REVIEWS
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Student Feedback (from anonymous evaluations): “Eleni helped get students out of their comfort zones.” “Eleni does a great job of getting you active and involved. It’s impossible not to enjoy learning in this class.” “This class forces you to explore the deepest part of your acting abilities.” “Eleni makes it so you want nothing more that to do your best.”
“I honestly believe I’ve become a good actor in this class because of the actual acting work I’ve done, the academic reading and writing I’ve done, and Eleni’s brilliant direction. Great course.” “Very enthusiastic and encouraging.” “Eleni’s positive attitude, knowledge, energy and passion made her a wonderful professor.” “By far the best class I’ve taken for a GE at Denison. Give this teacher a raise and tenure, she deserves it.” “outgoing, articulate, animated, approachable…” “I was challenged to find new way s to bring out my inner self and to me that has been incredibly intellectually challenging.” “Caring, passionate, down-to-earth, thorough, good usage of her own personal experience.” “She is amazing both as a teacher and a mentor.” “Professor Papaleonardos is marvelous. She made this class so much more enjoyable by being excited and engaged every single second we were there. Always happy, always teaching while still making it fun. Acting is so hard because others have to watch and she made it so much easier to get up there and face the fear of being in front of people. She was brilliant! This has been my favorite class at Denison.” “I would have taken this course all eight semesters if I could’ve, and it would have been different, and I would have learned something new each time.” “I never had a course where I had to think like I think in this course. It takes a different kind of thinking. It’s nice to get the left side of my brain moving.” “This course without a doubt exceeded my expectations. It is varied, interesting, and always a class I look forward to. I have learned an incredible amount about myself as an actress, and as a person, and have had breakthroughs throughout the course’s progression, and discovered parts of myself I never expected.”
“Eleni’s enthusiasm about the subject is so vibrant, and serves to get everyone in the class involved not only in their work, but in watching others’ work too. In so doing, she and the diverse material work together to create an ideal environment that inspires creativity and growth. Most of all, Eleni is incredibly encouraging. The smallest moment will set her off in a flurry of excitement, because she sees the details in her students’ growth.”
“Eleni does a great job of making the classroom a comfortable area for students to take risks and try new things.” “She really helped not be afraid to try.” “Eleni found ways to help us improve, but didn’t tell us the exact actions or thoughts we should have. She pushed us without spoon-feeding us.” “Eleni is a ball of fire in class! Lord, she has so much energy and interest in her material that she could use it to revive the dead.” “She is candid and honest about herself and the acting at hand.” “A great amount of the personal success I felt from this course is due to her ability to make the student feel comfortable.” “Eleni was so excited about everything we were doing that I got more and more excited.” “Professor Papaleonardos helped me want to put my best into everything I did.” “Eleni was great. She created a comfortable and creative environment. In theatre you really have to put yourself out there, and Eleni made me feel comfortable and I wasn’t afraid of making a mistake or doing something dumb.” “Eleni works hard to make sure that every student gains something from the course.” “Eleni allowed us a lot of leeway to create and explore.” “Eleni was fantastic at helping to guide us, but leaving us enough space to be able to create completely organic pieces. She was always helpful when need be, but let us do our own exploration.” “This class challenged me to be creative and to collaborate with others.” “Professor Papaleonardos listens to the students and inspires them to take chances with their acting choices. I felt confident presenting my work because of her support and encouragement.” “Seeing how much you can do with this style of creation was incredible. I really want to keep using what I’ve learned because it makes for an awesome fresh way of envisioning theatre.” “It was a very hands-on course.; We were learning by doing, by creating our own pieces, not just imitating others. It really provided opportunities for us to explore topics that interested us – especially in the final projects.” “The continual feedback and physically working through experiences were the best.” “It’s a course that has you think outside the box and take risks.” “I think that the course challenge you intellectually and physically.” “She helped us explore new strengths and take risks.” “I honestly love the discussions we have and the activities we do.” “Eleni makes the class excited to learn.” “The course made me do things that I wasn’t used to doing, connecting and moving in a way that I didn’t before.” “This course was a very opening course for me it helped me realize that everything you do connects to something on a deeper level.” “This course was intellectually stimulating and simultaneously entertaining.” “She always encourages students to explore and embrace instead of over-analyzing and judging. She works hard to create an environment that is honest and true.” “Eleni notices frustrations and encourages her students to express how they’re really feeling in class and use that to help their acting. She creates a comfortable safe space for all students and is genuinely excited to see them progress. “
“This course was excellent, possibly the best I have ever taken.” “Keep her on please. I wanted so badly to get into her class next semester but it was full in an heartbeat.” “The course and the teacher are wonderful! They should definitely be something everyone has a chance to experience at Denison.” “I feel like she respects every one of our opinions and encourages all of our thought processes. “ “Not only was this class fun and exciting for me, it also gave me confidence to stand up in front of people and not be afraid to make a fool of myself.” “Eleni encourages participation through class-based discussions and ensures everyone has a chance to participate.” |
Production Reviews: “Papaleonardos was hilarious as a gibberish-talking co-worker in Available Light’s The Internationalist, and she did a miraculous job as director of the same troupe’s offbeat God’s Ear.”
Church: “Papaleonardos tells her story of a fallen woman reborn through faith convincingly and with authentic feeling.” “It's here, in their portrayal of unwavering conviction, where the actors shine. Each, though "reformed" though the grace of God, has a flaw that eventually gets…. Papaleonardos feels shame for her decidedly grotesque past as a drug-using alcoholic….” “Eleni Papaleonardos fills her passionate monologues with enough shaded nuances to arouse a fascinating variety of questions and emotions.” “The exact same sincerity, the exact same lack of irony mark each of the sermons, even as they skirt the outer reaches of sanity. Reverend Eleni (Eleni Papaleonardos) launches into a ritual celebration of spouting chicken blood…. Reverends Casey, Eleni and Kate harmonize exquisitely and move with a convincingly ecstatic projection of worshipful joy.” “Reverend Eleni (Eleni Papaleonardos), working through her addiction to be loved and exploding in an indictment of those who would use religion for bigotry or exclusion…. Then there's dancing which is perfect, unforced, but well-choreographed, and sone group harmonies by Reverends Kate, Eleni and Casey.”
“Papaleonardos, a CATCO newcomer, leads the cast with a charming wit that often outshines her co-stars. She brings a child-like innocence coupled with spot-on comedic timing that gives each punch-line a slightly more seductive bite.” “Eleni Papaleonardos exudes vitality and generates hilarity as Matilde, a Portuguese maid who spends all her spare time trying to think up the perfect joke.”
“Eleni Papaleonardos, who is onstage constantly throughout the two-act production [of Dead-City], finds both sharp intelligence and vulnerability in Samantha, making her a fully three-dimensional character.” “"Eleni Papaleonardos, who plays Samantha, is very brave; she really gets to the heart of it, she really makes me ache for the character," he added. Anyone who saw Papaleonardos in the title role of Schiller's Mary Stuart last summer will know what Slaybaugh is talking about.”
“Even in the most emotional moments, Director Eleni Papaleonardos manages to bring hilarity, tension and even sensuality to the stage. It is something of wild ride.” “The cadences and rhythms of Schwartz's dialogue, which could so easily go astray in the wrong mouths, remain beautifully modulated thanks to both the skills of the cast and the direction of Eleni Papaleonardos. God's Ear, like so many of Available Light's productions, lives on the stage and breathes through the music of its words.” “[God’s Ear] boldly attempts to subvert the rules of theater without leaving viewers in its dust. Thanks to the efforts of Papaleonardos and her cast, it succeeds.”
“June (Papaleonardos) instructs Gabriel on the art of meditation as a means to deal with his own despair. As they sit cross-legged on the floor, the play slows nearly to a stop in a theatrical equivalent of a musical ritardando. The effect is otherworldly, and in decades of theatergoing, I have rarely seen it done quite so effectively.”
“…terrific…. riveting…. Papaleonardos finds nobility, dignity, passion, and vulnerability in the long-suffering Mary, Queen of Scots.” |
“Made me step out of my comfort zone to grow.”
The Clean House: 
Time and a Few Words:
Mary Stuart: