World Voices: Displacement Plays from Uganda, Lebanon, West Africa, Haiti + Ukranian Playwrights Project

Segal World Voices Reading Series: 

Displacement Plays from Uganda, Lebanon, West Africa, Haiti + Ukranian Playwrights Project

9 writers

Monday, May 13

5 PM - 9 PM

LIVE / IN PERSON

Free + Open to the public

Live stream on Howlround here

Segal Theatre, 365 Fifth Ave @ 34 St.

Join us for an evening of plays by nine writers who personally experienced displacement, migration and war. Alongside four 30 minute pieces, we will hear shorter 10 minute works by five young Ukrainian writers.

Schedule (subject to radical change; directors TBC):

5:00 pm

The Untitled, Pan-African Play or By Fire and By Force

by Ravel Cassell (West Africa)

5:30 pm

Crossing the Water by Rawya El Chab (Lebanon)

6:00 PM

The Kind Killer by Achiro P. Olwoch (Uganda)

6:40 pm

Fall by France-Luce Benson (Haiti/US)

7:00 PM

Panel Discussion all playwrights

7:30 pm

Short Plays by Young Playwrights Ukraine project

Perfect Material, by Taya Fedorenko

The Old Couple, by Luka Ivanov

Too Close, Uliana Klimchuk

Ruins, by Sasha Sereda

Boom, by Karina Syrota

8:10 pm

Panel Discussion with Ukrainian writers -- followed by a reception

This event is co-curated and co-produced by Marie Cisco and Frank Hentschker; initiated and presented by The Martin E. Segal Theater Center.

Play Descriptions

Fall by France-Luce Benson

When an estranged daughter/primary caretaker clashes with a home health aid, she is forced to confront long held resentments towards her mother, her cultural identity, and herself.

The Kind Killer by Achiro P. Olwoch

Nata is a widow who survived the war in Northern Uganda after being abducted by the man who killed her husband. The Kind Killer is a solo show that weaves together this story of survival with the process of making the African delicacy, odii.

The Untitled, Pan-African Play or By Fire and By Force by Raven Cassell

Tonight, friends of Niké and Desmond gather for a dinner party at their home in rural Cotê d’Ivoire in celebration of Niké’s thirtieth birthday. In the wake of the climate crisis, America has mysteriously burned and the smoke from the burning of such a nation reset the climate crisis, healing the Earth a great deal.

Crossing the Water by Rawya El Chab

Crossing the Water is a multidisciplinary performance written and performed by Rawya El Chab, directed by Jesse Freedman. The show draws parallels between immigration—embodied by the act of crossing water—and death, symbolized by the crossing of the river Styx in Greek mythology. This experiment also tests the limits of communication between people living in different time zones.

Short Plays by Young Playwrights Ukraine project

Boom by Karina Syrota

A woman wakes up to war and the strange disorienting emotions, that accompany her as she flees her home for another world.

Too Close by Uliana Klimchuk

Two young strangers drive through the night to the border in Bulgaria to pick up refugees. A young woman, a refugee herself, is trying to do all she can to help. And a young man, all bravado and naïve youth, is so caught up in an idea of who he should be in the world, he might be dangerous.

Old Couple by Luka Ivanov

Two living refugees in Vienna have different views on what they left behind and what their lives will be like if they never go home again.

Perfect Material by Taya Fedorenko

A young woman returns home to Kyiv to see her father, a soldier, for the first time. Her choice to make a documentary about him and ask him questions she’d never ask without a camera between them, brings out more truth than either expects.

Ruins by Sasha Sereda

An 18-year-old living as a refugee in Germany, returns home to what’s left of her childhood home and faces the innocent 17-year-old self she left behind.

About the Playwrights:

France-Luce Benson is a Haitian-American playwright/screenwriter and AssistantProfessor at CSU San Marcos. From 2021-2022 she was a staff writer on ParamountPlus’ Lawmen: The Bass Reeves Story. This month, the world premiere production of her play, Detained, was nominated for seven NAACP Theatre Awards, including BestPlaywright. Additional honors include The Lily’s Lorraine Hansberry Award,Dramatist Guild Fellow, NYSCA's Individual Artist Award, Sony Pictures TelevisionDiverse Writers Fellow, Zoetrope’s Grand Prize for original screenplay, and SamFrench OOB Festival Winner. Her plays have had productions at Williams town Theatre Festival, The Fire This Time Festival, The Fountain Theatre, Billy HolidayTheatre, New Black Fest, Crossroads Theatre, Juggernaut Theatre, and EnsembleStudio Theatre NYC where she is a company member; and development workshops at Atlantic Theatre Company, The Playwright’s Center, and Oregon ShakespeareFestival, among others. She is also a recipient of Sony’sTeaching Artist Award forInnovative Curriculum. Her plays have been published by DPS, Samuel French, and Routledge. She’s a proud member of the Writer’s Guild of America and theDramatist Guild.

Raven Cassell is a theatremaker, artistic development strategist and NYU Tisch graduate student in Dramatic Writing based in NYC and West Africa. Her work is at the intersection of culture studies and storytelling. She describes herself as an AfricanistStoryteller; making work dealing with African continental and diasporic concerns, affairs and themes—centering African storytelling methodologies, ideologies and technologies. Raven thinks critically about the containers we tell stories in and the resource pathways that support storytelling and art-making. Her work is invested in sustainable development in the arts, particularly in a West African context.

Rawya El Chab is a storyteller and teaching artist based in New York City. Her artistic journey has been shaped by classical theater training and immersive experiences in experimental and contemporary art forms. Currently, she is developing “The Union,” an interactive experiment inspired by a declassified toolkit developed by the OSS, and “Crossing the Water,” a solo performance building a parallel between immigration and death.Through her compelling storytelling and exploration of the human experience, Rawya El Chab is dedicated to amplifying untold narratives and shedding light on historical events to set the stage for thought-provoking and transformative experiences for her audiences.

Achiro P. Olwoch is a Ugandan writer, playwright and screenwriter currently living in exile inNew York. She tells stories that start conversations, often writing about subjects that her part of the world calls forbidden. A former air hostess who hates flying, Achiro knows full well how to turn uncomfortable situations into a story.The name Achiro is short for Achirochan which means ‘the resilient one’. This best describes Achiro who was born in exile and when they returned lived in exile within her country because of the ongoing civil war in her homeland and now finds herself in exile. Regardless she keeps going and turns every trial and triumph into a story.When she is not writing, Achiro is reading. Like her favorite authors, Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiongo and her late father, she delights in writing history and present day politics in story.

Young Playwrights Ukraine project

Taya Fedorenko (“Perfect Material”; director, “Boom,” The Old Couple”) is an 18-year-old Ukrainian student, actor and writer living in the US. She just completed her first year at The New School in New York where she studies acting and playwriting. Her play “Perfect Material” had a reading at The Vineyard Theatre in New York starring Taya herself and Evan Handler, directed by Jodie Markell. It was originally part of Young Playwrights Ukraine’s Ten Minute Play Project, produced on Zoom, starring Liev Schreiber, directed by Peter Hedges and mentored by writer Will Arbery in August 2023. Her short play “Phone Calls with Mom” was produced by Orion Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden, directed by Lars Rudolfsson. It was originally performed by Cara Buono and Oona Laurence as part of Young Playwrights Ukraine’s first reading series on Zoom in July 2022. Both plays will be published by Smith & Kraus in 2024. In 2022 Taya had the lead role in “The Gaaga” with Arlekin Players in Boston, Mass.

Luka Ivanov (“The Old Couple”) is an 18-year-old Ukrainian writer now living in Vienna, Austria. He was an acting student in Ukraine and now wants to study Political Science at a university. Luka’s play “The Palace” had its first reading in Brooklyn in January 2024, with actors Frank Wood, Kelly AuCoin, Olli Haaskivi, Samantha Mathis, Babak Tafti, and Trí Lê. His play “The Old Couple” was part of Young Playwrights Ukraine’s Ten Minute Play Project, produced on Zoom, starring Becky Ann Baker and Reed Birney, directed by Lars Rudolfsson and mentored by writer Jessica Goldberg. His one-act play “Kondratiy” was produced by Orion Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden, directed by Lars Rudolfsson. It was originally performed by Kevin Corrigan, David Morse, Petro Ninovskyi, and Charlie Plummer, as part of Young Playwrights Ukraine’s first reading series on Zoom in July 2022. His plays will be published by Smith & Kraus in 2024.

Uliana Klimchuk (“Too Close”) is a 20-year-old Ukrainian student, writer, actor, and singer. She studies acting at University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Her play “Superhero” had a reading at The Vineyard Theater in New York starring Kelly AuCoin and Jessica Hecht, directed by Jodie Markell. It was previously part of Young Playwrights Ukraine’s Ten Minute Play Project, produced on Zoom, starring David Harbour and Ivanna Sakhno, directed by Paul McCrane and mentored by writer Daniel Goldfarb. She also acted in the project, starring opposite Liev Schreiber in Taya Fedorenko’s play “Perfect Material,” directed by Peter Hedges and mentored by writer Will Arbery. She wrote, co-directed and starred in the short film, "Boyfriend in the Basement," shot in Kyiv. Her short play “Too Close” was part of The Occupation Project: Plays from Ukraine at the Jaffa Theater in Tel Aviv, Israel, directed by Ron Weiss. It was also produced by Orion Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden, directed by Lars Rudolfsson. It was originally performed by David Morse, Kevin Corrigan, Ivanna Sakhno, and Petro Ninoviskyi as part of Young Playwrights Ukraine’s first reading series on Zoom in July 2022. Her plays will be published by Smith & Kraus in 2024.

Sasha Sereda (playwright, “Ruins”) is an 19-year-old Ukrainian student, writer, and director, living in Germany. Her play “Ruins” had a reading at The Vineyard Theatre in New York, directed by Jodie Markell. “Ruins” was originally part of Young Playwrights Ukraine’s Ten Minute Play Project, produced on Zoom, directed by Sammi Cannold and mentored by writer Kate Robin. Her monologue “Beds are Not Safe Enough” was performed by Katerina McCrimmon on Zoom for the launch of Young Playwrights Ukraine Mentorship Project in April 2023. Her short play “How Do You Feel Fear?” was produced by Orion Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden, directed by Lars Rudolfsson in 2023. It was originally performed by Kevin Corrigan, Oona Laurence, and Lily Sheen as part of Young Playwrights Ukraine’s first reading series on Zoom in July 2022. “Ruins” and “How Do You Feel Fear?” will be published by Smith & Kraus in 2024.

Karina Syrota (playwright, “Boom” director,“Perfect Material,” “Ruins”) is a 20-year-old Ukrainian student and writer living in the US with her family who fled the war. She attends Marist College in New York, where she studies Computer Science. Her play “The Orchid” had a reading at The Vineyard Theatre in New York with actors Catherine Curtin, Alex Feldman, and Frank Wood, directed by Jodie Markell. It was originally part of Young Playwrights Ukraine’s Ten Minute Play Project produced on Zoom, directed by Jodie Markell and mentored by writer Jacquelyn Reingold. Her play “Boom” had its first live reading in Brooklyn with actors Kelly AuCoin, Olli Haaskivi, Jennifer Mudge, and Babak Tafti. Her short play “Advice” was produced by Orion Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden, directed by Lars Rudolfsson in 2023. It was originally performed by Cara Buono and David Morse as part of Young Playwrights Ukraine’s first reading series on Zoom in July 2022. “The Orchid” and “Advice” will be published by Smith & Kraus in 2024.

Co-Curator and Co-Producer:

Marie Cisco is a Film, TV, and Broadway Producer. She has worked for the The National Black Theatre, The New Black Fest, The Apollo, andThe Public Theater where she produced the development of NewWork for internal shows and Broadway transfers. Marie worked as a Creative Executive for Lee Daniels Entertainment where she produced on several pilots and the feature film The US vs. Billie Holiday. She most recently served as the Producing Partner and Managing Director for Stardust Films by Common where she built a robust development slate and produced several short films including, SXSW featured“Glitter Ain’t Gold”

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