UKELODEON: For The Next Generation (05/14/06)

UKELODEON

For The Next Generation

New York Plast masquerade play reaches 55-year mark

by Laryssa Czebiniak

NEW YORK, N.Y. - St. George's auditorium in Manhattan's East Village was filled on Sunday, March 5, with young Ukrainian scouts ("novatstvo"), their parents and other children dressed in costumes, all awaiting the beginning of the annual masquerade play known as "Novatska Kostiumivka."

This year's theme was a museum adventure, whose white-column-studded set featured a Venus de Milo statue on the right and a hieroglyphic wall on the left. In the center stood an enchanted, golden frame that glowed when famous paintings came to life.

This was the crux of the story: in the dead of night, when the museum was closed to visitors, the painting compositions became animated. Each group of costume-clad scouts had a role as one of these paintings. There were Vincent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers," Claude Monet's "Water Lilies," Piet Mondrian's "Broadway Boogie Woogie," Paul Cezanne's "Apples and Oranges," Pieter Bruegel's "Children's Games," and Henri Matisse's "Jazz Icarus." Egyptians also magically leapt off of an ancient wall to entertain the audience with a dance, and the youngest scouts were mice, who crawled out of their hole to scurry around the museum.

The play began with a theatrical music piece that quieted down when the narrator, Lida Artymyshyn, began to speak. Throughout the story, each group of scouts, having prepared a dance pertaining to their role, took center stage when their turn came. The unique concept of the kostiumivka is that, while the children practice their parts in advance, they learn of the story only during the actual play on the day of the presentation. While the scouts involved and their leaders sit as part of the set, the parents and other children sit in the audience and watch the play.

When the play concluded, all of the "novaky" and "novachky" marched merrily around the auditorium and then scattered to enjoy a variety of games run by the girl scouts, or "yunachky." There was also a delicious buffet available and a lottery of unique prizes for its winners. Smiles and laughter conveyed the success of yet another kostiumivka.

The New York City branch of the Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization has been putting on the Novatska Kostiumivka since 1952. Each year this takes dedication from various people and groups. For the past three years, the senior Plast sorority of Verkhovynky has organized the kostiumivka, including being responsible for the production of the entire set, music and more. Olya Stasiuk created most of the truly remarkable costumes and some set elements, and the branch's parent organization, "Lanka Batkiv Stanytsi," organized the games and buffet.

Readers can learn more about Plast and its programs by visiting www.plastusa.org.

Children in Hunter area enjoy "Pysanka Playdate"

JEWETT, N.Y. - During the Easter weekend according to the Julian (old-style) calendar, Sofia and Titus Hewryk of Jewett, N.Y., hosted over 15 children, age 4-14 at their home for a "Pysanka Playdate." The children painted over three dozen eggs in a variety of colors, with the assistance of their parents, aunts and uncles. All the children were later seen at St. John's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hunter, N.Y., with their newly painted pysanky in their Easter baskets.

Philadelphia SUM members continue Holy Week tradition

by Andrew Leskiw

PHILADELPHIA - On Saturday, April 15, the Philadelphia Branch of the Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM) continued its longtime tradition of standing guard at Our Lord's Tomb on Holy Saturday. Since the inception of SUM Philadelphia in 1949, the UPA Branch of SUM (named after the UPA, or Ukrainian Insurgent Army), has had the honor and privilege of doing what we call "Stijka pry Bozhomu Hrobi."

This year, "yunaky" and "yunachky" stood guard at St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church, Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Church, and the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, all of which are located in Philadelphia.

On Saturday, April 22, SUM also stood guard at St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church in Jenkintown, Pa., which celebrates Easter according to the Julian calendar. The project, which was headed by Chief Counselor Maria "Michi" Wyrsta, youth leader Andrew Leskiw, and "yunak" Stephen Dubenko, was a success since almost every member of the branch participated.

Plast youths perform "hahilky" outside church in Whippany, N.J.

WHIPPANY, N.J. - Members of the Newark branch of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization performed "hahilky," or ritual spring dances, on Easter Sunday following liturgy here at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church. Seen above are the younger girls ('novachky") and below, the older girls ("yunachky"). The older boys of Plast also participated in the program, providing a mischievous counterpoint to the girls' graceful choreography.

Mishanyna

Find the capitalized words in the Mishanyna grid.

This month, we recall Ukrainian COMPOSER Volodymyr IVASIUK, who was born in April of 1949, in the city of Kitsman, Chernivtsi Oblast. From 1972, he studied music under Anatol Kos-Anatolsky at the Lviv CONSERVATORY, where Ivasiuk composed pieces for piano and cello. He is best known for his songs, which number about 50.

His first song, "Vidlitaly ZHURAVLI" (The Cranes Were Leaving), was released in 1965. In some cases he composed only the MELODY, such as in "Lysh Raz Tsvite Lyubov," "Balada Pro MALVY" and "Ya Tvoye KRYLO"; while in others such as "Dva Persteni," "VODOHRAI," "Pisnia Bude Pomizh Nas" and "CHERVONA RUTA," he composed both the melody and the LYRICS.

What set Ivasiuk apart from other songwriters of his day and contributed to his popularity was that he blended Bukovynian FOLK sounds with contemporary trends in music. His popularity contributed to him being a target of the Soviet authorities. His music stirred the people by promoting themes of religion, nationalism and freedom of thought.

His body was discovered in woods outside of LVIV, approximately three weeks after he had been MURDERED at the age of 30 in May of 1979. Based on the evidence and the circumstances of his death, the KGB is believed to be the perpetrator of the slaying.

Ivasiuk's funeral was attended by over 10,000 people, despite attempts by Soviet officials to prevent the people from going. To this day, his gravesite is frequently visited by fellow MUSICIANS, locals and tourists who pay their respects to one of Ukraine's greatest artists.

Source: Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Volume II, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988.

OUR NAME: UKELODEON: it rhymes with nickelodeon. Yes, that's a kids' network (spelled with a capital "N"), but the original word referred to an early movie theater that charged a nickel for admission. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the root of the word, "odeon," is from the Greek "oideion," a small building used for public performances of music and poetry. Our UKELODEON is envisioned as a public space where our youth, from kindergartners to teens, can come to learn, to share information, to relate their experiences, and to keep in touch with each other. Its contents will be shaped by the young readers of the next generation.

OUR NEXT ISSUE: UKELODEON is published on the second Sunday of every month. To make it into our next issue, dated June 11, please send in your materials by June 2.

UKELODEON, The Ukrainian Weekly, 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054; phone (973) 292-9800; e-mail, staff@ukrweekly.com.

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