Cast: Marzena Bukowska, Dan Cobbler, Jen Connor, Nicole Garneau, Emma Mansfield, Manuela Rentea, Gus Thomas, and James Wheeler. Understudies: Gina Cioffi, Hannah Hammel, David Lovejoy and Hannah Silverman

Playwright

Natalka Vorozhbyt (she/her) is a leading Ukrainian playwright, screenwriter, and director whose work has become central to the evolution of contemporary Ukrainian theatre and film. A graduate of the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow, Vorozhbyt has built an acclaimed career exploring the human cost of war, displacement, and identity in Ukraine’s modern history. Her plays include The Grain Store (2009), a haunting portrayal of the Holodomor famine; Bad Roads (2017), a powerful episodic depiction of life during the war in Donbas that she later adapted into an award-winning film and Ukraine’s official Oscar submission; and Green Corridors (2022), which continues her unflinching examination of survival and resilience in wartime Ukraine. She is also the co-founder of the socially engaged Theatre of the Displaced, created in 2015 with German director Georg Genoux to give voice to those uprooted by conflict, and a curator of the “Week of Actual Play” festival, which champions new Ukrainian writing. Vorozhbyt has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Oleksandr Dovzhenko State Prize and the Taras Shevchenko National Prize, and her work has been translated and produced internationally. Known for her raw immediacy, poetic realism, and fearless engagement with the moral complexities of war, Natalka Vorozhbyt stands as one of the most vital and influential voices in Ukrainian and European contemporary drama.

Assistant Directors: Sam Bliss and Eileen Vorbach / Stage Manager: Kasia Olechno / Scenic Design: Merje Veski / Lighting Design: Richard Norwood / Costume Design: Rachel Sypniewski / Sound Design: Dan Poppen / Make Up Design: Zsófia Ötvös / Dramaturg: Milan Pribisic / Projection Design: Jonathan Quigley / Intimacy Coordinator: Cat Evans / Graphic Design: Michal Janicki.

Director

Kay Martinovich (she/her) is a Chicago-based director. Recent credits include The Police by Sławomir Mrozek in a world premiere translation for the Theatre of the Absurd Festival at Chopin Theatre and God of Carnage at Kane Rep. Other credits include the Jeff-nominated and Chicago premiere of The Father at Remy Bumppo, Deirdre of the Sorrows at City Lit, and Jeff-nominated Naked and Jeff-award winning La Bête both at Trap Door Theatre. Kay has a long-standing association with Trap Door, having directed several shows over the years, starting with Bremen Freedom. As Associate Artistic Director for Irish Repertory of Chicago, Kay directed the American premiere of By the Bog of Cats, Bailegangaire, Pentecost, The Mai, and Two by (Brian) Friel from Chekhov: The Bear and The Yalta Game. Kay’s work has been seen on many Chicago stages, including American Blues, The Gift, Lifeline, Buffalo Theatre Ensemble, Chicago Dramatists, Her Story, Great Works, MaryArrchie, Live Bait, Circle, Apple Tree, Famous Door, Emerald City, and Theatre Wit, among others. She holds a PhD in Theatre Historiography from the University of Minnesota and an MPhil in Irish Theatre from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Kay is Associate Professor and Head of the BFA Acting program at Northern Illinois University, where she teaches Meisner-based acting. Proud member of SDC, the professional directors’ union. See more at: kaymartinovich.com