Illya Shlykov, from the town of Shchastya, Luhansk Oblast, dreamed of becoming a journalist. However, volunteering at the Class-Act Theater Fest in Kyiv, he met a young director, Yevheniya Vidishchevya. Together, they founded a non-government institution called Vidlikproject, aimed at raising the educational and cultural level of people in small towns and villages in Ukraine. Several months later, they produced their first play in the town of Shchastya, with ordinary teenagers as actors. Illya directed the play. Later, the Vidlikproject team helped teenagers stage plays in Kakhovka and Adviyivka and gathered everybody to exchange experience at the Theater Forum in Kyiv. At the forum, the 17-year old Illya presented his own play, entitled “Me”.
“Theater could be called the ‘fifth estate.’ A Norwegian journalist and theater critic who visited Shchastya last year told me that. I told him that I wanted to be a journalist, because the fourth estate can contribute to making a lot of changes. And he replied: ‘You must understand that the theater also has a certain power, and a good theater is good only if someone comes out a changed person after seeing a play.’
So I believe that the role of the theater is the same as the role of the media – to change the public’s view of the world. Or, possibly, to resolve problems in a new way, or, conversely, reveal such problems: ‘They exist, people, please, open your eyes! You cannot just go by and remain silent, as if it weren’t about us.’
Directing is what draws me most at the moment, which is why I’d like to focus more on this in the future.
To become a good director, you need not only to be the boss on the stage. Not like: I’m the director, and you must listen to me, because I said so. You need to find an approach to each actor. I come up to each actor and say: ‘Look, you have a text here. How do you see this role?’
We need to produce plays about the things that are close to your heart, not just for the money. If the script doesn’t touch your heart, how can you produce a play? It will turn out to be something mediocre.
Right now, I’m mostly concerned about my team. I had a dream several years ago of creating a theatrical platform in Shchastya, where teenagers could gather, write their scripts and stage performances. Naturally, I couldn’t do it alone. And then, after some time, the Vidlikproject appeared. Now I realize that our team is the thing that I’ve been dreaming about. We have our theater; we write scripts. My dream has come true.
My team is not just a team, it’s a family. That is why my play is about it.
It’s a documentary play titled ‘Me’. I got the idea to create it after I read the poem of the same name by Vasyl Symonenko. There were two lines in it that impressed me right away. They were: ‘We are not a multitude of standard I’s, but a multitude of different universes.’ And I thought: “That’s it, that’s the play!” And that was it – I had the script!” But I knew I couldn’t write monologues for the team on my own, because it would not be a documentary play then. So, I wrote questions and the monologues were created based on the answers of the team members.
The play is not only about the team, but also about communication between the people. Everybody thinks about their “me” and nobody values the work of the others. Every person wants to be praised. But this is not how it is done in a team. A team is one mechanism.
I’ve had such excitement about this play. Actors always say: “You are the director, you stay backstage, what do you have to worry about?” But I understand that half of the actors don’t remember their monologues and everything is not going as planned.
Then, the discussion starts. I stand there and think: “What will the people say?” And some say: “The play is over, but here – in my head – it still continues.” For me, this is the most important thing.
All actors cried after the play, because they spoke about the things that concerned them sincerely. They said to each other the things they couldn’t say, when we are all working, because our communication is not always perfect. They all got overexcited. I gather them in a separate room and say that what we have is much bigger than just a team. And I begin to cry too.
This became a sort of an indicator for me that our team is everything for me. This is what I want to do, what I need, and, I think, what people need.
There are many interesting theatrical processes happening in Ukraine at the moment. Recently, the Guild of Independent Theaters of Ukraine and Theater Platform Stage 6 were created.
I attended the play ‘Vitalik’ of Dykiy Theater, which was named the best play of 2017. It is incredible. Only two actors, one door, which is also a bed, and other door. It simply turns your idea of the world upside down. I hope that such initiatives will gain more support at the state level.
I would like to wish the people in Ukraine to go to theaters more, learn about modern types of art and not forget about it. Because some people say that soon the theater will be like the Stone Age. I don’t believe it.
And I wish the people working in theater not to be afraid to say what concerns them on stage. Because when you speak about the things that touch you, it always reaches the audience.”
