METELYK

Since many women from Ukraine fled to Dresden last year, we have accompanied the associated challenges with various offers. In the first phase, we provided a lot of information and direct help. Over time, we have moved on to concrete offers (exhibitions, encounter and creative offers) in order to broaden the view of Ukraine and also of Ukrainians in Dresden.

One example Events that take place in our Open Gallery are those examples, e.g. at Café Kulturschock. In spring 2023, the theatre director and Ukrainian-born Anna Yaryga presented her theatre group ellemonh and its theatre pedagogical methods, including a live performance. The format was very popular with the audience: amateurs and non-amateurs develop a play and, together with the audience, look for space for new perspectives and possibilities of action on a certain topic (the play presented dealt with the consequences of war and violence). Some Ukrainian women in the audience showed great interest in taking part in such a course during the event. Anna Yaryga also suggested taking up this wish and offering a new project together with us.

That’s how the idea for the METELYK theatre project was born. We want to give women who have fled from Ukraine to Dresden a voice, collect personal stories and let them develop a play. As a highlight, the participants put the play on stage at several performances in the projekttheater.

Intercultural theatre on ‘being a woman’ and sexism

Together with the women and the audience at the performances, we would like to take a look at the role sexism and discrimination play in everyday life – for individuals and society, with experiences from Ukraine and Germany:

• What influence does the age, the origin or the social situation of women have?
• What are the dangers of sexism?
• And why it is worth fighting sexism and standing up for equal rights and solidarity.

From workshop…

The experienced theatre maker and trained costume/stage designer Anna Yaryga accompanies the women in an intensive workshop and rehearsal process on their way to presentation and performance. Yaryga herself was born in Odesa (UA). Having lived in Germany for 28 years, she is familiar with the different life worlds in which (not only) Ukrainian women have to assert themselves.

The theatre education work is based on the concept of “Theatre of the Oppressed” – a series of methods that goes back to the Brazilian director Augusto Boal.

… to the stage!

Several performances are planned for the end of the year. The women perform their play together with the ellemonh theatre group founded in Dresden in 2016.

Summer 2023 Workshops and play development
Autumn 2023 Rehearsal time
December 2023 Premiere and further performances, incl. audience discussion (projekttheater, Dresden)