DC Metro Theater Arts: Voices Festival Productions together with the Arts Club of Washington will highlight women’s voices during wartime in a virtual play reading on May 5, 2022, at 7:00 pm EST. The free online program features an all-woman cast and director and showcases four emotionally revealing short plays, all but one composed in a fury over the past six weeks, three by women (two Ukrainian and one Russian) and one by a Ukrainian man.
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I strongly believe that platforming and uplifting oppressed voices is one of the most powerful forms of allyship. Voices Festival Productions (VFP), along with the Arts Club of Washington, has done just that with their free online virtual play reading, featuring an all-woman cast and director, as well as four short plays. Three of the four were composed over the past six weeks, and two are by Ukranian women, one is by a Russian woman, and one is by a Ukrainian man. I appreciate that this is shared in the most accessible format worldwide–the digital world. In addition to this, the festival has a follow up community testimony and discussion, as well as sharing recommended organisations for attendees to donate to. VFP Artistic Producing Partner and award-winning director, A. Lorraine Robinson, summarises the event best–she points out the relationship between theatre and its power to create community as well as the relationship between theatre and social justice.
This is a really interesting project. There is not a ton that we as United States civilians can do to help the people of Ukraine to help them in the war, however raising money and donations for relief efforts is one of the things we can do. And maybe equally importantly is telling the stories of the people in Ukraine right now. So combining both of these needs is a really good idea. It also amazes me that in the middle of a war the people of Ukraine are still composing plays and short stories. It just shows the power of art and theatre in the world. These are stories that need to be told, and if we in the US can give them a place to be heard then it is one hundred percent our job to make sure that they are told to the widest audience possible. If the people who are being attacked right now can find the inspiration and effort to write the plays telling their stories then it is the least we can do to produce these plays in whatever way possible and make sure that the production is supporting the artist and their country in any way it can.
It’s really devastating that the war in Ukraine is well into its second month. I think that this intiative to bring oppressed voices to the forefront of art and theatre has always been an important part of activism. This is especially true in times of widespread tragedy. I also think that this is a great way for theatre artists to get involved, a curator said, “I personally am doing this because I have to do something,” says Freedman in an interview with Dana Rufolo of “Play International & Europe.” Rufolo elaborates that “Freedman is aware that staged readings of Ukrainian-authored plays around the globe will not put a stop to the infernal war in Ukraine. He does believe however that the plays act like ambassadors, telling us something important about Ukrainian culture and making us understand the humanity of the Ukrainian people.” In tragedy, all that artists can really do is uplift the voices of those suffering to spark some humanity among the bloodshed.
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