‘When I share, I feel better’: Ukrainian ASU theatre student performs in play about refugee children and their experiences
By Abigail Wilt
Arizona State University theatre student Anastasia Levkun performed and participated in “The Clear Blue Skies: Diaries from Ukraine,” a play about the war in Ukraine from children’s perspectives. It premiered at Brandeis University.
The play was created by ActorsLab Ukraine leader Oleksandra Oliinyk and NYU acting professor Scott Illingworth after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in March 2023. The devising process involved adapting dialogue from over 80 hours of recorded conversations with Ukrainians ages 12–18 about their experiences.
The audios were then cut down and played live in actors’ ears through an earpiece during the performance as an alternative to a memorized script.
Levkun is a MFA Theatre for Youth and Community student in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre. In the performance, she played the role of a young girl in a city under Russian occupation.
“The situation is very hard. She’s talking about it, which can be quite dangerous, but she’s trying to stay positive,” Levkun said. “Even though the situation is very depressing, she’s trying to still live a normal life.”
Levkun also contributed audios about her personal experiences that were later turned into a role. The role was played by another actor.
“Sometimes, I tried to distract myself because those are my memories and they are pretty traumatic. I was living it over and over again. It was quite hard emotionally for me.” Levkun said. “It was also kind of therapeutic in some ways because you kind of release what’s inside of you. When I talk, when I share, I feel better.”
With Levkun coming from Ukraine, she was able to help American actors accurately portray Ukranians through her energy and experience.
“It was really helpful for them that I joined the play, because I don’t need to act much. I brought that energy and those emotions for them,” said Levkun. “It was hard for them to portray because they haven’t experienced that. I helped them to feel that more.”
The goal of the play was to act as a documentary about young Ukranians’ experiences of the war for other countries and the U.S. to see.
“The play isn’t for Ukranians. We know what’s happening. It’s rough what’s happening, but we are also strong enough to cope with it.” Levkun said. “We are finding ways to be positive and to laugh. We can survive, but we shouldn’t ignore it.”
