Les Kurbas Theater returns to the U.S. with new repertoire (02/22/98)

Les Kurbas Theater returns to the U.S. with new repertoire

by Julie-Anne Franko

DARIEN, Conn. - The Les Kurbas Theater of Lviv, under the direction of Volodymyr Kuchynsky, is in the U.S. to present performances in its current repertoire, as well as conduct lectures and workshops.

The theater will premiere Lesia Ukrainka's classic Don Juan play "Kamianyi Hospodar" (The Stone Host) in Maplewood, N.J., on March 1. This American premiere is designed to correspond with the 30th anniversary of the play's original American premiere. "Producing this play in America," comments Artistic Director Kuchynsky, "is not about having a premiere in America, but about acknowledging the continuation of Ukrainian drama and theater's place in the world."

The production, which is designed by Lviv artists Petro Humeniuk (set design) and Volodymyr Furyk (costumes) will feature Natalia Polovynka as Donna Anna and Oleh Stephan as Don Juan.

Prior to this premiere, in celebration of its own 10th anniversary, the theater will revive one of its first works from its repertoire, Lina Kostenko's historic verse novel "Marusia Churai." This production, featuring original cast and founding members Tatiana Kaspruk as Marusia and Oleh Drach as Hryts, will be presented in New York on February 22 and will be repeated in Philadelphia on March 7 and in Newark, N.J., on March 22.

While in the U.S., the company also plans to present a program dedicated to the memory of the late poet, literary critic, human rights activist and former dissident Ivan Svitlychny in Washington on February 24.

As a special celebration of its 10th anniversary, the theater will revisit the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York on March 28 with a program of the works of the Ukrainian poet Bohdan Ihor Antonych (1909-1937).

On April 4, as part of the "Concert Tribute to Sviatoslav Richter" by winners of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow - organized by Alexander Slobodyanik for the Music at the Institute Series at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York - the Les Kurbas Theater will present the poetry of Vasyl Stus and Boris Pasternak.

In addition to these events, the theater is slated to conduct performances, workshops and lectures at universities and educational institutions along the East Coast as part of the "Windows to Ukraine" project, as sponsored by the Lviv chapter of The Renaissance Foundation.

This leg of the theater's tour will include a March 3 New Haven performance of Hryhorii Skovoroda's 18th century philosophic dialogue "Grace-given Erodii," as co-sponsored by Yale University's Ukrainian Initiative Program.

Other stops will include the universities of Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The theater will also pilot a workshop designed for American high school students at Darien High School in Darien, Conn.

The company has also made itself available for individual performances, and will be producing its plays and poetry readings in various host cities such as Wilmington, Del., where "Erodii" and "An Evening of Ukrainian Poetry and Song" are scheduled for the second week of March.

(For specific dates, times and addresses of upcoming performances or open lectures check the "Preview of Events.)

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The Les Kurbas Theatre of Lviv was founded in 1988 by a group of young actors, who, like Les Kurbas and his colleagues in 1918, found themselves to be "newly trained ... stuck amid old repertoires and longing for something more." Since its inception, the company has grown into one of Ukraine's most critically acclaimed theaters - both in Ukraine and throughout Europe. Its productions have won awards at numerous international theater festivals, among them the Chekhov Festival of Moscow, the Sibiu Festival of Romania, the Kontakt Festival of Poland and the Slavic Festival of Moscow.

It has taken part in collaborative projects and workshops in The Gardzience Center of Theater Practices, Lublin, Poland; Anatolii Vasiliev's Studio, School of Dramatic Art, Moscow; the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski in Pontedera, Italy; The Saratoga International Theater Insititute, New York; The Yara Arts Group at La Mama in New York; as well as Harvard and Columbia universities and the University of Pennsylvania.

The emphasis of the theater's work is equally divided among training, rehearsal and performance. The methodology of its training and productions focuses on the development of the actor's individual and collective use of plastic, body and voice technique.

During his decade of leadership, Mr. Kuchynsky has directed works ranging from formerly banned Ukrainian authors such as Lina Kostenko and Vasyl Stus to the French dramatist Alexander Dumas (the elder) and Anton Chekhov.

The company's repertoire is drawn from the repository of classic Ukrainian and world literature.

Forming part of its repertoire as well are poetry evenings of works by Bohdan Ihor Antonych, Taras Shevchenko, Vasyl Stus and Lina Kostenko.

The theater is named after Les Kurbas (1887-1937), founder of the Berezil theater, whose directorial work was cited for the brilliance of its innovations, as well as for the quality of its content, thus contributing to the elevation and transformation of Ukrainian theater to world-class status. Kurbas was executed as part of Stalin's artistic purges on November 3, 1937.

Julie-Ann Franko is associate artistic director and dramaturg of the Les Kurbas Theater. She received her master of fine arts degree in dramaturgy and drama criticism from Yale University.

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