Thursday, October 23 at 5:30PM: CMU's Center for Arts & Society presents a Ukrainian Dinner & Performance: “New Calypso” by poet Olena Boryshpolets
Thursday, October 23, 5:30-7:00pm
Rachel Mellon Walton Room, Posner Hall A Level
Please join CAS for this unique performance and for a delicious dinner of pierogies, haluski, and other Eastern European delicacies. This event is free but seating is limited; please RSVP by October 16.
In this fresh and vibrant performance, you will embark on a journey through a poem echoing Homer’s Odyssey and passing through the modern Ukrainian city of Odesa to the farthest corners of the earth. Enter the world of Olena Boryshpolets’s New Calypso:
Through the poetic tradition of rhyming comes a tale navigating wars, the hypocrisy of politicians, and the destruction of the world by dictators. Traversing a land haunted by a burning sea and a sky filled with missiles and drones, a new, modern heroine, New Calypso, makes her way. Just an ordinary woman to the untrained eye, her power lies in her persistence of self, conducting her dialogue with the universe and the reality of today with an unshaking belief in the power of love.
New Calypso’s story comes to life in this musical theater performance at Alphabet City, featuring Olena Boryshpolets as both author and actor, actor Chris Rivas, and bandura musician Lesya Verba. The performance will feature a folk song in the native language of Andy Warhol’s mother, Lemko Yulia Warhol.
About the Artists:
Olena Boryshpolets is a poet, writer, journalist, actress, cultural manager, and author of the short story book Ukrainian Detox and the book of poetry Orpheus and Eurydice in New York. Born and raised in Odesa, Olena is also a member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, a co-founder of the public organization Creativity Without Borders, and a member of PEN America. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Olena traveled to Poland, where she spent a year acting in the Polish-Ukrainian play Life in Case of War. Since March 2023, she has been a Research Scholar at the University of Pittsburgh and a Writer-in-Residence at the City of Asylum Fellowship for Ukrainian Writers.
Christopher Rivas is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after multi-hyphenates as an actor, author, podcaster, playwright, and storyteller. His critically acclaimed debut book, Brown Enough, explores what it means to be Brown in America. He’s also the host and executive producer of two podcasts with SiriusXM’s Stitcher: Brown Enough; and Rubirosa, a 10-episode documentary-style investigation of Porfirio Rubirosa, a Dominican diplomat, race car driver, soldier, and polo player who’s believed to be the inspiration for the famous character James Bond. On screen, Christopher is known for his work on the Fox series, Call Me Kat, opposite Mayim Bialik.
Lesya Verba is a Ukrainian-American creator whose work fuses wearable art, multimedia performance, and public murals. From fashion-forward paintings on jackets and crowns to commanding murals in Odesa and Kyiv, her voice is unmistakable. She also composes and performs, bringing ritual, history, and emotion into each performance and visual piece. A catalyst of cultural memory, she lives in Brooklyn and continues to transform the world—canvas by canvas.