Theatre artists flooding into Calgary launch STRUM, the city's first Ukrainian theatre company
Calgary is getting a new theatre company that’s not quite like any other theatre company in the city.
STRUM UA Theatre is having its launch party Thursday night at The Collector’s Gallery of Art in Inglewood, where a group of Ukrainian-Calgarian actors will perform some poems and music to celebrate the occasion.
The performance will be in Ukrainian with English subtitles.
The company is being launched by Snizhana Gukasian-Korobeinkova and Anna Lupeko, two Ukrainian artists who are among the thousands of Ukrainians who have settled in Alberta due to the war with Russia.
Both settled in Calgary 14 months ago and have already acted in a number of shows here, including a Front Row Centre theatre production of A Chorus Line (Lupeko), while Gukasian-Korobeinkova acted in a Workshop Theatre production of Dracula and a Scorpio/Morpheus co-production of Sylvia.
“The main difference between theatre in Ukraine (is that) we have repertoire theatre where shows are played for years,” Lupeko said. “The troupe is constant and we almost don’t have castings for theatre productions.”
'Electric flow'
Why STRUM?
“The name of the theatre reflects our aspiration, desire and determination in matters of creation and existence of the theatre,” said Lupeko, in an email reply to a question from CTV News.
”STRUM in Ukrainian Language means electric flow, a stream of water or air, without which life is impossible,” she added. “STRUM in English means finding a melody, the sound of a guitar.
“So in the STRUM Theatre,”she added, “we unite the power of words, the energy of movement and dance, the flow of music and song.”
The company will also announce their season Thursday night, including a show inspired by the writing of Sofia Yablonska.
One of the inspirations for the creation of STRUM, Lupeko said, was the work of Ukrainian playwright Mykola Kulish.
“He was a Ukrainian prose writer, playwright, (and) pedagogue,” Lupeko said. “Kulish was also profoundly influenced by Ukraine's leading theatre director, Les Kurbas, who staged several of Kulish's plays at his Berezil Theatre.
“This theatre was based in Kharkiv where we studied theatre art. Mykola Kulish is considered to be one of the leading figures of the Executed Renaissance; He and Les Kirbas were murdered by the NKVD during Stalin's Great Terror under Russian control.
“At the time of his arrest, all of Kulish’s manuscripts were confiscated, and most of them were subsequently destroyed," she added. "Some of his plays were miraculously saved and smuggled into western countries by Ukrainian refugees during the Second World War.”
Ukrainian community growing fast
Lupeko said the Ukrainian community in Calgary is growing fast, and so are the number of artists migrating to Alberta, pointing to the Ukrainian Festival that took place at the start of June in south Calgary.
“Over the course of two days, 1,000 performers took part in a concert program with Ukrainian dances and songs,” she said. “This does not include other artists living and working in the city.
“I think that there are approximately 2,000 Ukrainians in Calgary who are connected with art,” Lupeko added. “Here (there) are Ukrainian dance groups, singers, a choir – but here was no Ukrainian theater in Calgary before, so we are the first to start a new cultural movement in the city of Calgary.”
The Collector’s Gallery is located at 1332 Ninth Ave. S.E. The show starts at 6:30 p.m. and is followed by an opening reception at 8 p.m. Admission is free but seating is limited so please email strumuatheatre@gmail.com to make a reservation.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Killer who stabbed victim 'at least 52 times' dies in B.C. prison
A 72-year-old inmate serving a life sentence for a brutal murder that happened in Chilliwack in 2016 has died, according to the Correctional Service of Canada.
Israeli airstrikes hit the southern suburbs of Beirut after another strike destroyed buildings
The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah's headquarters in Beirut on Friday in a series of massive explosions that targeted the leader of the militant group and levelled multiple high-rise apartment buildings.
American woman gets SUV stuck in elevator bay at B.C. casino
A U.S. driver somehow squeezed her vehicle through a parkade hallway at a Metro Vancouver casino Thursday, before getting stuck at an elevator bank.
Hurricane Helene kills at least 44 and cuts a swath of destruction across the Southeast
Hurricane Helene left an enormous path of destruction across Florida and the southeastern U.S. on Friday, killing at least 44 people, snapping towering oaks like twigs and tearing apart homes as rescue crews launched desperate missions to save people from floodwaters.
After decades-long search, northern Ontario man finds vintage vehicle in Larder Lake
A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.
2 people caught illegally crossing the International Railroad Bridge into the U.S.: border officials
Two Italian citizens have been apprehended after allegedly illegally crossing over the International Railroad Bridge to the United States.
Former military reservist sentenced for shotgun video calling Liberal MP a 'communist agent' for China
A former Canadian military reservist has been sentenced to house arrest after posting a video of himself firing a shotgun at a picture of a member of Parliament whom he accused of being a 'communist agent' for China.
P.E.I. shellfish festival gastrointestinal illness outbreak largest in province's history: health officer
More than 550 symptomatic people responded to an online questionnaire about a gastrointestinal illness at a Prince Edward Island shellfish festival last weekend.
Family of man who died in incident involving Calgary police issues statement
The family of Jon Wells, a man who died in an incident involving Calgary police earlier this month, say they are seeking time to grieve their loss.