Are We There Yet

TUT (Teens Ukraine Theatre), is a theatrical laboratory for teenagers refugees from Ukraine. The TUT project’s mission is to amplify the voices of those still in Ukraine, as well as those who are here and to raise awareness of the ongoing war. The program seeks to lower the barrier entry point for newcomers, and provide community for refugees by creating a dialogue.

ARE WE THERE YET was the first production developed theatre told verbatim by Ukranian teen refugees which premiered to a sold out audience at New York Theatre Workshop and JCC Manhattan. The documentary theatre pieces are centered on children’s and teens’ experiences during the war in Ukraine. As the world continues to be in shambles, heartbroken by the ongoing war in Ukraine and torn by the war in Israel, we invite you to join us in watching this one of a kind performance.The production premiered in March 2023 to a sold out audience in NYC.

We work with the multidisciplinary Verbatim Theatre technique and derive the materials entirely from personal stories of the teens immigrant/refugees from Ukraine, displaced and uprooted by war.  Some of their families are still in Ukraine beneath the bombs. They feel the dissonance while stuck in a vacuum wanting to go back to the fateful day of February 23rd or to find themselves after the war has already ended so they can finally return home. Where is home and how can they shelter themselves from this horrific reality? When will the war end? What if? Are we there yet? These questions are just the tip of the iceberg as they relive their traumas, reflecting the experience of thousands of refugees and echoing the voices of those who are still in Ukraine.

These productions draw surrealistic and yet vivid images of life broken by the war. Millions of people have left their homes fleeing from bombs…leaving behind broken objects and homes, but their memories continue living, traveling along with them. The stories in the play echo through these teens’ personal prism, their forced adulting – the impact of the invasion, and what happens in the aftermath.

The TUT project is created, directed and curated by actor and pedagogue Anya Zicer who has developed a unique method of working with teenagers in the field of educational drama as part of her theater company, Lost & Found Project.
The project is led and co-curated with the actor/teaching artis and director Dima Koan as well as the musician/composer Mariya Vasilevskaya.