The Flash Talks
The Flash Talks bring together leaders on diplomacy, technology, and Russian and U.S. culture with the playwrights, actors, directors and designers whose work is presented in the FLASH ACTS Festival. Together they will explore the artistic process of FLASH ACTS, the universal ideas that underpin its virtual stage, and the role creative collaborations can play in dispelling age-old myths and forging mutual understanding.
Flash Talk
WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS BY JOHN J. SULLIVAN, US AMBASSADOR TO THE RUSSIAN FEDERATIONFlash Talk
DIGITAL DIPLOMACY: Cultural Exchange In The Age Of CovidFeatured Speakers
John J. Sullivan, U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation
Jon M. Huntsman Jr., Former U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation
John F. Tefft, Former U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation
Moderator
Lisa Dickey, Author, Bears in the Streets
Flash Talk
THE ART OF MEANING: A Conversation with Playwrights and TranslatorsFeatured Speakers
Kia Corthron, Playwright, Penitence
Anna Sosnovskaya, Translator
Craig Lucas, Playwright, Representative
Dmitry Pobedash, Translator
Moderator
John Eisner, Artistic Director, The Lark
Flash Talk
FROM ISOLATION TO COLLABORATION: A Conversation with FLASH ACTS PlaywrightsFeatured Speakers
Deborah Brevoort, Playwright, The Gorn Galaxy
Nikolay Kolyada, Playwright,The Swan Princess
Mary Kathryn Nagle, Playwright, Post-Pre-Continued Contemporary Colonial Germocide
Yaroslava Pulinovich, Playwright, We Shall Live
Moderator
Boo Froebel, Producer and Creative Consultant
Flash Talk
THE MIRROR IMAGE: A Conversation with Actors on Interpreting the Same RoleFeatured Speakers
Anastasia Pan’kova, She in The Swan Princess (Russian Production)
Regina Aquino, She in The Swan Princess (U.S. Production)
Dmitry Plokhov, the Professor in Penitence (Russian Production)
Keith Randolph Smith, the Professor in Penitence (U.S. Production)
Moderator
Amanda Charlton, Director
Flash Talk
THE FRAME AS THE STAGE: A Conversation with FLASH ACTS DirectorsFeatured Speakers
Jessica Kubzansky, Director, Why Does Maxim Get Killed First? (U.S. Production)
Natsu Onoda Power, Director, The Swan Princess (U.S. Production)
Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, Director, Remix of a Nation (U.S. Production)
Megan Sandberg-Zakian, Director, The Gorn Galaxy (U.S. Production)
Moderator
Seema Sueko, Associate Artistic Director, Arena Stage
Flash Talk
CRACKING THE ZOOM CODE: A Conversation with the Media Designer Behind FLASH ACTSFeatured Speaker
Jared Mezzocchi, Creative Director of Virtual Media Design, FLASH ACTS
Moderator
Maggie FitzPatrick, Corporate Affairs Executive
Flash Talk
THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIP: A Conversation with the Producers of FLASH ACTSFeatured Speakers
Mary McBride, Founder and Co-Executive Director, Forum for Cultural Engagement
Molly Smith, Artistic Director, Arena Stage
Derek Goldman, Co-Director Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University
Anton Butakov, Artistic and Managing Director, Center for Contemporary Drama
Yury Shekhvatov, Producer/Director and Art Director, Lubimovka Young Playwrights Festival
Moderator
Aferdita Krasniqi, Outreach and Recruitment Officer for Europe and Eurasia
The Fulbright Program, Institute of International Education
