Society of Ukrainian Actors

Society of Ukrainian Actors (Товариство українських акторів під орудою І. Мар’яненка; Tovarystvo ukrainskykh aktoriv pid orudoiu I. Marianenka). A theater troupe under Ivan Marianenko, created in Kyiv in January 1915 with some actors who had left Sadovsky's Theater, among them Mariia Zankovetska, Panas Saksahansky, Olha Polianska-Karpenko, Tetiana Sadovska-Tymkivska, Vasyl Vasylko, Liubov Linytska, Marko Petlishenko, and S. Butovsky; the young actors Boys Romanytsky and Ivan Kozlovsky began their theatrical careers in this troupe. It successfully toured Kamianets-Podilskyi and Yelysavethrad in the summer of 1915 and spent the winter in Odesa. Its repertoire consisted of Ukrainian classical populist-realistic plays directed by Saksahansky, and Oleksander Koshyts's student choir participated in some productions. The troupe was active until 1916. Marianenko became director of the Ukrainian National Theater; Zankovetska and Saksahansky continued working with a group of young actors until early 1918.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]