Rūta Bunikytė
Rūta Bunikytė earned her Bachelor’s degree (2005) and Master’s degree (2007) in Drama Directing from the Faculty of Arts at Klaipėda University. From 2007 to 2012 she worked as an assistant director at the Klaipėda Puppet Theatre, and since 2012 she has been an assistant director at the Klaipėda State Musical Theatre.
At the Klaipėda State Musical Theatre she directed the vaudeville Hello, Charlie (2012), the children’s musical fairy tale Tales of Yarn (2012), the theatrical musical revue Dreams of Broadway (2012), the productions The Raven (2013), Romeo and Juliet (2013–2014), the children’s musical fairy tale The Village of Lazybones (2014), I. Kálmán’s operetta Mister X (2014), the theatrical concerts The Beatles Show (2014), Broadway.lt (2015), F. Wildhorn’s musical Bonnie & Clyde (2016), J. Kander’s musical Chicago (2017), the theatrical program of Eduardas Balsys’ songs I Am an Old Sailor (2019), and the one‑act opera diptych Vivat Coffee! (2020). She also directed J. Offenbach’s operetta Orpheus in the Underworld (2020), the theatrical premiere of Arvydas Remesa’s oratorio The Tale of Memelburg dedicated to the 770th anniversary of Klaipėda’s founding (2022), the theatrical concert program A la luna at the 4th Klaipėda International Festival (2024), and the revived theatrical revue Dreams of Broadway (2024). Later followed T. Minchin’s musical Matilda (2025) and the monoopera Prima Donna (2026).
She has directed productions and interdisciplinary art projects at the Arts Printing House in Vilnius, the Klaipėda Castle Theatre, and at her own founded organization, “Memelio teatras”. At the Klaipėda Puppet Theatre she created a cycle of mask and puppet performances for children, Visiting the Klaipėdikių Family (2008–2009). At Kaunas State Musical Theatre she directed the operetta Silva (2019). At Alytus City Theatre she staged the movement performance Fiction Made in Social Media (2023), based on her own script. She worked as a director on the international projects The Strangest Dream (2008, Risor International Performance Project, Risor, Norway) and The Raven (2013, South Baltic Academy of Independent Theatre). In collaboration with Bencha Theatre (Netherlands) and Inga Briazkalovaitė’s CODA dance school, she directed the vertical dance projects The Talking Tower (2017), The Singing Vydūnas River (2018), The Creator’s Code (2020), Tempo (Netherlands, 2022), The Room (2023), and the dance performance The Reborn Tower (2025).
She worked as a performance director for the LRT television project Dolphins and Stars (2015–2016). She also directed major events for the Lithuanian Sea Museum, including A Walk with President Antanas Smetona Through the History of Lithuanian Shipping (2018), The Snow Queen (2019), and With the Sea, We Are Greater (2024). She has directed many theatricalized events in the city of Klaipėda and staged performances for the “Klaipėda Blue” choir in the LNK TV project The Great Battle of Choirs.
She has been nominated four times for the Klaipėda Theatre Awards “Padėkos kaukė”: in 2007 for the drama Not I at the Klaipėda Castle Theatre (nomination “Debut of the Year”); in 2016 for the musical Bonnie & Clyde at the Klaipėda State Musical Theatre (nomination “Production of the Year”); in 2019 for the performance Alice in Wonderland (nomination “Dance Project of the Year”); and in 2024 for the vertical dance performance The Room (nomination “Director of the Year”). Together with the creative team of The Room, she received a special “Padėkos kaukė” award laurel for distinctiveness, innovation, and playfulness. In 2022 she received the KVMT award “Catch the Wave” (nomination “Challenge of the Year”) for the revived and widely acclaimed musical Chicago. In 2026 she received the “Padėkos kaukė” award (nomination “Director of the Year”) for T. Minchin’s musical Matilda, the dance performance The Reborn Tower, and activities of the organization “Codos projektai”.
