Yaroslava Kravchenko, the founder of the independent Wild Theater, co-host of “Television Toronto” and the “About” show and public figure, told journalist Anastasia Bagalika for online.ua about volunteering, the work of the theatre during the war and self-reflection caused by the Russian invasion.
I’ll start this conversation with a question I want to ask people I haven’t seen in a very long time. For almost nine months of the war, a lot has changed for all of us. Therefore, I will first ask you: how are you in general?
God, I’m ashamed to answer you honestly. Is it the same as me? I feel a significant surge of strength right now because I realize how much I’ve adapted and how much I can be as helpful and as me as possible again.
My most important work is the “Wild Theater” and the Cultural Front. And I understand now.
I didn’t touch myself for a long time. I asked myself monthly: “Yas [a short, gentle form of Yaroslava’s name — Ed.], so what, are you ready to restore the theatre?” I’m like: “No, I’m not ready yet.”
And now I recently woke up and said: “That’s it, I’m bored. I am ready to do Theater again.” That’s why I’m normal.
About the absence of shock from the war and volunteering
How did your work change during the war?
I can’t say I have a job because I don’t call all my projects work. All this is only for love. That’s all — with fantastic teams. It’s all entertaining and filled. And it’s all about awareness. And that’s why most of my projects remained.
The only thing is that the Theater went on hiatus, but I got a new project to replace the theatre — volunteer “All by 10”.
Moreover, the other day, I was re-watching the stories. I realized that I did not have this pause and shock about the war, about the start of a full-scale invasion, because, on February 26th, I was already managing the logistics of the production of Molotov cocktails and the evacuation of people from Kyiv.
Yaroslav Kravchenko on March 4, 2022 (photo: facebook.com)
On the 28th, I already shot a story about how animals in the zoo survive shelling. That is, I turned on very quickly, and only then did I understand why it had happened because I have had the experience of the previous revolution.
That is, you know what to do. Allow this experience to break through this shock and initial fear, and you immediately find what to do and where to be helpful.
How the “Wild Theater” works during the war
Tell us about the Victory certificates from “Wild Theater”.
Honestly, I had to write something on the website. But I will tell you now. I couldn’t answer people’s questions: “And when?”, “And how?” and “Will you work?”.
The questions already started sometime in April from our viewers. And I’m like: “Wow, look, they quickly adapted!”.
It became clear that “Wild Theater” is now in absolute motion because many people went to the Armed Forces, and the rest left [in theatre].
The main female cast — actors and directors — went abroad. And now I can only write that in Germany, such a director staged a play, and one or another actress played on the stage of such and such a theatre.
The premiere of the performance “Mother of Gorky” by the director of the Wild Theater Maksym Golenko in Germany (photo: facebook.com/wildtheatre.ua)
However, I knew that “Wild Theater” would return. The only thing I needed to know was in what form.
And that’s why we came up with such a thing as Victory certificates in April. Credentials that will allow you to go to the “Wild Theater” after our victory.
These are such futures that today allow us to accumulate certain funds and use these funds to support our actors, our team, which is currently in the Armed Forces.
That is, I have a separate direction — these are 9 or 10 close “wild” people who are currently serving and to whom we constantly send some messages: it’s cold there — let’s warm up, or maybe this, or perhaps the other.
It is a separate work of “Wild [Theatre]”, which our viewers help to perform.
I won’t say that Victory certificates are often bought, but I recently opened LiqPay and received a push notification that a certification was purchased.
Then, Olya Zakrevska, whom I adore, pray for and admire, wrote that she bought it. She was always a regular viewer of “Wild [Theatre]”. And I’m like: “Zakrevska, yes!” Well, that’s very nice.
It is delightful that people remember and write periodically despite the fact nine months have already passed: “When will the “Wild” resume?”
About self-reflection and quarrels between Ukrainians
Do you as a separate creative unit and yourself as a team somehow reflect and feel the changes that society is currently experiencing? Are you talking about this? Or you could speak to yourself about it in some way.
Of course, it is impossible not to feel and reflect because this is how we live a crucial stage of life for all Ukrainians.
In common, some people are just now becoming Ukrainian, just beginning to understand what this means.
That’s why I do a lot of self-reflection and try to keep my distance to understand what is happening in society now.
I was thrilled when the quarrels turned back. I’m like: “God, you’re all so kind to each other; it makes me sick.” Oh well, it has to be somewhere. And when they recovered, I was like, “Huh, our people are back!”
Everything is just fine!
Everything is fine! Because it was already scary. You know, “good afternoon”, “please”. Some wrote: “Would you get the f**k out here!”
You know, everything was very polite. And to me, it was not about Ukrainians at all.
And when quarrels turned back, I was like: “That’s it! We normalized. The nation is fine. The nation lives on.”
You may also be interested in: Yaroslav Kravchenko on integrity. When you have an elementary spiritual code, and you follow it
