Театр на жуках

Dear organizers!

We are glad to welcome the festival of a new type which is a unique event for Ukraine due to the presence of European critics and international theatre forums. This particular level of the festival under the patronage of the European Theatre Convention (ETC) gives an opportunity to evaluate one’s creative work from the point of the contemporary theatre context and gives a chance to the best performances to be selected for big international festivals without leaving Ukraine.

We are thankful to the ETC for the attention and attempts to support the Ukrainian theatre process. We are deeply sure that such attempts are worth continuing as cultural cooperation between Ukraine and Europe is as important as economical or political one.

We are sorry to admit the fact that there was almost no selection of performances during the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase which took place in Kyiv last December. As a result, the major part of the performances shown there were those from Kyiv theatres whereas regional theatres had no chance to take part in the selection. Many of the theatres learnt about the event post factum. Having no doubts about the appropriate level of the selected performances and understanding the lack of time to prepare the forum and also taking into account not sufficient financing, we would like to bring up for public discussion of all the interested people and organizations our propositions aimed at improving the situation in the future.

1. The Ukrainian organizing committee of the festival supported by the theatre community should address the ETC with the initiative to make the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase a priority project in the Ukrainian direction of this organization.

2. To make the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase an annual event. This can lead to dynamic changes in Ukrainian theatre process as such a forum can be a real instrument of involving the Ukrainian theatre into the European theatre context.

3. To make up and announce clear principles of the selection for the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase based on the position of leading theatre critics and performance selection specialists.

4. To hold the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase not only in Kyiv but also in other regions of Ukraine. Such an approach can help to give equal chances to participants and form a common theatre space inside Ukraine thanks to breaking the isolation between Kyiv and regional theatres.

5. To invite experienced European theatre specialist to the process of organizing the next two Showcases (capital and regional). It would also be great to make them accompanied by Ukrainian specialists as it could help our theatre management to learn this new sphere.

6. We are glad to propose Kharkiv as a place for the next Ukrainian Theatre Showcase. This city is one of the most important theatre centers in Ukraine with six state theatres, about forty alternative theatres and also two profile state higher schools and several private authorial schools.

7. To initiate a discussion about founding a national theatre award of the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase.

We are deeply sure that the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase can become not only an effective mechanism to select the most interesting Ukrainian theatre groups that can represent Ukraine in Europe in a worthy manner, but it can also become the main Ukrainian festival-contest having no analogues in the country nowadays. It can represent famous European performances which are out of competition and provide a high level of quality and trust being the event that can absolutely change Ukrainian theatre process and help make Ukrainian and European cultures closer.

Faithfully yours,

Dmytro Ternovyi, playwright, producer of the “Theatre na Zhukah” (Kharkiv), curator of the project “Theatrical window to Europe”

Olga Ternova, director of the “Theatre na Zhukah” (Kharkiv)

Artem Vusyk, director of the theatre “Prekrasni Kvity” (Kharkiv)

Ihor Kliuchnyk, director of the acting technique school “Testo”, manager of the theatre “Prekrasni Kvity” (Kharkiv)

Svitlana Oleshko, director of the theatre “Arabesques”

Mariia Borakivska, teacher of Kotliarevskyi Kharkiv National University of Arts, actress

Oleksandr Shpyliovyi, manager of the theatre “May be” (Kharkiv)

Oksana Dmytrieva, chief director of Afanasyev Kharkiv State Academic Puppet Theatre

Oleksandr Kovshun, chief director of Kharkiv state theatre for children and the youth

Iryna Kobzar, art director of Vinor Theatre-Studio, actress of T.Shevchenko Kharkiv Academic Ukrainian State Drama Theatre, senior instructor of Kotliarevskyi Kharkiv National University of Arts

Ihor Shulha, founder of Theatre Space “Svoyi”, actor and director (Dnipropetrovsk)

Volodymyr Horyslavets, art director of the authorial theatre “Kotelok”, instructor of the department of producers of Kharkiv State Academy of Culture, author of the festivals Kurbalesiia, I and Sela Bruk, ArTiuzArt

Oksana Stetsenko, honoured artist of Ukraine, director and actress of T.Shevchenko Kharkiv Academic Ukrainian State Drama Theatre (Berezil), instructor of Kotliarevskyi Kharkiv National University of Arts

Viktoriia Chernova, actress and director of the theatre “Virymo” (Dnipropetrovsk)

Volodymyr Piterov, manager and art director of the model art group Theatre-studio “Poklykannia” (Odessa), president of Ukrainian union of actors and directors of the theatre, cinema and television.

Anischenko Artemije, head of the NGO “Creative Union« ART-Theme “by” our new theater “(Pryluky)

Ruslan Porytsk, director and producer of theater “mess”, organizer of the festival “Walking hanger” (Lutsk)

Elena Ovodenko, organizer and actress of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Academic Youth Theatre,

Rose Sarkisyan, director of the theater DeFacto

Vladimir Kakuryn, Organizer theatrical festival “Live!”

Oleg Stefan, actor Kurbas’s Theatre (Lviv), Lecturer Faculty of Culture and Arts of Lviv National University

Oleksiy Wright, theater MDT, Kharkiv

Anastasiia Hayshenets, theater critic, Kyiv

Igor Ladenko, director, Theatre 19

Elena Libo, head of the literary and dramatic Kharkiv Drama Theater. Shevchenko (Berezil)

Maxim Ryapulov, theater actor “Verym!” (Dnipropetrovsk)

Eugene Syvook, actress laboratory “Nine” (Kharkiv)

Kira Malinina,, director, playwrighter

Olexander Glumov, director and actor of Dnepropetrovsk city puppet theater, artistic director of Theatre plastic forms «QUASAR»

The first collection of modern Ukrainian drama “Maidan. Before and after” with plays thematically linked with the Revolution of Dignity came out in Kiev.

The collection, composed by the dramaturgical department of the Les Kurbas State Centre, includes nine plays chronologically grouped into the following sections – “Forerunner”, “Maidan” and “The War”. The play “Detalization” is included in the “Forerunner” section, because it was written before the revolutionary events, although it had anticipated them in many ways.

On February 17 and 18, the two-year anniversary of the tragic events, the presentation of the anthology for media and for theatre audience took place in Kiev.

While presenting the book, the head of the dramaturgical department of the Les Kurbas Centre Neda Nezhdana noted that the publication came out due to the financial support of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, since as of today there are no programs that support modern Ukrainian drama in the country. “Modern playwrights in Ukraine exist in the role of the opposition, volunteers or the participants of the alternative movements. If we compare the situation in Ukraine with how the modern drama is supported in European countries, and in Russia, it’s worlds different,”- she said.

Speaking about the book, N.Nezhdana emphasized that it includes plays of different genres written by the representatives of different generations who express different perspectives – contrary to the popular belief that one can speak about Maidan only in the language of documentary theatre. In general, she noted, the modern Ukrainian theatre puts on “very few” pieces about Maidan, preferring to entertain the audience. According to her, this is a “betrayal” – with respect to the viewer, and in relation to the essence of the theatre, which, among other things, should serve as “art therapy to society.”

Yaroslav Vereshchak, the head of the Ukrainian Guild of playwrights, while presenting a collection of works, draw attention to D.Ternovyi’s play “Detalization” several times. “I think this is one of the most experimental and one of the most interesting plays of dramaturgical modern times. The fact we don’t know anything about it from mass-media, and the fact it hasn’t been subjected to the theatre study analysis shows that, our theatre critics together with our theatre successfully passed away. I would really like this play to be staged in Kyiv, in this sleepy, quiet, Philistine city”, – he said.

The authors of the plays included in the anthology “Maidan. Before and after” published by the publishing house “Svit znan’” are Jaroslav Vereshchak, Alexander Viter, Oleg Mikolaichuk-Nizovets, Nadezhda Marchuk, Neda Nezhdana, Nadezhda Simchich, Ksenia Skorik, Dmitro Ternovyi. Some of the plays before having been published in Ukraine had won prestigious competitions; they’d been also published and staged in other countries.

“Detalization”, written in 2012 by the co-founder and the actor of the Kharkiv “Theatre na Zhukah” Dmitro Ternovyi in Russian, first published in Ukrainian translation (made by Svetlana Timchenko, the actress of the theatre). Previously, this work was published only in German in Austria and Germany (in translation of Lydia Nagel). At year-end 2012 the play won the main dramaturgical competition in Eastern Europe “Talking about borders. Living in times of social change.” In 2014 it was staged in Baden State Theatre in Karlsruhe. It’s been also translated into Polish, the French translation is on its way.

Month: March 2016

Address to the organizing committee of the Ukrainian Theatre Showcase

Dmytro Ternovyi’s play “Detalization” first published in Ukraine