Anna Ador Instagram – Graduated. As I was nearing the end of my one-year MA program at @east15actingschool , I was excited to think about what kind of stories I wanted to share with the world. I started questioning what theatre actually means to me. I wanted to explore the idea of the male gaze and the effect it has on us, women, in today’s world. As the year went on, nobody expected that we would become witnesses to the war. On February 24th Russian assault began, with missiles raining down across Ukraine and ground troops pouring into the country. The war has changed Ukraine and the world irrevocably over the last 9 months. And since it had a direct effect on me and my family, my writing and ideas changed too. My piece was about a Ukrainian refugee who has recently moved to London. It was inspired by the experiences of my sister Aliona in Kyiv and the women who were forced to flee from their homes and move to the UK. Writing this pushed me to face my own fears and denial of my roots. I hate to admit this, but as I moved abroad quite early in my teen years, I would always be ashamed of my heritage. As I was growing up, I would always lie about where I was born and I learned how to live with it. I accepted the fact that anytime I would tell a man I’m Ukrainian-Belarusian, I would always get remarks like “women from those countries are sexy, easy, good wife material, sex workers”. I would be labeled as a “Russian girl” because people would not remember the country I was born in and I would always be shamed for my accent. If Spanish, British, and French is considered beautiful then the Eastern European accent would be described as “harsh” and “ugly”. I believe that theatre has the power to be a mirror to society. It can not only spark a conversation or investigation of a particular topic, but it can take it a step further, and bring awareness that will make an actual change. It teaches us to love deeper. To fight injustice. To question our beliefs. It can give voice to the voiceless and I want to regain my voice again, as an Eastern European woman. Meanwhile the war is still on. And it has effect on all of us. Nothing is the same. East 15 Acting School