The REACH grant has offered me a unique opportunity to explore a new way of expressing myself as an artist. REACH has allowed me to undergo a diligent, creative learning process with my mentor, Nicolas Billon, as I adapt my play (now titled Barvinok) into a feature length screenplay. I have not only explored and learned a new mode of storytelling, but have been challenged to grow significantly as a storyteller and artist.
This creative endeavour has led me to make connections with industry professionals and opened the door to exciting new professional spheres. Barvinok was officially selected to pitch at the 2nd Canada-Ukraine CoProduction Meetings and Conference, initiated by the Ukrainian Motion Pictures Association and the Embassy of Canada to Ukraine. This was my first time to formally pitch a story concept. It was an incredible opportunity to share my vision with potential producers in both Canada and Ukraine, and to learn about other cinematic projects from like-minded creators and producers.
As I continue the development of my screenplay, it is my hope that this document will not lie in a drawer never to be realized. I am now working with an Alberta-based producer and working toward a production-ready draft of my screenplay. This aspiration would not be possible without the initial support of REACH to take this project from concept to realization.
I have also been growing in other aspects of my professional career. In 2022, my theatre company Pyretic Productions premiered my play Alina. The story is inspired by the true events of a 19-year-old volunteer Ukrainian combat medic named Alina, working on the front line of one of the deadliest battles of the War in Eastern Ukraine in 2015. Prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, I had spent several weeks over multiple research trips in Ukraine researching the ongoing war and interviewing Ukrainian veterans. In 2020 I was the first Canadian artist-in-residence at the IZOLYATSIA Cultural Platform in Kyiv, where I took part in in-depth interviews with a young woman named Alina - for whom the play is named after. The production had a great response from the Edmonton community, and was nominated for several of Edmonton’s Sterling Awards and was shortlisted for the Alberta Playwrighting Award in 2022. A staged reading of Alina is headlining the Ryga Arts Festival in Summerland, BC in September 2023, and we are currently in the process of reviving the show for another production. Stay tuned!
In the fall of 2022, we remounted another staged production of my show Barvinok. The show was previously presented in Edmonton (2018) and Toronto (2019) under the original title Blood of Our Soil. The production toured to Edmonton, Canmore, and Lethbridge, AB in September and October 2022. This is the first time the show was presented in the new world context following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and it was a very meaningful experience to present the show again. We had an incredible response throughout the province and met several people from many walks of life who expressed how much the show resonated with them. A digital recording of the show is now available for streaming on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/barvinok.
I am also now co-writing a new play titled Kohkum’s Babushka: A Magical Métis/ Ukrainian Tale with Métis theatre artist Joleen Ballendine, adapted from the book by Marion Mutala. It will be an enchanting family show about the vibrant Prairies of the late 1800s, and early interactions between the first Ukrainian settlers and the Métis people. Through this story, we re-examine traditional Canadian settler paradigms to open dialogue, and celebrate the beauty of embracing culture.
I am also now expanding my professional craft as a director. I have assistant directed multiple productions at the Citadel Theatre, including Jane Eyre, and A Christmas Carol in 2022 and in 2023. This last theatre season, I was thrilled to support the development of and direct the world premiere of First Métis Man of Odesa by Matthew MacKenzie and Mariya Khomutova, which is a love story told in the face of a pandemic and an invasion. The production received a wonderful response from audiences across the country, and has toured extensively to Kamloops, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver. This upcoming season, it will tour to Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Barrie ON, and once again to Toronto at Soulpepper Theatre. We were honoured to be nominated for 5 of Toronto’s Dora Awards, and win in 3 categories including Outstanding Direction, Outstanding New Play, and Outstanding Production (Independent Theatre Division).
The Reach grant has allowed me to dream “big.” What started as the seed of an idea has grown into a tangible goal. Reach has provided me with not only support for one project, but with a platform and the encouragement to showcase myself as an artist. Being an artist has provided me with a profoundly enriching platform for personal exploration and community outreach. Early in my career I never really considered that my art could be fuelled by my Ukrainian identity. But it was when I began to allow my identity to be expressed through my art that I began experiencing something significantly meaningful not just for myself, but also for my community. Through this exploration strengthened the roots tying me to my personal history, and I discovered a deeper sense of self. In light of the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, I believe it is more important than ever to be an artist, especially a Ukrainian artist. I am now driven to share this with my community and bolster others who wish to do the same. In 2022, I was honoured to be recognized with an Edmonton Artist Trust Fund Award, and for my work as a Ukrainian artist to be recognized in the greater professional arts community. I believe that by exploring themes deeply connected to my identity and expressing from my own authentic truth, the art I create can continue to find a universal connection and impact.
I am so grateful to the Reach program and Shevchenko Foundation, who continue to support, build up, and nourish the ecology of the Ukrainian Canadian artistic community.
Щиро вам дякую! Слава Україні!