Tote Herzen (2025)

Urban Theater’s Sammelpunkt Lab // by Zukhra Yanikova (Russia/Montenegro)

The play Undead (Ger: Tote Herzen, Rus.: Нежить (всегда читать как оглаголенную нежность) is a metaphorical drama that reveals the horrifying aspects of war and the consequences of destruction. The action takes place in a world where living beings are condemned to a state of decay and eternal stagnation. At the heart of the plot is a dead mother preparing to give birth to a living daughter in a city of the dead.

Within the International Directors and Dramaturgy Lab "Sammelpunkt", seven work-in-progress performances were developed by theater makers from Germany and Eastern European countries. These performances, presented in English or German, were be open to the public on February 22 and 23, 2025, at Theater Strahl in Berlin.

(ein)wanderer/(aus)wanderer (2023)

site-specific sound and video installation

as an artist-in-residence with kodekü (Kollision der Künste) in Weißwasser, DE

an artistic archeological exploration of the threads that connect my personal experience as an immigrant in Germany with memories of the past and dreams of the future for local residents in and from Weißwasser, DE. Cinematography by Steffen Cieplik (creoflux).

LADY IN WHITE: a ghost fairy tale (2022)

SommerFilmAkademie, Görlitz DE

LADY IN WHITE is based on the legend of Die Weiße Frau. In this German fairytale, an enchanting woman haunts rural areas, unable to leave, trying to entreat mortals to break her spell. In my version, a ghost seeks to free herself – but eventually redefines what freedom means. I developed this project in response to Görlitz and its many layers and secrets. Shot on site in Kühlhaus in an underground bunker, I worked to juxtapose beauty and decay. It’s a meditation on femininity and madness and the cages that society traps us in, as well as how unlearning and redefining can help us break the cycle.

EMBERS (2022)

“…and the clock struck that morning just the same way” + “…and the only decent thing in me is my love for you”

Kulturshöpfer’s IN / BETWEEN Residency at Green Hill Gallery

These installation films, inspired by Three Sisters, juxtapose unstable dreams of the past with an uncertain future, met by a fleeting sense of the concrete present moment of viewership. In the gallery, one had to lie on a carpet to gaze up at the dreamy past ( “…and the clock struck that morning just the same way”) on a ceiling panel projection. In it one saw female bodies and delicate teacups, with hands always reaching but never quite finding each other. Their clothing is made from plastic, casting their bodies in odd, unnatural, and revealing silhouettes in sharp contrast with romantic storybook surroundings. The future film (“…and the only decent thing in me is my love from you”) was projected onto the actual plastic costumes from the films, which function as temporary projection screens. Images danced across them, sliding in and out of focus. This film featured a runway structure of bodies and colorful clothing in perpetual motion, an everlasting performance despite the post-apocalyptic cavernous wasteland surrounding them. Together with plastic clothing they formed an installation on intimacy, bodies, connection, and how the time from the past and the future meet now in your viewership. 

A LOVE PLAY (2020)

by Saskia Bakker

Prototypes Festival

A LOVE PLAY, a collection of moments strung together, is a story about willow trees, armpit smells, small birds and two lovers. It is a tender reflection on time, trust, and relationships, and asks if love can still exist in a world that is inherently painful? And do things grow in the midst of uncertainty, despite, and in spite, of the violent conditions of our world? Originally written as a theatrical play, this project was reconceptualized as a film and audio experience from within the fragmented whirlwind of quarantine during Fall 2020. 

Middletown (2023)

by Will Eno

Catalyst Institute for Arts and Technology @ Theater Exhibition Metropolis

DANCE NATION (2021)

by Clare Barron

The Theatre School at DePaul University

POLAROID STORIES (2019)

by Naomi Iizuka

The Theatre School at DePaul DePaul University

BOXED IN (2020)

an immersive virtual choose-your-own-adventure

by Connor Emir Bradshaw

The Theatre School at DePaul

FRANKLIN (world premiere) (2017)

by Samantha Noble

Boston Playwrights’ Theatre

“Stephanie LeBolt's direction finds no hesitation or snag with the play's constant switching from ship to ship, cast to cast, and time to time…” - Killian Melloy, EdgeMedia

LA LLORONA (world premiere) (2016)

by Cecelia Raker

Fresh Ink Theatre

MELANCHOLY PLAY: A CHAMBER MUSICAL (2016)

by Sarah Ruhl + Music by Todd Almond

Umbrella Center for the Arts

THAT TIME THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN (2015)

(world premiere)

by MJ Halberstadt

Fresh Ink Theatre

COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA (2020)

by William Inge

The Theatre School at DePaul University

MUD (2019)

by Maria Irene Fornes

The Theatre School at DePaul University

THE ORDINARY EPIC (2017)

by Brandon Crose

Crose to Home Media

2020 BBC Audio Drama Awards finalist: "Best Podcast or Online Audio Drama"

MARTHA’S (B)RAINSTORM (2018)

by John J King

Fresh Ink Theatre

with the Boston Public Library

SFANTA (world premiere) (2017)

by Diana Lobontiu

Wellesley College