Fr. George Drance, SJ, is a great example of the fact that Jesuits can do and be anything. Fr. George is a theatre artist, which, in his case, encompasses acting on the stage, directing, teaching acting classes at Fordham University in New York, and writing and adapting his own shows. He’s also the artistic director for the Magis Theatre Company, which he founded.

His work takes him all over the world: he has performed and directed in more than 25 countries on five continents. This past summer, Fr. George’s work took him to his ancestral homeland: Ukraine.

Ukraine, of course, has been facing wartime conditions since 2014, and the full-scale invasion of the country Russia launched in February 2022 has disrupted or destroyed countless lives. In that context, Fr. George visited a former Fordham student of his who is now living in the city of Kyiv and running an experimental theatre company there. Fr. George ran a workshop with Ukrainian actors and was involved in some performances in the city.

Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked him to talk about the experience of doing theatre in a war-torn land and why he thinks it’s so vital to keep making art in a world that’s on fire. It was a powerful conversation about his experiences in Ukraine and the inspiring artists he met there who are bringing beauty within a heartbreaking, enraging situation.

Magis Theatre Company: https://www.magistheatre.org/

Nashi Experimental Theatre Club in Kyiv, Ukraine: https://www.instagram.com/nashi.etc/?hl=en

Fr. George’s “Forming a Practice of Hope” series at the Jesuit Media Lab: https://jesuitmedialab.org/category/forming-a-practice-of-hope/

AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

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