About the Playwrights
Ludmyla Tymoshenko (Kharchenko) (Людмила Тимошенко) was born in Kazakhstan and graduated in 2000 from the Faculty of Philosophy of Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Doctor of Political Sciences. Playwright, screenwriter, artist, university lecturer. Her plays have been shortlisted annually for Ukrainian and foreign drama competitions and festivals. Two premieres were scheduled for February-May 2022 at theaters in Kyiv and Lviv, neither of which took place due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Maryna Smilianets (Марина Смілянець) - Ukrainian dramatist, screenwriter, journalist. She was born in Kyiv on October 12, 1992. She graduated from the Kyiv College of Theater and Cinema with a degree in drama theater, studying under Vitaly Kino. In 2018, she received a Bachelor’s and subsequently a Master’s degree from the Kyiv National University of Theater, Film and Television (KNUTKiT. I. Karpenko-Kary) with the specialism dramatist for film and television. Member of the National Union of Theater Actors of Ukraine since 2013. She was awarded first prize in the literary competition Coronation of the Word for the children’s play Country of Serious (2015) as well as for her work Dog House (2018). Maryna Smilianets participated in the festival Topical Play Week in 2015, 2018 and 2021. She is the author of many articles and reviews about cinema and theater for the newspaper Mirror of the Week and the online magazine Yabl. She holds the position of Deputy Director of the Arts Center New Ukrainian Theater ("Mykhailivska Theater" and "Ladybug" theater for сhildren). More than 15 performances throughout Ukraine were staged behind her plays. She has worked with famous Ukrainian directors such as Maxim Golenko, Stas Zhirkov, Tamara Trunova, Vyacheslav Zhyla, Vitaliy Kino and Italian director Matteo Spiazzi.
Character List
Peachy - Rusty Haired Kitten
Marusia - Volunteer Cat
Busia - Funny Cat in a Wheelchair
Mykola -Young High Breed Cat
Cast
Sofiia Shulha (Peachy) 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".
Michaela Králová (Míša) 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).
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 (Busia/Music Director) 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 (Mykola/Music Director) 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.
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."