YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS UKRAINE
Laura Cahill Founder/Artistic Director
Taya Fedorenko Associate Artistic Director
Karina Syrota Associate Artistic Director
Grace Cahill Dramaturg
After the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, a group of Ukrainian students met over Zoom with New York-based writer Laura Cahill to write plays in response to war. YPU has continued to work together for nearly four years. The writers have been mentored by distinguished playwrights and worked with noted actors and directors. Their plays have been performed on Zoom and in-person at theaters including The Tank, the Vineyard Theatre, and The Segal Theatre in New York, Orion Theatre in Stockholm, Ukraine Fringe in Kyiv, La Grange Theater in Dorset Vermont, Lex-Ham Theater in Minneapolis, Cockpit Theater in London and as far away as West Bengal, India. The plays are a part of Worldwide Ukrainian Readings and have been published by Smith & Kraus.
“It would be a massive understatement to say that I was—and remain—completely in awe of the exceptional young artists I met as a mentor for Young Playwrights Ukraine. These writers possess wisdom and artistry far beyond their years and their extraordinarily profound work moved me and everyone else who was fortunate to experience it immeasurably. They have overcome unfathomable challenges and I know that despite those challenges, they have the brightest of futures ahead of them.”
