STAYKO MURDJEV was born on May 9, 1984, in Smolyan. He is a graduate of the school at the "Nikolay Haytov" Rhodope Drama Theatre, where he was trained by Yuliya Ognyanova and Emiliya Ovanesyan. In 2009, he graduated from the "Krastyo Sarafov" National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA), specializing in "Directing for Drama Theater" in the class of prof. Plamen Markov. His debut play was "The Pillowman" by Martin McDonagh at the "Aleko Konstantinov" Satirical Theatre. He was a resident director in the Bulgarian Army Theatre and the "Stefan Kirov" Drama Theatre in Sliven. His productions have received over 50 nominations for national awards and numerous selections for festivals. Since 2011, he is the main director of the "N. O. Masalitinov" Drama Theatre in Plovdiv. In 2019, he directed the performance "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde at the "Nikola Vaptsarov" Drama Theatre. Shortly after, he became a resident director at the theatre in Blagoevgrad.

His performances at "Nikola Vaptsarov" Drama Theatre include:

• "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde, stage adaptation by John O'Connor and Merlyn Holland (2018);
• "Vaptsarov: Songs of Man" - directed by Stayko Murdjev, Boian Ivanov and Teya Sugareva (2019);
• „Съмнение“ от Джон Патрик Шанли (2022 г.);
• „Метаморфози“ по Овидий, сценична версия – Мери Цимерман (2023 г.);

His performances in other theatres include:

• "The Pillowman" by Martin McDonagh ("Aleko Konstantinov" Satirical Theatre, 2009);
• "The Iron Candlestick - Catherina's Love" by Dimitar Talev ("Stefan Kirov" Drama Theatre - Sliven, 2010);
• "When Thunder Strikes" by Peyo K. Yavorov (Drama Theatre - Plovdiv, 2011);
• "Recoil" by Zachary Karabashliev (Bulgarian Army Theatre, 2011);
• "Intrigue and Love" by Friedrich Schiller (Theatre Sofia, 2012);
• "Eugene Onegin" by Alexander S. Pushkin (Bulgarian Army Theatre, 2012);
• "King Lear" by William Shakespeare (Drama Theatre - Plovdiv, 2012)
• "The Pitchfork Disney" by Philip Ridley (Drama Theatre - Plovdiv, 2013);
• "Madame de Sade" by Yukio Mishima (SFUMATO Theare Laboratory and NATFA, 2013);
• "The Talanted Mr. Ripley" by Phylis Nagy based on Patricia Highsmith's novel (Theatre and Music Center - Varna, 2013);
• "Euridice" by Sarah Ruhl (Drama Theatre - Plovdiv, 2015);
• "Merlin Merlo" by Nikolay Kolyada ("Ivan Dimov" Drama and Puppet Theatre - Haskovo, 2015);
• "Bash" by Neil LaBute ("Ivan Dimov" Drama and Puppet Theatre - Haskovo and Theatre 199, 2015);
• "Turbulence" by Kamen Donev (Drama Theatre - Plovdiv, 2016);
• "Equus" by Peter Shaffer ("Nikolay Binev" Youth Theatre, 2018);
• "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley (Theatre Sofia, 2017);
• "Cock" by Mike Bartlett ("Nikolay Binev" Youth Theatre, 2018);
• "The Fastest Clock in the Universe" by Philip Ridley (Theatre 199, 2019)
• "Killer Joe" by Tracy Letts (Little City Theatre "Off The Channel", 2019);
• "Glorious!" by Peter Quilter (Drama Theatre - Plovdiv, 2020);
• "In the Feet of Vitosha Mountain" by Peyo K. Yavorov ("Stefan Kirov" Drama Theatre - Sliven, 2020);
• "Amadeus" by Peter Shaffer (Theatre and Music Center - Varna, 2021);
• "Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare (Drama Theatre - Plovdiv, 2021);
• "The Thessaloniki Assassins" by Georgi Danailov (Drama Theatre - Plovdiv, 2022);
• "Fat Pig" by Neil LaBute ("Nikolay Binev" Youth Theatre, 2022);
• „Портокал с часовников механизъм“ от Антъни Бърджис (Малък градски театър „Зад канала“, 2023 г.);
• „Перфектни непознати“ от Паоло Дженовезе (Театър „София“, 2023 г.);
• „Ромео и Жулиета“ от Уилям Шекспир (Драматичен театър – Пловдив, 2024 г.);
• „Последното изкушение на Христос“ по Никос Казандзакис (Драматичен театър „Стоян Бъчваров“ – Варна, 2024 г.)  и др.

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• Winner of Award for contribution to the development of Bulgarian culture from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria;
• Winner of IKAR Award 2020 in "Directing" category for "Glorious!" by Peter Quilter (Drama Theatre - Plovdiv);
• Winner of IKAR Award 2010 in "Debut" category for "The Pillowman" by Martin McDonagh ("Aleko Konstantinov" Satirical Theatre);
• Nominee for IKAR Award 2022 in "Directing" category for "Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare (Drama Theatre - Plovdiv);
• Nominee for IKAR Award 2019 in "Directing" category for "Cock" by Mike Bartlett ("Nikolay Binev" Youth Theatre);
• Nominee for IKAR Award 2018 in "Directing" category for "Equus" by Peter Shaffer ("Nikolay Binev" Youth Theatre);
• Nominee for ASKEER Award 2022 in "Directing" category for "Amadeus" by Peter Shaffer (Theatre and Music Center - Varna) and "Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare (Drama Theatre - Plovdiv);
• Nominee for ASKEER Award 2017 in "Directing" category for "Equus" by Peter Shaffer ("Nikolay Binev" Youth Theatre);
• Multiple award winner for directing at the Festival of Small Theatrical Forms in Vratsa and the Festival 'New Bulgarian Drama' in Shumen;