This program is made possible in part through funding from the Astere E. Claeyssens Artist-in-Residence program.
We are on sacred ground. Northwestern University is on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires—the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa—as well as the Menominee, Miami, and Ho-Chunk nations. Before it was stolen from them through colonization and forced removal, this land was a site of trade, travel, gathering, and healing for more than a dozen other native tribes. The state of Illinois is still home to more than 100,000 tribal members. In the spirit of healing and making amends for the harm that was done, we acknowledge the native and indigenous peoples who called this land home. We pledge ourselves as members of the Northwestern School of Communication to turn our statements into action and build better relationships with native and indigenous communities in Evanston, in Chicago, and throughout the region.
The Magic of Light was created in rehearsals by Julian Kytasty, Tom Lee and Virlana Tkacz and includes the following:
*translated by Virlana Tkacz & Wanda Phipps
Puppeteer and performer: Tom Lee
Musician and performer: Julian Kytasty
Directed by Virlana Tkacz
Music composed & performed on bandura by Julian Kytasty
Puppetry by Tom Lee
Assist puppeteers: Michele Stine and Zlata Godunova
Singer: Tia Pinson
Production designed by Tom Lee & Andreea Mincic
Shadow puppet design & video by Linda Wingerter
Puppet design & carving by Kevin White
Lighting design by Kat Zhou
English translations by Virlana Tkacz & Wanda Phipps
Stage manager: Erin Gray
Assistant director: Olenka Tsyhankova
A1/Sound Engineer: Madeline Barr
Wardrobe Crew: Finnegan Chu
Research: Nadia Sokolenko
Graphics by Waldemart Klyuzko
PORFIRY MARTYNOVYCH (1856-1933) studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1873. He created the drawings for the Magic Lantern projections for Ostap Veresai concert at the Salt Palace in 1875. After his father died, Martynovych decided to go back to the village to draw the people and memorize epic songs.
OSTAP VERESAI (1803-1890) blind epic singer who performed at the Salt Palace Concert in 1875, singing the epic “Three Brothers from Azov,” the core text of our piece.
PAVLO, THE BEEKEEPER, worked for Martynovych’s father, and inspired Martynovych, becoming the subject of two of his famous drawings in 1875.
MYKHAILO YEGOROV, born 1860, studied at the Imperial Art Academy where his fellow student, Martynovych, painted his portrait. Mykhailo graduated from Academy 1879 and in 1883 received two silver medals and was named Class Artist.
ALEXANDER RUSOV (1847-1915) professor of economics and statistics who worked on the Kyiv census. He was interested in Ukrainian ethnography and published the works of Shevchenko.
MYKOLA LYSENKO (1842-1912) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist and conductor who organized the concert for Ostap Veresai at the Salt Palace. His wife Olga was a pianist.
DENIS MARTYNOVYCH, father of Porfiry, and a court clerk.
GOTTFRIED WILLEWALDE (1819-1903) teacher at Imperial Art Academy, painter of battle scenes and horses, loved by his students.
PAVEL PLESHANOV (1829-1882) academic painter, who only explained the rules of academic painting and checked sketches.
Plus crowds, complainers, proclaimers and a calling bird.
JULIAN KYTASTY (bandurist, composer) is a third-generation bandura player. He is both a keeper of traditions and an innovator who has opened new paths for his instrument. He has worked frequently with Yara Arts Group creating and performing music for theatre pieces, poetry performances, and festivals. His work on Yara’s 1917-2017 Tychyna, Zhadan, and the Dogs earned him a NY Innovative Theater award for best original score. He continues to teach bandura to a new generation of students in North America and Ukraine, to record, to compose and arrange music for bandura, and to engage in collaborative projects.
TOM LEE (puppeteer, production design) is a puppet artist, designer and director who began his career at La MaMa. As a puppeteer: Madama Butterfly & Florencia en el Amazonas (Metropolitan Opera), War Horse (Broadway), Le Grand Macabre (NY Philharmonic), Queen of Spades (Lyric Opera). With Japanese Master Puppeteer Koryū Nishikawa V: Shank’s Mare (2015) and Akutagawa (2024). Co-director Chicago Puppet Studio and Chicago Puppet Lab. 2025 3Arts Chicago Awardee. Tom Lee is the 2025/2026 Northwestern University Astere E. Claeyssens Artist-in-Residence. www.tomleeprojects.com
VIRLANA TKACZ (director, co-translator) heads the Yara Arts Group and has directed 40 original shows at La MaMa Theatre in New York, as well as in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Bishkek, Ulaanbaatar, and Ulan Ude. Favorite productions include Blind Sight, Dark Night Bright Stars and 1917-2017 Tychyna, Zhadan, and the Dogs. She received a NEA Poetry Translation Fellowship for her translations with Wanda Phipps of Serhiy Zhadan’s poetry. Yale University Press published their second selection as How Fire Descends (2023).
ANDREEA MINCIC (production design) loves making things using her hands when designing. Previous collaborations with Tom Lee Mariupol: Diary of War and the Tree of Life, Monkey – A Kung Fu Puppet Parable, The Poacher, The Return, Scarlet Ibis. Recent work in NY: Nothing Doing (UTR), Atlas Drugged (Skirball), Material (Whitney Museum), Our Class (BAM, CSC), Sad Boys, (Playwrights Horizons). https://www.andreeamincic.space/.
KEVIN WHITE (puppet designer and carver) is a Brooklyn-based Puppeteer and Puppet Maker. He works for the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre in Central Park. His work has been commissioned by Harvard University (Le Corbusier), St. Ann’s Warehouse, The Puppet Kitchen, Nickelodeon, Google, The Historic House Trust of New York City, and The Metropolitan Opera, to name just a few. Kevin has received grants from The Jim Henson Foundation and Brooklyn Arts Council for his show The Wayfaring Stranger. He is happy to be working with Tom Lee on this project.
LINDA WINGERTER (shadow puppet design & video) is a third-generation puppeteer and master of multiplane shadow puppetry and mechanisms. Based in Ithaca, NY, Linda leads Stringpullers Puppet Company and has collaborated with Tom Lee on Akutagawa, Resonant Path and the upcoming Left Hand of Darkness. IG @pollysonic
KAT C. ZHOU (lighting designer) designs for theater, dance and opera. Her work has been seen at Irish Repertory Theater, WP Theater, Out of the Box Theatrics, the Guthrie Theater, Huntington Theatre Company, Cape Playhouse, American Modern Opera Company. MFA: Boston University (lighting), AB: Harvard College (mathematics). katzhoudesign.com, IG: @katczhoudesign
WANDA PHIPPS (co-translator) is a founding member of Yara and has been translating Ukrainian poetry with Virlana Tkacz since 1989. Together they have received the National Theatre Translation Award for their translation of The Forest Song, as well as numerous grants from New York State Council on the Arts. Her books include Mind Honey (Autonomedia), Field of Wanting: Poems of Desire (Blaze VOX), and Wake-Up Calls: 66 Morning Poems (Soft Skull Press).
MICHELE STINE (asst. puppeteer) is an actor, clown, and puppeteer. They spend their time digging through trash and alleys for materials, much to her mother’s dismay. Michele has performed with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Rough House Theatre, Filament Theatre, Chicago Puppet Studio, Lifeline Theatre, Emerald City Theatre, Theatre SUMM, and some other companies too. They were a part of the 2024/2025 Puppet Lab Cohort through the International Puppet Theatre Festival. Michele has spent over fifteen years working as a theatre educator in Chicago, Illinois; working with young people to develop strong storytelling skills and creating dreams out of cardboard and glue.
ZLATA GODUNOVA (asst. puppeteer) was classically trained at the National Academic Theatre of Drama and Musical Comedy in Ukraine. She recently acted in Threepenny Opera at Hunter College, and A Chorus Line on Theatre Row. She works as a puppeteer at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater in Central Park. Her next project is The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, March 26-29 at Hunter College. zlatagodunova.com
TIA PINSON (singer) is a Flint, MI Native who wishes to experience and spread light, love and compassion through exploration, art and storytelling. As a teaching artist with a degree in Music Theatre Performance, she continues to search for ways to encourage youth to find their creative voice as they discover their confidence through expression. She has been seen on various stages in Chicago including Rough House Theater’s House of the Exquisite Corpse V: Blood and Puppets.
ERIN GRAY (stage manager)is a theater worker, director, interdisciplinary artist, and gardener based in Brooklyn, New York. Erin is the creator of The Living Room, a zine and art collective which produces live and print collaborations.
OLENKA TSYHANKOVA (asst. director) is a writer and artist from Lviv. She was a stage manager for Yara’s Slap! this winter. Olenka graduated from Bard College in 2024.
NADIA SOKOLENKO (research) is a theatre researcher, manager and curator in Ukraine, who has worked with Yara since 2002.
WALDEMART KLYUZKO (graphics) is a visual artist in Kyiv who Yara has worked with Yara since 2010.
YARA ARTS GROUP was established in 1990 and is a resident company at La MaMa, the acclaimed experimental theatre in New York. Yara has created over 40 pieces based on extensive research in Eastern Europe, Siberia and Asia, in Yara’s signature style of multilingual dialogue and songs supported by evocative visuals. Yara Arts Group is a resident theatre company of La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York. Yara Arts Group 306 East 11th St #3B, New York, NY 10003 USA (212) 475-6474 www.yaraartsgroup.net: @yaraartsgroupinc Instagram: @yara.arts
Special Thanks to O.O Savchuk and Katia Shraga.
Assistant to designers Jacky Kelsey
Calling bird puppet fabricated by Averly Sheltraw
Curtain fabrication by Caitlin McCleod
Additional pencil drawings by Zachary Sun
Carpentry and video support by Douglas Ward and Kammy Lee
Special thanks to the artists of the Chicago Puppet Studio and to the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, Blair Thomas, Artistic Director.
Special thanks to artists Caitlin Nugent and Nadia Othman for developing earlier versions of this project.
Yara Arts Group is a resident company of La MaMa Experimental Theatre, where The Magic of Light was first performed. We express special thanks to Mia Yoo, Beverly Petty, Kiku Sakai, Denise Gerber, Mark Tambella, Erick Alonzo and John Issendorf for their support.
We thank our donors who make it possible to develop and sustain the quality of productions at Northwestern University. The following individuals and institutions have made gifts to one or more of the following areas: the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts, American Music Theatre Project and the Music Theatre Funds. All gifts were made between September 1, 2024 and August 31, 2025.
Donate online at giving.northwestern.edu.
Thank you for supporting Northwestern University Theatre and Dance!</stron
E. Patrick Johnson, Dean of the School of Communication and Annenberg University Professor
Lori Barcliff Baptista, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Advising
Roderick Hawkins, Associate Dean of External Affairs and Chief of Staff
Molly Losh, Associate Dean for Research
Bonnie Martin-Harris, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
Jeff Brown, Associate Dean for Finance and Administration
Rayvon Fouche’, Associate Dean for Graduate Education
Tanya Palmer, Assistant Dean & Executive Artistic Director
Bharath Chandrasekaran, Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Jeremy Birnholtz, Communication Studies
Joshua Chambers-Letson, Performance Studies
Jacob Smith, Interim Chair of Radio/Television/Film
Henry Godinez, Theatre
Melissa Blanco Borelli, Director of Dance
Megan Roberts, Associate Chair of Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Courtney Lynam Scherr, Associate Chair of Communication Studies
Erin Courtney, Associate Chair of Radio/Television/Film
Tommy Rappley, Associate Chair of Theatre
Jorge Silva — Director of Business Operations & Managing Director
Michael Constantino — Associate Managing Director
Pete Brace — Marketing & Development Manager
Heather Basarab — Production Manager
Valerie Tu — Production Manager, Chicago
Gianna Carter — Production Coordinator
Aziza Macklin — Audience Experience Manager
Jamie L. Mayhew — Box Office Manager
Lynn Kelso — Imagine U Artistic Mentor
Ryan T. Nelson — Music Supervisor
Dylan Reyno — Technical Coordinator
Shannon Perry — Technical Supervisor
Emily Baker — Assistant Technical Supervisor
Dylan Jost — Scenic Carpenter
Micah Hofferth — Scenic Carpenter
James Weber — Scenic Artist
Eileen Rozycki — Assistant Scenic Artist
Chris Wych — Properties Supervisor
Kathy Beach Parsons — Properties Assistant
Eileen Clancy — Costume Shop Supervisor
Jessica Donaldson — Assistant Costume Shop Supervisor
Kristy White — Cutter/Draper
Pamela Brailey — Cutter/Draper
Renee Werth — Stitcher/Crafts Supervisor
Eli Hunstad — First Hand
Peter Anderson — Lighting & Sound Supervisor
Michael Trudeau — Associate Lighting & Sound Supervisor
Nate Walczyk — Lighting and Sound Technician
Sara Kurensky — Marketing Assistant
Stephen J. Lewis — OGMC Arts and Media Producer
Stephanie Kulke — OGMC Fine Arts Editor
Masi Asare — AMTP Artistic Director
Alaina Parr, Alex Myres, Alex Yang, Allyson Vasquez, Amanda Swickle, Amy Xu, Anah Shaikh, Arawen Alberg, Arran Kennedy Orive, Ashley Flores, Avery England, Aydn Calhoun, Ayla Richardson, Benny Wu, Cannon Elliott, Ciara Farris, Clio Siegel, Crom Amaya, Daniel Cho, Elijah Curtin-Adelman, Elle Pierre, Ellsworth Sullivan, Gavin Yi, Gemma Cohen, Ghino Lee, Haley Randall, Henry Rohrback, Isabella Mason, Jessica Guo, Jordin Amoah, Josaphina Brinkerhoff, Josefina Espino, Katherine Li, Kira Carpenter, Kris Lambert, Lucian Cruz, Mariah Waters, Maya Avery, Michael Peterson, Millie Rose Taub, Miracle Idowu, Morgan Marin, Natalie Mendoza, Noor Maghaydah, Nora Fox, Olivia Czyz, Olivia Kieffer, Olivia Wise, Owen Meehan-Egan, Pranav Singh, Poseybelle Stoeffer, Roie Dahan, Rose Peters, Ryan Cooke, Charles Lewis, Sebastian Vidra, Seidy Pichardo, Sophia Mitton-Fry, Sydney Chan, Sydney Frazure, Tamyrha Dunac, Tvesha Gupta, Valentina Brander, Vicky Laguerre, Walter Todd, Will Claudius, Yehuda Zilberstein, Yooha Park, Yumi Tallud
