The University of Toledo

Irina Zaurov, Theatre Instructor

Irina Zaurov holds a Bachelor's degree in Performing Arts from The Tashkent Institute of Art and Theater and a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from The Moscow Institute of Performing Arts and Film. She came to the United States from Russia, where she was a well-known actress, professional dancer, choreographer, and master puppeteer. She also holds an associate's degree in Psychodrama from Penn State University. She holds memberships at The Puppeteers of America, UNIMA- Union Internationale de la Marionnette, and The Israeli Folk Dance Choreographers of America. Irina has performed with her Israeli dance group in many different venues locally and out of the state. In addition to having credits in dance, from a theatrical standpoint, she has acted in five local independent movies.

Since 2000, she has been teaching drama classes and has directed more than 26 shows in many different venues around the Toledo area such as Children’s Theatre Workshop, University of Toledo's Summer Improvisation Camp, Ottawa Hills Elementary School, and The Hebrew Academy. Irina has also directed special programs at The Northwest Ohio Food Bank, The Multifaith Council, Pelham Manor and many of Toledo’s local churches. She holds the position of the artistic director for The Sylvania Community Arts Commission Theater Program.

She is one of the founders and actresses at the North Coast Theatre. Irina has been teaching Creative Process classes at The University of Toledo since 2001. She attended many workshops with notable professionals such as, Marcel Marco, Philip Jantie, Julie Taymor, Oleg Tabakov, Lyudmila Kasatkina, Eudgine Simonov, and many others. Her acting coach, Vladimir Jogelsen, was a student of Vsevolod Meyerhold, who was one of Constantine Stanislavski's best students. Using his principals, Irina considers herself as a method actress and often represents this in how she teaches. Her main focus for her students is analyzing and developing characters for plays. 

Irina has worked with many amazing directors such as Tamara Chernova, Oleg Kiselev, Isaac Yakubov, Mikhail Khusid, Sergei Obraztzov, Christine Child, Angie Angle, William Smith, Charles Vicinus, Dottie Zimmerman, Irene Alby and many more. Irina's UT credits include: being the assistant stage manager for "An evening with David Mamet" and "Equus," and playing the role of The Great Duchess Olga in "You Can't Take it with You." She has adapted four plays and has written one herself. She also writes poetry and songs. In 2000, she won third place in the United States Poem Competition for ESL poets and her piece was published in The Radiance of Summer Sun: the International Library of Poetry, which was recognized and placed in the Library of Congress.  

Irina has been a guest lecturer at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Wayne State University, Bowling Green State University and many high schools in the Toledo area where she has shared her knowledge about the history of Russian Theater. Irina's knowledge in Psychodrama gave her the opportunity to work with many senior citizens in local assisted living homes as well as nursing homes. Her degree also specified that she was eligible to work with special needs children.       Her community involvement extends to the University of Toledo's Hillebrant Clinical Skills Center for Creative education where she plays the role of a "patient" displaying specific symptoms to assist medical students in their examination and diagnosis of her "health problems". Irina is a proud volunteer for the Northwest Ohio Epilepsy Center with the Kids on the Block program where she was honored with the Karen Straw Award for Outstanding Community Service.

She is also a volunteer-interpreter for the Friends of Russian Orphans program where she uses her bilingual skills. She is very active in the local Jewish community and was recognized and honored with the Spirit of Jewish Family Service Award in 2012. Irina is married and has two children.

Email: gottalent39@gmail.com