As part of this year’s Notre Dame Forum, the University, in partnership with Theater of War Productions, hosted a dramatic reading of an ancient Greek tragedy, Aeschylus’ “The Suppliants,” by Emmy Award-winning actors Anthony Edwards and Keith David along with actor and director Tate Donovan in Notre Dame Stadium on Monday, Oct. 3. More than 700 students, faculty, staff and community members attended, joining in the conversation about the costs of war and the experiences of those affected by violence across the globe.
Joining Edwards, David and Donovan as members of the chorus were students from Ukrainian Catholic University who, in the midst of the war in their country, are studying this fall at Notre Dame.
Following the reading, a panel of Notre Dame community members who experienced violence and war in their home countries shared their stories and offered their reactions. This began a town-hall-style global discussion that included commentary from audience members in Notre Dame Stadium and around the world, including from Ukraine, via Zoom.
Using a 2,500-year-old text as the catalyst for powerful, global dialogue, Theater of War’s “The Suppliants Project: Ukraine” seeks to amplify and humanize the voices and perspectives of people whose lives have been touched by war in Ukraine and other countries.
The Notre Dame Forum, hosted by University President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., has been held annually since 2005, with events each year focused on a central theme of particular importance to the University, the nation and the larger world. The theme for the 2022-23 academic year is “War and Peace."
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About the Cast:
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Anthony Edwards
Anthony Edwards most recently appeared as Alan Reed in the Emmy-nominated limited Netflix series “Inventing Anna” and in the Netflix series “WeCrashed.” He is also known for his role as Dr. Mark Greene in TV’s “ER” and starred as Lt. Nick “Goose” Bradshaw in the 1986 movie “Top Gun.” He is also an award-winning producer and appeared in many television shows, including multiple episodes of “Northern Exposure,” “Law & Order” and “Designated Survivor.”
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Keith David
Keith David’s work in narration has earned him three Emmys. His recent screen appearances include the summer thriller “Nope” and the leading role as Bishop James Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network show “Greenleaf.” His acting resume also includes appearances in “Armageddon,” “The Princess and the Frog,” “Platoon” and much more. He was also nominated for a Tony Award for best supporting actor in a musical for his role in “Jelly's Last Jam.”
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Tate Donovan
Tate Donovan voiced the title character of the Disney animated film “Hercules,” appeared in the 2021 film “Respect” about the life of Aretha Franklin and appeared in TV shows such as “Friends,” “MacGyver” and “24: Live Another Day.” As a television director, he directed episodes of “Glee,” “Madam Secretary,” “Hawaii Five-O” and others.
Chorus of Ukrainian Students:
Featuring Ukrainian Catholic University students studying at Notre Dame, Fall 2022
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Sofia Dobko
Sofia Dobko is a senior student from Lviv, Ukraine. At Ukrainian Catholic University, her major is Philology (Linguistics). At Notre Dame, she is taking courses in anthropology, American and religious culture. Sofia also enjoys drawing and painting.
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Olha Droniak
Olha Droniak is a junior majoring in political science. At Notre Dame, she's taking courses related to international relations, world politics, policymaking, and American politics. Olha is passionate about theater! In her hometown in Ukraine, Ivano-Frankivsk, the theater is very modern and innovative, so she visits it very often.
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Kristina Obluchynska
Kristina Obluchynska is an exchange graduate student in the Clinical Psychology area at Notre Dame. She grew up in Zaporizhzhya but currently lives in Lviv as a student at Ukrainian Catholic University. Since the beginning of the war, she has been working in the area of psychological trauma and psychological first aid.
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Yaryna Pysko
Yaryna Pysko is originally from Novoyavorivsk, Lviv oblast, Ukraine. She is an alumna of Ukrainian Catholic University, class of 2022, having majored in Political Science in an interdisciplinary "Ethics.Politics.Economics" program. She is currently pursuing a masters degree in the Master of Global Affairs program in the Keough School at Notre Dame, with concentrations in Governance and Policy.
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Solomiia Rozlutska
Solomiia is a PhD student in History in the Department of History of Humanities Faculty of Ukrainian Catholic University. At Notre Dame, she is doing a research internship in the Department of History. She is also a Project Manager for International Cooperation at the UCU International Academic Relations Office.
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Olenka Tsyhankova
Olenka Tsyhankova is a senior student from Lviv, Ukraine. At her home university, Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU),her academic field is Cultural Studies, which prompted her to become more curious about various nations and dig deep into their cultures. Therefore, she is taking American Studies, Art History, Anthropology, and Religious Studies courses at Notre Dame to rediscover American culture and history.
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Bohdana Yakobchuk
Bohdana is a second-year exchange student from Rivne, Ukraine. In their alma mater, UCU, Bohdana studies linguistics and literature, so at Notre Dame they take courses from classics and English, as well as Ceramics.
Panelists:
Following the reading, a panel of Notre Dame community members who have experienced violence and war in countries around the world offered their reactions and experiences.
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Hasena Begic
Hasena Begic is a Custodial Crew Leader in Building Services at Notre Dame. She has worked on campus for close to 10 years. She started as a Custodian and was later promoted. She immigrated to the United States from Bosnia in 2000 after the war. She and her husband of 25 years are parents of two daughters.
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Aref Dostyar
Aref Dostyar, from Afghanistan, is a Senior Advisor for the Afghanistan Program for Peace and Development, a joint initiative of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the Pulte Institute for Global Development, at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs. Previously, he worked as Afghanistan’s Consul General in Los Angeles from 2020 until the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. Prior to that, Dostyar served at Afghanistan's Office of the National Security Council in the positions of Director General for International Relations and Director of Peace and Reconciliation Affairs. His writings and interviews can be found in The New York Times, the BBC, Foreign Policy Magazine, and several other publications.
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Kristina Obluchynska
Kristina Obluchynska is an exchange graduate student in the Clinical Psychology area at Notre Dame. She grew up in Zaporizhzhya but currently lives in Lviv as a student at Ukrainian Catholic University. Since the beginning of the war, she has been working in the area of psychological trauma and psychological first aid.
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Jean Marc Tiendrebeogo
Jean Marc Tiendrebeogo is from Burkina Faso in West Africa. He is currently a second year Master of Global Affairs student concentrating in International Peace Studies at the Keough School of Global Affairs. His research focuses on terrorism, violent extremism, and interreligious peacebuilding in the Sahel Region of West Africa. At Notre Dame, he is the recipient of a Kroc Institute Fellowship.
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Linh Tran
Linh Tran is a Shift Supervisor for Building Services at Notre Dame. Linh was a child during the Vietnam War. He attempted to escape roughly 25 times from Vietnam before he was successful. He recently completed his MBA at Bethel University in Mishawaka through Notre Dame’s continuing education program.
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Maria Fernanda Zamora
Maria Fernanda Zamora is a Notre Dame sophomore and Hesburgh-Yusko Scholar double majoring in marketing and economics. Maria is from Managua, Nicaragua, where she experienced first-hand the defining effects of dictatorship, corruption, and violence. She is passionate about education, journalism, and human rights. Maria is the youngest opinion writer working for the only remaining uncensored newspaper in the country.