“Sirenos” and the Ukrainian Institute present the participants of the special programme for young Ukrainian performing arts producers

2026 July 7

The Ukrainian Institute, together with the Vilnius International Theatre Festival Sirenos, has selected four young performing arts producers and managers who will work from September 25 to October 1 on skills essential for international cooperation: project pitching, preparation for international touring and budgeting, and cooperation with curated venues at major festivals. 

Since 2004, Vilnius International Theatre Festival Sirenos has been Lithuania’s leading theatre event and a meeting point for the international professional community: producers, programmers, and curators. 

Designed specifically for the Ukrainian delegation, the programme will also include networking with festival guests and local artists and cultural figures, visits to Lithuanian cultural institutions, viewing performances, and participating in public events. 

We invite you to meet the selected participants of the special producer program:

Pavlo Koval — a producer and director based in Kyiv and the founder of Bentegy Theatre, an independent company working in physical, documentary and site-specific performance. His productions include Between the World and the Soul (2026), a Suzuki-method solo piece on the poet Vasyl Stus, and The Speech (2025). He has worked on international productions with La MaMa ETC and CultureHub (New York) and is currently developing Under the Uniform, a Ukraine–Kosovo project on LGBTQ+ veterans. A recipient of the ITI Academy Week 2026 scholarship. 

Mariia Levchenko — an artist and theatre producer working in theatre, interdisciplinary practice, and socially engaged themes, exploring memory, identity, the impact of war, and the potential of art as a tool for dialogue. During the full-scale invasion, her work has focused on internally displaced children and women, for whom theatre has become a means of adapting to new realities and finding new meaning. Her recent projects include Stickers, Manivtsi, the site-specific performance Intermezzo, Train: The Path to Oneself, and Cassandra. 

Diana Tsyba — the Executive Director of KЇ Platforma and KЇ FEST, an independent cultural platform and international theatre. Her practice sits at the intersection of cultural management, theatre, dance, and design. She is currently focused on developing international cultural collaborations, creating educational programmes for arts professionals, and producing cultural events. 

Olesia Zakharova — a cultural manager and actress from Kharkiv, Project Manager and Partnerships Manager at the alternative theatre Nafta. One of her main areas of focus is developing the theatre as a stable, multi-layered institution that successfully combines the creation of high-quality theatre productions, an educational platform for emerging local artists, the representation of Kharkiv, and the use of theatre as a tool of cultural diplomacy both in Ukraine and abroad.