Arlekin Players Theatre presented Tonight my Heartbeat is Uneven: Artists Respond to the War in Ukraine livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network on Wednesday 30 March 2022 at 10 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 1 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 5 p.m. GMT (London, UTC +0) / 7 p.m. EET (Kyiv, UTC +2).
In this time of immense humanitarian crisis brought on by Russia’s horrific military aggression against Ukraine, how do artists respond?
In this panel, moderated by Dr. Barbara Wallace Grossman, Alex Borovenskiy of the ProEnglish Theatre in Kyiv; Igor Golyak of Arlekin Players Theatre and #Artists4 Ukraine; and John Freedman, director of The Ukrainian Component of the Worldwide Readings Project will discuss the role of artists during times of war and aggression and how they have activated their own artistry, networks, and theatrical communities to respond urgently and directly to the war in Ukraine. Through conversation and excerpts of recent projects, this panel will explore the ways that theater-makers are uniquely equipped to respond in moments of crisis and conflict.
Alex Borvenskiy is the director of the ProEnglish Theatre in Kyiv, Ukraine. At the start of the Russian invasion, Alex turned his blackbox theater space into a shelter for the company’s actors and directors, as well as others from their neighborhood.
Igor Golyak is the Ukrainian-born founder and artistic director of Arlekin Players Theatre in Needham, Massachusetts. In recent weeks, Arlekin launched #Artists4Ukraine, a series of initiatives to raise critically-needed humanitarian funds and share messages of hope, strength, and solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
John Freedman is a writer, translator, critic, and scholar of Russian-language literature. He launched the Insulted Belarus Worldwide Readings Project in response to the Belarusian protests in 2020, and he is now organizing another series of Worldwide Readings of Ukrainian plays.
Dr. Barbara Wallace Grossman of Tufts University is a theatre historian, voice specialist, director, and author with strong interests as a researcher and practitioner in contemporary musical theatre, Holocaust and Genocide-related theatre and film, arts advocacy, and mindfulness as a way to alleviate anxiety, develop resilience, and promote positive change.
Comments
The article is just the start of the conversation—we want to know what you think about this subject, too! HowlRound is a space for knowledge-sharing, and we welcome spirited, thoughtful, and on-topic dialogue. Find our full comments policy here