Prodan Dimov

Prodan Dimov, Founding Artistic Director of Metropolis Theater, is of Bulgarian origin and came to the US in 1996. He earned a B.F.A and M.F.A. in Acting in 1983 from Krastio Sarafov Higher Institute for Theater and Film Arts in Bulgaria. Before moving to the US, he played more than 20 leading roles in distinguished repertory theaters and participated in several distinctive film and television productions.
During 1989 - 1992, Prodan lived in Russia where he specialized in Theater Directing and worked both as actor and professor of Acting. The essence of his studies at the Moscow State Institute for Theater Arts involved Stanislavsky's theory and methods and their application. At that time, Prodan directed three successful shows: Black Comedy by Peter Shaffer, Filomena Marturano by Eduardo de Philippo, and The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco. Each show played for 5 years in the repertory theater. The Bald Soprano won a Russian National Award for Directing in Saint Petersburg, 1994. As an assistant professor of Acting, he taught under the guidance of Gleb Drozdov and Andrey Goncharov (a world-renowned theater director and pedagogue.) During the same period, he also played in the highly acclaimed Same Time Next Year, by Bernard Slade directed by Gleb Drozdov, partnering with Natalia Drozdova, Best Actress of Russia for 1989 and 1995.
After moving to the US in 1996, Prodan began conceptualizing a world art center in which to integrate theatre, music, film, and multi-media. He directed theater productions around the globe, and became a household name for Russian lovers of the theater of the absurd.  
Prodan’s first show in Atlanta was in 1998: The Diary of a Madman at 7 Stages Theater. Creative Loafing rated it among the 10 best shows of the year. In 2000, the same show participated in the International Festival of Russian Classical Drama and won awards for both acting and directing. In 2003 Prodan directed The Chairs by Eugene Ionesco; the show enjoyed a similar success in the United States and won awards in China. After founding Metropolis Theater in 2005, major productions directed by him include The Bald Soprano, by Ionesco; The Gin Game, by D. L. Coburn; Diary of a Madman, by Gogol; The Proposal, Bear, and The Harmfulness of Tobacco, by Chekhov. Among the recognitions for the high quality of the shows is the 2008 Suzi Award nomination for Best Actor in the Diary of a Madman.
Prodan’s interests in the area of education led him to teach Theater and Acting at Kennesaw State University from 2002 to 2005, and later in Metropolis Theater Acting Studio. He is currently working on his Ph.D. focused on the complexities of human emotions and their application in theater.