ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Olha Murashko was born in 1981 in Crimea. In 1999, she entered the Karpenko-Kary National University of Theater, Cinema and Television in Kyiv, graduating in 2004 as a professional theater critic. She became the head dramaturg in the drama department of the National Operetta Theater, and later managed the drama department of the Kyiv Atelier 16 theater.
She worked at the Les Kurbas National Theater Arts Center, and as an editor and screenwriter on various Ukrainian TV channels. She wrote her first play in 2007 for an actor friend. It was a monodrama called Peninsula, which was followed by the play Success, shortlisted at the Contemporary Drama Week festival. This play was published in Motanka, an anthology of women's drama. In 2021 she wrote The U-Turn Intersection about her homeland of Crimea. This play was shortlisted at the July Honey play competition. Her text Look Mom, a Plane! is a documentary work about herself and her daughter, who, together, survived the aerial bombardment of the Russian invaders in her village of Piskivka near Borodyanka in March 2022.
Olha is currently helping to build the important Theater of Playwrights in Ukraine in Kyiv, where she wears many official hats, including that of administrator, construction foreman, architect, and janitor of this wonderful space.
CAST
Arsenii Kolitarov (HE/Soldier 3) is a musician and a writer with his background in Kyiv’s emerging post-punk psychedelic scene. After a series of disappointing events, he and his colleague, infamous anarchist Serhii Pivnov, set themselves the goal of reviving the genre of Ukrainian bard-folk-rock. In the period preceding the war, he took part in a wide range of cinematographic projects, which were as ambitious as they were unsuccessful. After emigrating, he founded the media project «Provulok», dedicated to publishing and popularising contemporary Ukrainian artists.
Арсеній Котляров - — музикант і письменник, що вийшов із київської сцени психоделічного пост-панку. Після серії нещасних інцидентів він та його колега, відомий у вузьких колах співець-анархіст Сергій Пивнов, мали собі за мету відновлення жанру українського бард-фолк-року. Незадовго до початку війни приймав участь у серії кінематографічних проектів, що були настільки ж амбітними наскільки вони були невдалими. Після еміграції заснував медійний проект «Провулок,» присвячений публікації та популяризації сучасного українського мистецтва.
Еліна Герасимчук - акторка та режисерка з Чернігова, наразі навчається фільмейкінгу у Трініті. Еліна має на меті відкрити сучасний театр, який даруватиме людям незабутні емоції та спонукатиме до роздумів. Вона також була в жюрі вокальних конкурсів та є багаторазовою чемпіонкою України з поулденсу. Її учні також відомі як чемпіони України з повітряної гімнастики. Сьогодні, Еліна є одною з організаторок та режисерок цього заходу.
«Я дуже вдячна Ірландії за її зацікавленість у не тільки допомозі Україні, а ще й у нашій культурі. Сподіваюсь, цей проєкт допоможе іноземцям усвідомити нашу ментальність, переживання та важливість підтримки наших збройних сил»
Elina Herasymchuk (SHE/IT) is an actress and director from Chernihiv who is currently studying filmmaking at Trinity. Elina aims to open a contemporary theater that will provide people with unforgettable emotions and provoke reflections. She has also served as a judge in vocal competitions and is a multiple-time champion of Ukraine in pole dance. Her students are also known as champions of Ukraine in aerial sports. Today, Elina is one of the organizers and directors of this event.
"I am very grateful to Ireland for its interest not only in helping Ukraine but also in our culture. I hope this project will help foreigners understand our mentality, feelings, and the importance of supporting our armed forces."
Emily Lagace (Inspector/Soldier 4) is a performer, director, playwright, and researcher from Maine, USA currently completing her MPhil in Theatre and Performance at Trinity College Dublin. Emily completed her undergraduate degree at Wagner College in NYC in 2020, receiving a BA English and BA Theatre Studies. The following year, she served as one of twelve Wagner Presidential Fellows facilitating the return to theatre after the pandemic. As well as Ireland, Emily has studied vocal performance and acting in NYC, London, and Dresden, Germany. Past performance credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia), Steel Magnolias (M’Lynn), A Flea in Her Ear (Antoinette, Olympia) and Clue (Yvette). Emily’s current area of research focuses on early modern conceptions of the body and the subsequent physiopsychology of the body in Shakespeare’s works. Her aim with this research is to make early modern plays more accessible to academics and practitioners alike and facilitate a shift in the modern perception and language of the body. Emily would like to thank Dixon Graham for asking her to be a part of the Ukrainian Play Readings and the entire cast for opening themselves up to such vulnerable subject matter.
Mariia Koshyrenkova (Sveta) Mariia Koshyrenkova is a photographer and graphic designer from Ukraine. She created the promotional material for the event and organized the promotional photos for the participants. Her goal is to reduce the frequency and volume of ignorant questions often posed to Ukrainians like, "Is the war still going on?" and to call the people who might think, "I'm a small person, what can I change?" to be brave, like Ukrainians.
Michaela Králová (Míša) (Vitya/Soldier 2) is a theatre-maker, poet, translator, and researcher from Prague, the Czech Republic. Michaela introduced the Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings initiative to Ireland with a reading of four plays in the Samuel Beckett Theatre at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, on June 1st, 2022, together with Ema Vyroubalová and Elina Herasymchuk. Michaela was a curator for the event, a director, a performer, a production and stage manager, booked the venues, managed the social media and graphic design to promote the event, organized the volunteers, and connected to various newspapers in Ireland in both 2022 and 2023. Medias which features the event afterwards include District Magazine and Trinity News. Michaela’s interview citation was published on the ‘20 short works by Ukrainian playwrights’ by Egret Publishing, which can be purchased here: https://www.laertesbooks.org/egret-acting-editions. Her other directing and play-writing credits include a feminist and war-oriented retelling of (and theatre-adaptation-inspired-by) the Czech novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being (directed along with Roísín Daly) in DU Players. Her theatre-acting credits include The Ballad of Reading Gaol in the Samuel Beckett Theatre, The Bad Bitch Manifesto (DU Players), Stuck Somewhere New (DU Players), Sitting Ducks (DU Players). Michaela is currently obtaining her M.Phil. in Literary Translation at the Trinity Center for Literary and Cultural Translation. She also works as a research assistant at TCD. Michaela volunteers for the human rights organization Amnesty International, and teaches English for refugees and asylum seekers through the Universities of Sanctuary Project. Her research focuses on non-binary identities in literary translation, on global theatre adaptations, on translation/adaptation as decolonization, and on Central and Eastern European identities. Michaela’s own poetry, play-wrighting, and translations deal with queer sexualities, alienation in immigration, and sexual violence. Michaela is very grateful that the project is growing and for all the people who have joined this year. Updates of her poetry readings and theatre projects can be found @kralova_m__ (Instagram), or @MaKrlov2 (Twitter).
Mishel Mudryk (Soldier 5) is a film student at Ballyfermot college. She is passionate about telling stories through film and raising important topics. Just this year she shot her first film, Parallel Realities, that tells a story about a Ukrainian girl who moved abroad because of the war and lives in two parallel realities: Ukraine and Ireland. Now, she is taking her first steps in cinematography, but she has already set herself the goal of representing high-quality Ukrainian cinema abroad in the future. Mishel also wants to share and tell to Irish more about Ukrainian culture and language, so it's an honor for her to be able to be part of these Ukrainian play readings.
Мішель Мудрик навчається на режисерку в коледжі Балліфермот. Вона захоплена ідеєю розповіді історій через фільм і можливістю піднімати важливі теми. Цього року вона зняла свій перший фільм «Паралельні реальності», в якому розповідається про українську дівчину, яка через війну виїхала за кордон і живе у двох параллельных реальностях: Україні та Ірландії. Зараз вона робить лише перші кроки в кінематографі, але вже взяла собі за мету в майбутньому представляти якісне українське кіно за кордоном.
Мішель також хоче розповісти ірландцям більше про українську культуру та мову, поділитися з ними надбанням своєї Батьківщини та показати інтелектуальне багатство українського народу, тому для неї велика честь бути частиною читання українських п’єс.
Oleksandr (Sasha) Hroza (Child) is a 16 year old from Ukraine. When the war began he moved to Ireland, where he discovered his new passion – drama. Ever since he has been involved in many projects, with his school musical (Beauty and the Best) being the biggest one so far.
"One day you'll see me on Broadway" – he says.
Sofiia Shulha (Deputy/Soldier 1) is a student from Kyiv studying psychology at Trinity College Dublin. Her goal is to become a psychotherapist and help Ukrainians and other people with the mental health consequences of the war.
"I am honoured to be a part of the Ukrainian play readings, and I hope we can spread awareness and gather support for our heroes by doing so. "
Софія - студентка з Києва, вивчає психологію в Триніті-коледжі. Її мета - стати психотерапевтом і допомагати українцям та іншим людям з впливом війни на психічне здоров'я.
"Для мене велика честь бути частиною читань українських творів, і я сподіваюся, що таким чином ми зможемо поширити інформацію та залучити підтримку нашим героям".
Ema Vyroubalová (Stage Directions) is a literary scholar originally from the Czech Republic. She has studied and taught on three different continents and has been working as assistant professor in the School of English at Trinity College Dublin since 2011. Her research and teaching focus on two main areas: literature of Renaissance England and stage and film adaptations of Shakespeare's plays from the 20th and 21st centuries. She is especially interested in stage and film adaptations of the plays in languages other than English and in translation itself as a form of adaptation. She is an associate editor of the Palgrave Encyclopaedia of Global Shakespeare and contributor to the research project ‘Crossing Borders with Shakespeare since 1945: East European Roots and Routes’ funded by the European Research Council. Ema joined the Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings soon after it was launched in spring 2022 and, together with Míša Králová and Elina Herasymchuk, introduced the initiative to Ireland with a reading of four plays in the Beckett Theatre at Trinity College on June 1st, 2022. She has also been collaborating with colleagues from Zaporizhzhia National University and Berdiansk State Pedagogical University and has been studying Ukrainian in order to be able to learn more about Ukrainian theatre and literature and to be able to get more actively involved in projects supporting Ukraine.
Ема Вирoубалова - літературознавиця родом із Чехії. Вона навчалася і викладала на трьох різних континентах, а з 2011 року працює доцентом на факультеті англійської мови Трініті коледжу в Дубліні. Її дослідження та викладання зосереджені на двох основних напрямках: література Англії епохи Відродження, сценічні та кіноадаптації п'єс Шекспіра, у 20 та 21 століттях. Її особливо цікавлять театральні та кіноадаптації п'єс мовами, відмінними від англійської, та, власне, переклад, як форма адаптації. Вона є асоційованим редактором "Палгрейвської енциклопедії світового Шекспіра" та учасницею дослідницького проєкту "Перетинаючи кордони з Шекспіром з 1945 року: Східноєвропейське коріння та маршрути", що фінансується Європейською дослідницькою радою.
Ема долучилася до Всесвітніх читань українських п'єс невдовзі після їхнього започаткування, навесні 2022 року, і разом із Мішею Краловою та Еліною Герасимчук представила ініціативу в Ірландії, прочитавши чотири п'єси в театрі Беккета, в Трініті коледжі, 1 червня 2022 року. Вона також співпрацює з колегами із Запорізького національного університету та Бердянського державного педагогічного університету, і вивчає українську мову, щоб мати змогу більше дізнатися про український театр і літературу, та активніше долучатися до проєктів на підтримку України.
Dixon Graham (Director) is a theatremaker and researcher from Charleston, South Carolina (USA) currently completing her MPhil in Theatre and Performance at Trinity College Dublin. Dixon completed her undergraduate degrees at Clemson University in South Carolina in 2018, receiving a BA in Production Studies in Performing Arts with a Minor in Music and BS in Marketing. She is passionate about creating quality theatre that engages the audience on multiple levels and interdisciplinary collaboration. Her current area of research concerns staging emotionally provocative subjects and how we might anticipate, navigate, and address the potential effects of performing these subjects for both practitioners and audiences. She is a producer, director, sound and projection designer, and actor for this event, which is also a part of the practice-based portion of her current research. Following the completion of her MPhil at the end of the summer of 2023, she hopes to further research the different methods and mediums for immersive storytelling and how an audience's engagement and perception of the story may change with the different methods.
"I am constantly amazed and inspired by the incredible talent, beautiful culture, and unwavering strength that every Ukrainian carries with them and I am honored to have been a part of this project to help share these incredible stories with the world."