Dean Krawchuk, creator of 22 Sins to Salvation
22 Sins to Salvation explores our sticky relationship with sin in this Butoh dance inspired piece of theatre. Sin to drive out sin!
Who: Performance by Dean Krawchuk and Shimshon Obadia, with direction by Janelle Sheppard, and music by Jordan Leibel.
What: Theatre performance – 22 Sins to Salvation
When: Thursday Aug 29 l 7 PM
Where: University Theatre, ADM 026, 3333 University Way, UBC’s Okanagan campus, Kelowna
WARNING: MATURE CONTENT
Dean Krawchuk, a Performance Major in Creative Studies, was awarded $2,500 from the FCCS Undergraduate Student Research Award fund to create a theatre piece based on the life of the Russian monk, Grigori Rasputin.
“The impetus behind this project started when I was writing a play about Rasputin for one of my Creative Writing courses.” says Krawchuk, “I was compelled by his character and how a simple peasant managed to become a very powerful figure in Russian history.”
Through this research Dean stumbled upon The Khlysty, an underground religious sect that was rumoured to tie Rasputin with the dark arts. The Khlysty was known for using sin to drive out sin in order to gain salvation, and a majority of their meetings took place in forest clearings, in brothels or cellars.
“One of the things I wanted to accomplish prior to my final year of studies was to create a show that I can add to my repertoire and continue to perform in various incarnations in the future.”
22 Sins to Salvation will be performed in Butoh style, a Japanese form of theatre that started in the 1960’s. Dean and his two collaborators, Shimshon Obadia and Janelle Sheppard were able to attend a private Butoh workshop on Whidbey Island this summer in preparation for the performance.
“It was a definite asset having some financial assistance for this show,” notes Krawchuk, “I am grateful to FCCS for providing me with support to create this project.”
22 Sins to Salvation, hosted by Theatre26, will take place on Thursday, August 29th in the University Theatre.
The University Theatre serves as a venue for the Department of Creative Studies for study, rehearsal and public performances, both for the campus community and the general public. Theatre26 is a small company of BFA students in Interdisciplinary Performance that work to run the theatre throughout the school year.
Keep up to date on upcoming events in the University Theatre on the FCCS web site or on the Theatre 26 Facebook page.