delivered educational programmes in both Greek and English for museums and cultural institutions, including Little Philosophers at the A. G. Leventis Gallery, Something Ancient is Cooking at the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, Melusine and Caterina Cornaro at CVAR, and The Paintings Tell Stories at the Loukia & Michael Zampelas Art Museum.
As a storyteller and performer, she presents performances for children and adults in theatres, festivals and cultural venues. In schools, she presents performances approved by the Cyprus Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth. She has participated in various music-and-storytelling ensembles at major festivals in Cyprus and Greece, including the Fengaros Festival, Axiothea Festival, Fairy Tale Festival in Kea (Greece), and Cyprus Oscar Wilde Festival. She has collaborated with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, while productions in which she has participated have received the support of the Embassies of France, Ireland and Venezuela in Cyprus.
She has collaborated with musicians and artists from France, Spain, Guatemala, Italy, Venezuela, Palestine, Greece and Cyprus, among other countries. In theatre, she performed the monologue First Time Snow (1η φορά χιόνι), directed by Panayiotis Larkou. She was a founding member of the storytelling groups Paramythies and Okladon, with which she implemented programmes approved by the Ministry of Education in schools and museums.
Marina has also trained in Philosophy for Children, receiving the SAPERE Level 2A Certificate in the United Kingdom. She has attended numerous seminars covering a broad spectrum of the performing arts, studying with renowned artists including Savina Yannatou, Nick Hennessey and Vassilis Papavassiliou, among others.
Imagination is not limited to art; it touches every aspect of life. It is an essential part of the core skills that, as children and adults, we are called upon to develop throughout our lives: problem-solving, conflict resolution, critical thinking, creativity, communication, coexistence, innovation, and overcoming challenges.
Imagination is not simply a tool; it is a way of being and creating!
Whether I am on stage performing a show, training professionals such as educators, tour guides, project managers and artists, delivering empowerment workshops for parents, or teaching university students, I begin by asking my audience one fundamental question: “What brought you here? Where do you want to go?”
Our journey—personal or professional, individual or collective—is inseparable from the narrative we have shaped around it. From myths and fairy tales to a company slogan, throughout the centuries we have sought to make sense of this journey. Ultimately, we seek to tell our story.
Storytelling begins with the need to share the way you see the world. My own journey has taught me something very important: for a story to acquire the power it deserves, you must first immerse yourself in its own way of interpreting the universe.
Every story, just like every person or organisation, is unique. This is how I bring together my knowledge and creativity: by giving myself completely to the story that is waiting to be told.
If you would like to arrange any of the activities offered for children or adults, simply get in touch with me. Get in touch!