Stage 3 of the “Mytnytsia. New Directing” Festival — Announcement of Finalists
August 28 marks Stage 3 of the “Mytnytsia. New Directing” Festival — the announcement of the finalists advancing to the excerpt preparation stage.
Congratulations to the participants who have become finalists! Here are their names and the texts they have chosen (this year’s competition program features “I, Cosmo” and “Always, Clementine” by American playwright Carly Sorosiak):
🔹 Artur Prokopiev – “I, Cosmo”
🔹 Veronika Dupina – “Always, Clementine”
🔹 Yevhen Karnaukh – “I, Cosmo”
🔹 Leia Maievska – “I, Cosmo” / “Always, Clementine”
🔹 Maryna Zolototska – “Always, Clementine”
🔹 Mariia Perepelytsia – “Always, Clementine”
🔹 Pavlo Hlukhovskyi – “Always, Clementine”
🔹 Yuliia Melekhova – “I, Cosmo”
🌟 Warmest congratulations to the finalists!
The finalists will soon begin rehearsing their excerpts. Public showcases will take place October 2–4 on the Small Stage of the Left Bank Theatre. The winner of “Mytnytsia” will have the opportunity to stage their own production on our theatre’s main stage next season.
Stage 2 of the “Mytnytsia. New Directing” Festival — Reviewing and Selecting Applications
August 5 marked the start of Stage 2 of the “Mytnytsia. New Directing” Festival — the review and selection of applications.
93 participants registered for the festival. Of these, 32 submitted 35 directorial concepts to advance to the next stage.
A bit more about this year’s “Mytnytsia” participants:
▫️ Geography: Kyiv, Bila Tserkva, Odesa, Kharkiv, Chernivtsi, Brovary, Vinnytsia, Kropyvnytskyi, Lviv, Rivne, Prague, Munich, Paris.
▫️ Among you are directors, actors, linguists, art managers, musicians, analysts, philologists, biologists, teachers, lawyers, and students.
▫️ Some have already staged productions, some are just taking their first steps in directing, and some only dream of it.
Thank you to everyone who submitted an application! Everyone whose directorial concept we received has been sent a confirmation email. If you don’t see it in your inbox, please write to us:
📩 [email protected]
On August 28, we will announce the names of the finalists, who will present their excerpts on the Small Stage on October 2–4. The winner of “Mytnytsia” will stage a production on the Small Stage of the Left Bank Theatre next season, and it will join the theatre’s repertoire.
This year’s competition program features the texts “I, Cosmo” and “Always, Clementine” by American playwright Carlie Sorosiak.
Festival Selection Committee
🔹 Tamara Trunova – Chief Director of the Theatre, Festival Curator
🔹 Maryna Klimova – Actress of the Theatre
🔹 Polina Vasylyna – Actress of the Theatre
🔹 Oleksandr Sokolov – Actor and Director of the Theatre
🔹 Volodymyr Kravchuk – Actor of the Theatre, Military Serviceman
🔹 Kostiantyn Koretskyi – Actor of the Theatre
🔹 Artur Lohai – Actor of the Theatre
🔹 Volodymyr Tsyvinskyi – Actor and Director of the Theatre
🔹 Kateryna Yaniuk – Head of the Theatre’s International and Touring Activities Bureau
🔹 Oleksandra Liashenko – Head of the Literary and Dramaturgy Department of the Theatre
Applications are now open for participation in the “Mytnytsia. New Directing” Festival – 2026.
This year’s festival focuses on working for and with young audiences.
The competition basis for “Mytnytsia” is the plays “I, Cosmo” and “Always, Clementine” by playwright Carly Sorosiak.
Each participant is required to prepare a directorial concept based on one of the proposed dramaturgical materials and attach it to the application for participation in the festival.
The festival consists of the following stages*:
🔸 Stage 1. July 6 – August 4
Application submission period.
🔸 Stage 2. August 5 – August 27
Selection and review of applications by the festival’s selection committee.
On August 20–27, negotiation procedures with potential participants will take place in the format of online video meetings. Based on the results of the application review, participants will be given the opportunity to present excerpts from their chosen texts.
🔸 Stage 3. August 28
Announcement of the names of participants advancing to the final stage of excerpt preparation.
🔸 Stage 4. September 28 – October 3
Rehearsals of excerpts on the Small Stage of the Left Bank Theatre.
🔸 Stage 5. October 2–4
Festival opening. Public showcase of excerpts on the Small Stage of the Left Bank Theatre.
🔸 Stage 6. October 5–12
Analysis of jury evaluations and negotiation procedures with the participants who received the highest scores.
🔸 Stage 7. October 13
Announcement of the festival winner.
*Due to martial law, festival stage dates are subject to change.
Application package:
🟣 To apply for the Festival, fill out the registration form – here
🟣 To submit your directorial concept, fill out the application form – here
🟣 To read the festival regulations – click here
🟣 To find answers to frequently asked questions – go here
Tamara Trunova, festival curator:
“This year, ‘Mytnytsia. New Directing’ focuses on working for and with young people.
Not because they are the audience of the future, but because they are part of society today — with their own experience of war, of growing up, of responsibility, and of understanding what the country should become in our shared future.
The theatre doesn’t see this as an educational program or a separate area of work. For us, it’s rather an opportunity to test our own assumptions about theatre and to look at it from the perspective of those who will live with the consequences of today’s decisions the longest.
If new directing begins with anything, it may be with the willingness to listen where one is used to speaking.”
About the Festival:
The festival “Mytnytsia. New Directing” was founded in 2022 by the Left Bank Theatre with the aim of discovering, supporting, and developing directors in the field of theatre art.
It is a continuation of the Eduard Mytnytskyi Memorial Festival “Space of the Master” (2021, founded by Stas Zhyrkov and Tamara Trunova).
🏆 Winners of past years:
🔹 First “Mytnytsia” – Oleksandr Sokolov, “The Lonesome West” by Martin McDonagh (premiere – 2023–2024 season)
🔹 Second – Rob Feldman, “Cops vs. Snails” by Nina Zakhozhenko (premiere – 2024–2025 season)
🔹 Third – Slava Yushkov, “Durko” by Luigi Pirandello (premiere – 2025–2026 season)
🔹 Fourth – Artem Miaus, “Therapies” by Birutė Kapustinskaitė (premiere – September 12–13, 2026)
The curator of the project is Tamara Trunova, the chief director of the Theatre.
General & Artistic Director – Olesia Zhurakivska.
If you still have questions, write to us at this address
The project “Mytnytsia. New Directing” – 2026 is a winner of the Per Forma grant program, implemented by the Kyiv Contemporary Music Days platform with the support of the Performing Arts Fund NL and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands, for the development of the performing arts sector in Ukraine.
“Mytnytsia. New Directing” Festival – 2025. Here’s how it went ⤵️
“Mytnytsia. New Directing” Festival – 2024. Here’s how it went ⤵️