Renata Zhigulina

Renata Zhigulina was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia and is an actor and dancer who currently lives in New York City. Renata was introduced to the profession of acting at the age of 10 when she was accepted into the Acting Studio for Children. From age 13-17, she performed in the Theatre of Youthful Creativity (TUT) in St. Petersburg, Russia. Renata embarked upon 6 years of intensive conservatory acting training starting in Saint Petersburg, continuing in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) and then in New York at the New York Film Academy and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. She continues to deepen her work in English classical text and Shakespeare with British voice coach, author, and theater director Patsy Rodenburg.

Since 2010, Renata performed in various theater, film and dance productions in New York City. She appeared in the festival-circulated avant-garde short film "Vergo" (2010) directed by Lily Johnson, and "Laundromat" directed by festival winner Lanre Olabisi. Renata recently joined the international experimental theater ensemble "Dzieci" which utilizes techniques garnered from Jerzy Grotowski and the Polish Theater Laboratory, Eugenio Barba and Peter Brook. In 2013 and 2014, she was a guest performer in Punchdrunk's "Sleep No More."

Renata is especially interested in all kinds of physical/dance/movement theater. She is currently exploring various forms of physical theater such as mime, Lecoq mask work and immersive site-specific theater.