April 7, 2026
from the Record, Fall 2025
When Hollywood Came Home
When your nickname is Hollywood, the stage is a natural place to end up. But it isn't where Andrew "Hollywood" Mitakides '07 began. Mitakides had his sights set on dentistry, just like his father, when he matriculated at Hampden-Sydney, but a stress-induced nosebleed during an organic chemistry class disavowed him of that notion. Wandering past Johns Auditorium after leaving that class and his best laid plans behind, Mitakides crossed paths with Barger-Barclay Professor of Theater Shirley Kagan. That chance encounter led Mitakides to a vibrant acting career from sound studios doing voiceover work to the bright lights of Broadway.
"Once I met Professor Kagan, I was in every production in some capacity from then on during my time at Hampden-Sydney. My debut role was Macduff in Macbeth, and I just I fell in love with Shakespeare." Mitakides says. "But every day, I second guessed myself thinking, ‘Am I good enough to do this? Can I make a living doing this?' And I remember Professor Kagan saying, ‘People need to see the stories that you can tell.'"
The industry agreed. Mitakides pressed on and had a dazzling career, performing in theater, television, movies, and voiceover work across the country. In 2016, though, Mitakides found himself back in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio. Weary from the stress of caring for his ailing father and the relentless politics of showbiz, Mitakides was spending more time teaching golf than chasing auditions.
Realizing that his first love was and always would be Shakespeare, Mitakides applied for and received a coveted spot in the George Washington University Master of Fine Arts in Classical Acting program through the Shakespeare Theater Academy. After graduating in 2024, Mitakides returned home to Dayton, where he saw a need for a Shakespearefocused theater. Thus, Gem City Groundlings, Dayton's only Shakespeare Theatre Association-registered theater, was born. Mitakides and his wife, Riki, are cofounders. Andrew serves as chief executive officer and artistic director, and Riki is the director of marketing.
The response from the Dayton community has been overwhelming. "I didn't realize Daytonians would chomp at the bit for Shakespeare," Mitakides says. "But people were driving hours to other cities for professional theater, and now we're in their backyard. It was this moment of, ‘Oh—that's what we were missing.'"
Seventeen years after his debut as Macduff on the Johns Auditorium stage, Mitakides returned to Macbeth—this time in the title role, on his own stage, with his own company. Macbeth isn't the only Hampden-Sydney influence audiences will see at Gem City Groundlings. Ed Bartholomew '09 is on the creative council and Dave Maggio '06 is a longtime sponsor.
In Shakespeare's time, groundlings were the people in the cheap seats, the everyman, and they were who Shakespeare was speaking to. Mitakides and the Gem City Groundlings strive to serve that same audience today, with a mission "…to bridge the gap between classic theater and modern audiences by making high-quality performances, education, and artistic opportunities accessible to all…[because] the works of Shakespeare… [belong] to everyone."