Natasha Tsakos: Making Theatre in Zero-G
Host Anna Robb sits down with Natasha Tsakos, an award-winning showmaker whose work fuses theatrical adventure, technology, and impact. From street performances and TED Talks to large-scale productions for the UN, G20 Summit, and Cirque du Soleil, Natasha has redefined what live performance can be. Now, she’s taking theatre beyond Earth with PARABOLES, the world’s first multimedia performance in microgravity. In this conversation, Natasha shares her creative journey, the lessons of street theatre, and her vision for a future where performance thrives even in space.
Enjoy this boundary-breaking glimpse into their conversation—and don’t forget to join us next week for the full episode.
How did Natasha become a “showmaker,” and what shaped her multidisciplinary style?
A: Natasha Tsakos traces her path to a childhood of playful invention: staging living-room productions with cousins, then studying acting while dabbling in film editing from age 14. Conservatory training ignited the realization that she didn’t want to only speak others’ lines—she wanted to write, direct, produce, and world-build. Early gallery shows taught her what she didn’t want (overly realistic, rigid theatre). Street performance and nightclub work sharpened spontaneity, audience rapport, and risk-taking. The pivotal shift came when she removed dialogue and began “storyboarding the experience,” letting image, rhythm, and cinematic grammar drive narrative. That collage of influences—film language, club energy, street-level interactivity, and actorly craft—became her signature approach to multimedia theatre: meticulous storyboards, bold visual metaphors, and a commitment to collaboration that finds the right people to manifest ambitious visions.
What does her creative process look like, and where does she find inspiration?
A: Natasha’s process starts with a spark—a question, image, or metaphor—then grows through exhaustive storyboarding that choreographs the audience’s journey. She’s inspired less by the arts and more by science and thinkers like Einstein; her “pattern-recognition machine” (the subconscious) recombines what she reads and observes into fresh ideas. Music discovery matters; so do liminal, distraction-free zones (yes, the shower) that let her catch ideas as they surface. She trusts background cognition to assemble pieces while she cycles between exploration and capture. The goal isn’t medium purity; it’s transporting people. Proscenium, hotel, aircraft, or space station—the format is secondary to emotional substance. She experiments with new tools early, playing with emerging tech hands-on. But she’s clear: tools follow story. Technology is a sandbox, not the destination.
Why was street performance so foundational, and what did it teach her about audiences and leadership?
A: The streets forged agility, hyper-awareness, and courage. Performing for people who didn’t ask to stop forces instant connection and decisive presence—skills that translate to entrepreneurship, pitching, and leading teams. Street work cultivates the audacity to approach strangers and create a moment, revealing how uncomplicated human connection can be when you initiate it. It also strengthens resilience: there’s no time for second-guessing, only bold choices. Natasha sees that same embodied command in colleagues who moved from clowning/physical theatre into corporate settings; stagecraft becomes strategic communication. That lived practice of spontaneity under pressure underpins her later large-scale work (TED, Super Bowl, humanitarian projects) and her comfort fusing movement, image, and audience interaction.
What is PARABOLES—the microgravity performance—and how is she preparing for it?
A: PARABOLES is Tsakos’s first research-based multimedia performance in microgravity, flying with MIT’s Space Exploration Initiative. The production—five people aboard a Zero-G flight (three performers, two videographers)—unfolds across 25 parabolas, each yielding ~22 seconds of weightlessness and ~40 seconds of hypergravity. Rather than imposing heavy text, she “choreographs metaphors,” letting gravity’s absence and excess sculpt the story: three characters gripping life, surrendering to the unknown, and asking what we must unlearn to evolve—on Earth or in space. The output will be an art film, a documentary, an immersive weightless installation, biometric research, and building blocks for a training curriculum for future artists in space environments. Training spans underwater and harness work, studio sessions, float tanks, meditation, and coaching from physicist/circus artist Adam Dipert (“the space juggler”), who developed microgravity movement methods. Everyone is cross-covered because Zero-G is unforgiving (“vomit comet” realities included). For Natasha, this is a long-arc “legacy journey”: reverse-engineered from a 100-year plan that imagines performance research centers on the Moon and Mars, starting now with viable minimal products and brand co-creations that seed a sustainable theatrical arm of the space industry.
What are her views on the future of theatre, tech, and the business side—and what advice does she give creators?
A: Natasha Tsakos is medium-agnostic: if it transports people, it qualifies. As audiences’ habits change, theatre must meet them in new places without sacrificing depth. She urges creators to avoid formula and template thinking; be “spelunkers at the edge of uncertainty,” where innovation happens. Exploration must pair with new business models—artists need time, space, and funding—and with better messaging about the social value of the arts. She hasn’t “cracked the code” yet but insists it’s solvable through proof-of-concepts, partnerships, and iterative R&D (exactly how PARABOLES is structured). Her advice: don’t be intimidated by your ambition. Treat projects as personal adventures that grow you, storyboard rigorously, and assemble collaborators who share the mission. Optimism, she admits, may be a defense mechanism—but it fuels audacity. Work hard, map the dream, and move.
Key Takeaways:
Showmaking as Discovery: Natasha built her path by rejecting traditional acting roles, instead creating original, multimedia worlds shaped by film, street performance, and club culture.
Street Theatre as Training Ground: Performing for passersby taught her agility, boldness, and the art of instant connection—skills she now applies to leadership, pitching, and collaboration.
Space as the New Stage: With PARABOLES, Natasha is pioneering microgravity performance, combining artistry, science, and training to prepare creators for a future of theatre in space.
Exploration Over Templates: She emphasizes that innovation comes from venturing into the unknown, not repeating established formats, and advocates for new business and funding models to support this.
Optimism and Audacity: Natasha sees ambition as fuel, encouraging artists not to shrink from their visions but to map them boldly, work hard, and treat each project as a personal adventure.
Editor's Note: At StageLync, an international platform for the performing arts, we celebrate the diversity of our writers' backgrounds. We recognize and support their choice to use either American or British English in their articles, respecting their individual preferences and origins. This policy allows us to embrace a wide range of linguistic expressions, enriching our content and reflecting the global nature of our community.
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