{"id":6587,"date":"2024-11-12T15:45:50","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T20:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsquareproductions.com\/?page_id=6587"},"modified":"2025-03-24T15:55:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T20:55:05","slug":"ukraine","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/townsquareproductions.com\/?page_id=6587","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_single_image image=”6599″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css_animation=”appear”]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

In July 2024 Don Frantz and Viktoriya Nemchenko, leading actress of the state theater in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, announced a short play festival, <\/span>\u201cUncovered Scenes – from Ukraine\u201d<\/b> produced by Town Square Productions with participation from New York\u2019s Ensemble Studio Theater, Vinnytsia Mykola Sadovsky Music and Drama Theater and New York City\u2019s Ukrainian Institute of America (UIA).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On March 27, 2025, commemorating UNESCO\u2019s 62nd annual World Theater Day, the festival will premiere a 100-minute staged reading of 8 new short plays hosted by the Ukrainian Institute of America.\u00a0 The 8 plays are representative of the 30 original plays written by 30 writers from United States, Canada and Hungary, who have been partnered with a Ukrainian resident for online interviews. \u00a0 Based on their conversations the writers\u2019 goal was to contribute to the theme, \u201cUncovered Scenes – from Ukraine\u201d and provide a statement about those struggling with the consequences of war.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During her visit to New York, Ms. Nemchenko requested the writers to, \u2018Please show your audience what is happening here.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 When asked about the goals of the project, Mr Frantz said, \u201cOur first goal was already accomplished when the writers call Ukraine.\u00a0 Our residents feel like someone over here cares about them. The writers\u2019 eyes are opened.\u00a0 Now we bring the names and personalities of our Ukrainian friends to the stage which conveys truths that headline news cannot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The titles alone convey the challenging environment: \u201cDance of the Warrior\u201d, \u201cMother Tongue\u201d, \u201cPower\u201d, \u201cThe Understudy\u201d, \u201cStaying\u201d, \u201cThe Shot\u201d, and \u201cA Parting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The March 27<\/span>th<\/span> staged reading will focus on the written script, without set, lights or costumes and directed by <\/span>Ray Roderick, Tom Costello, and Rebecca Holderness<\/span>. \u00a0 All 30 plays will be provided to the Vinnytsia Theater for consideration of a Ukrainian presentation.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All production costs and stipends for director, actors, production staff and the six selected writers are funded by Town Square Productions.\u00a0 Donations for additional support to the artists may be made though the Ukrainian Institute of America.<\/span><\/p>\n

Updates will be posted on https:\/\/townsquareproductions.com\/ukraine\/<\/p>\n

For more information or inquiry write: Ukraine@TownSquareProd.com<\/a><\/p>\n

FESTIVAL TEAM<\/strong>
\nDon Frantz \u2013 Producer
\nViktoriia Nemchenko \u2013 Co-Producer, Vinnytsia, Ukraine
\nAnya Koziar\u2013 Artist Coordinatior, Ukraine Cultural Consultant &amp; Translator
\nTaisa Slavinska \u2013 Advising Artistic Director, M. Sadovsky Music and Drama Theater
\nLydia Zaininger \u2013 Executive Director, Ukrainian Institute of America
\nGraeme Gillis &amp; Estafania Fadul \u2013 EST Producing Consultants<\/p>\n

THE PLAYWRIGHTS
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cris Eli Blak
\nBarbara Blatner
\nJohn P. Bray
\nDamon Chua
\nSarah Congress
\nRichard Lyons Conlon
\nAlexendra De Witt
\nJ.Lois Diamond
\nWayne L. Firestone
\nAnna Fox
\nSven Freiheit
\nElizabeth Hess
\nRand Higbee
\nJudit Hollos
\nArlene Hutton
\nStephen Kaplan
\nJudy Klass
\nMolly Kirschner
\nEric Lane
\nDonna Latham
\nDeborah Zoe Laufer
\nJoan Lipkin
\nJames McLindon
\nAllyson Morgan
\nErin Moughon
\nJoe Sutton
\nKatherine Swan
\nNatalie Welber
\nJacob T. Zack<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Town Square Productions<\/h3>\n

Following Don Frantz\u2019s years with Disney as producer\/director at Disney World and Associate Producer of Broadway\u2019s \u2018Beauty and the Beast\u2019 and \u2018The Lion King\u2019, Don created Town Square Productions. As both a creative development and general management company, TSP has general managed Broadway\u2019s \u2018Tale of Two Cities\u2019, \u2018A Class Act\u2019, and \u2018Soul of Shaolin.; Off Broadway produced \u201cDisenchanted!\u201d; at SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Princess Cruises produced IAPPA and TEA award winning productions; In China, during a sixteen year partial-residency managed, wrote, directed and produced musicals and a series of edutainment science shows; on farms across the US, UK and China promoted agri-tourism with the invention of the Amazing Maize Maze. In addition to TSP, Don serves as Executive Producer for Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment.<\/p>\n

Vinnytsia Mykola Sadovsky Music and Drama Theater<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

https:\/\/discover-ukraine.info\/entertainment\/central-ukraine\/vinnytsia\/206<\/p>\n

The Vinnytsia Mykola Sadovsky Music and Drama Theater performs five nights a week in the 700-seat opera hall and the 90-seat experimental theater. The performances are regularly attended by capacity audiences to see dramatic, comedy and musical work by domestic and international playwrights. Recently programming since the war has emphasized comedies, Ukrainian culture and children\u2019s shows.<\/p>\n

The state company employs 45 actors, technicians and administrators, down from 60 employed before the Large War which began in February 2022.<\/p>\n

Rehearsals and performances are regularly interrupted by air sirens and\/or power outages. The company has been called upon to make camouflage nets, produce fund-raisers, entertain veterans and refugees and yield to the country\u2019s call as their men, ages 25 to 60, transition into battle.<\/p>\n

New York Ensemble Studio Theater<\/h3>\n

Ensemble Studio Theatre commonly known as \u201cEST<\/strong>\u201d (Estefan\u00eda Fadul and Graeme Gillis, Co-Artistic Directors) is an off-Broadway theatre founded by Curt Dempster in 1968. For over 55 years, EST has developed thousands of new American plays and has grown into a company of over 600 actors, directors, playwrights, designers and stage managers.<\/p>\n

EST’s mission is to develop and produce original, provocative and authentic new work. A dynamic community committed to a collaborative process, EST is dedicated to inclusion across all aspects of identity and perspective while acknowledging and working to end systemic marginalization and oppression at all levels of the organization. EST&#39;s primary programs include Youngblood, a collective of emerging professional playwrights; the EST\/Sloan Project, a partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation that commissions, develops and produces new works about science and technology; and the Marathon of One-Act Plays<\/a>, a landmark New York theatre festival since 1977.<\/p>\n

Ukranian Institute of America<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Ukrainian Institute of America (Kathy L. Nalywajko, President) has been at the forefront of promoting Ukrainian art, culture and democratic values to the world since 1948. Through its vibrant programs, the Institute serves as a bridge between Ukraine and the American people, fostering cultural interaction, mutual understanding, and appreciation of shared values and goals. Located on Museum Mile in the heart of New York City in a National Historic Landmark building, the Institute is Where the World Meets Ukraine.<\/p>\n

A virtual tour of the institute at 5 th Avenue and East 79 th Street in New York is
\navailable at https:\/\/ukrainianinstitute.org\/contact-us\/360tour\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Read More<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6587","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsquareproductions.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsquareproductions.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsquareproductions.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsquareproductions.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsquareproductions.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6587"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/townsquareproductions.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6631,"href":"https:\/\/townsquareproductions.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6587\/revisions\/6631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsquareproductions.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}