Ukraine

In July 2024 Don Frantz and Viktoriya Nemchenko, leading actress of the state theater in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, announced a short play festival, “Uncovered Scenes – from Ukraine” produced by Town Square Productions with participation from New York’s Ensemble Studio Theater, Vinnytsia Mykola Sadovsky Music and Drama Theater and New York City’s Ukrainian Institute of America.

On March 27, 2025, commemorating UNESCO’s 62nd annual World Theater Day, the festival will premiere a 90-minute staged reading of 6 new short plays hosted by the Ukrainian Institute. A second reading will be presented that weekend in the off-Broadway theater Theater 555 in Manhattan’s theater district. The 6 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. Each playwright used the conversations with their Ukrainian partner as a prompt to write their short play of 15 minutes or less. The writer’s goal is to contribute to the theme, “Uncovered Scenes – from Ukraine” and provide a universal statement about residents who stuggle through the consequences of war.

During her visit to New York, Ms. Nemchenko requested the writers to, ‘Please show your audience what is happening here.” When asked about the goals of the project, Mr Frantz said, “Our first goal was already accomplished when the writers call Ukraine. Our residents feel like someone over here cares about them. The writers’ eyes are opened. 80% of my mission is achieved.” The plays will be written by February 17. Those already submitted are evocative of the human condition that the peaceful world can only imagine, “Curfew”, “No School”, “Behind Two Walls”, “Wolf”, “Shelter” and “The Lonely Drone.”

The staged readings focus on the written script, without set, lights or costumes. Following these readings, the 30 plays will be provided to the Vinnytsia Theater for consideration of a Ukrainian presentation. TSP expects that the plays will be published as an anthology of the Russian Invasion experience.

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

Updates will be posted on https://townsquareproductions.com/ukraine/

For more information or inquiry write: Ukraine@TownSquareProd.com

FESTIVAL TEAM
Don Frantz – Producer
Viktoriia Nemchenko – Co-Producer, Vinnytsia, Ukraine
Anya Koziar– Artist Coordinatior, Ukraine Cultural Consultant & Translator
Taisa Slavinska – Advising Artistic Director, M. Sadovsky Music and Drama Theater
Lydia Zaininger – Executive Director, Ukrainian Institute of America
Erica Schaumberg – Communications Manager, Ukrainian Institute of America
Graeme Gillis & Estafania Fadul – EST Producing Consultants

THE PLAYWRIGHTS

Cris Eli Blak
Barbara Blatner
John P. Bray
Damon Chua
Sarah Congress
Richard Lyons Conlon
Alexendra De Witt
J.Lois Diamond
Wayne L. Firestone
Anna Fox
Sven Freiheit
Elizabeth Hess
Rand Higbee
Judit Hollos
Arlene Hutton
Stephen Kaplan
Judy Klass
Molly Kirschner
Eric Lane
Donna Latham
Deborah Zoe Laufer
Joan Lipkin
James McLindon
Allyson Morgan
Erin Moughon
Joanna Pickering
Joe Sutton
Katherine Swan
Natalie Welber
Jacob T. Zack

Town Square Productions

Following Don Frantz’s years with Disney as producer/director at Disney World and Associate Producer of Broadway’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘The Lion King’, Don created Town Square Productions. As both a creative development and general management company, TSP has general managed Broadway’s ‘Tale of Two Cities’, ‘A Class Act’, and ‘Soul of Shaolin.; Off Broadway produced “Disenchanted!”; 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.

Vinnytsia Mykola Sadovsky Music and Drama Theater

https://discover-ukraine.info/entertainment/central-ukraine/vinnytsia/206

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’s shows.

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

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’s call as their men, ages 25 to 60, transition into battle.

New York Ensemble Studio Theater

Ensemble Studio Theatre commonly known as “EST” (Estefanía 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.

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'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 landmark New York theatre festival since 1977.

Ukranian Institute of America

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.

A virtual tour of the institute at 5 th Avenue and East 79 th Street in New York is
available at https://ukrainianinstitute.org/contact-us/360tour/.