Yeva Sevriukova To Star In LARA'S JOURNEY In A Benefit Reading For The Center at West Park

Joanna Pickering's new one-woman play, Lara's Journey, completes casting and announces Ukrainian actress Yeva Sevriukova. Sevriukova, who stars in the title role, is a seasoned stage and TV actress in Kyiv, Ukraine. She came to the USA when her career was halted due to the Ukraine war.

Lara's Journey is a one-woman play touching upon themes of immigration, isolation, and displacement in the aftermath of losing a home. It follows the story of a young woman displaced in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Lara's Journey will first be presented as a staged reading on World Refugee Day at The Center for West Park, June 20th at 8 p.m., in a charity benefit to save the artists from eviction and to raise awareness for refugees worldwide and all those suffering displacement.

Director Karen Carpenter will direct Sevriukova in Lara's Journey. Carpenter states, "She is so vital and emotionally connected, she touches my heart. We are fortunate to have her portray Lara." Carpenter's work includes many premieres, including the worldwide smash-hit by Delia and Nora Ephron, Love, Loss, and What I Wore.

Pickering said of the casting, "Sevriukova is a gifted actress, compelling and authentic. We had remarkable responses, including Hollywood film stars who deeply resonate with the work-a huge compliment-but in the end, we could cast a talented actress who is facing this journey of war and displacement, and empower her to keep overcoming it."

Sevriukova shares "It is a profound honor to be part of Lara's Journey-a story that echoes my own experience as a Ukrainian refugee. The role allows me to give voice to the pain, resilience, and truth of those whose lives have been forever changed by war, and to help ensure these stories are not forgotten."

The reading is part of the latest public program in The Center's Love Our Landmarks that includes entertainment luminaries Matt Damon, Wendell Pierce, Scarlett Johansson, Kenneth Lonergan, Mark Ruffalo, as well as officials and local residents-who all share a mission to save The Center at West Park, a vital home for thousands of resident playwrights and performers.

Playing June 20th, 2025, 8pm at The Center at West Park (165 W 86th St, New York, NY 10024). A portion of each ticket sale will also benefit Ukrainian refugees.

Yeva Sevriukova (actress) is a Ukrainian actress from Chernivtsi, currently based in New York City. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Acting and a Master's in Production from the Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema, and Television, where she actively built her theatrical path before the war forced her to leave. Since relocating to NYC two and a half years ago, Yeva has continued her acting training at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, where she recently performed her first fully English-language production, taking on the role of Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible - one of the most emotionally demanding and rewarding roles of her career. Yeva's stage experience in Ukraine is rich. She performed on the stage of the Ivan Franko National Drama Theatre in Kyiv as part of a student-led tribute honoring the theatre's 100th anniversary. In her hometown, she was deeply involved with the Ukrainian folklore theater "Gerdan". There, she appeared in numerous productions including The Little Prince, The Girl and April, and At the Parents' Doorsteps. A particularly impactful performance in Kyiv was the verbatim play "Homeward", staged at the Kozlovsky Art Center - a poignant collection of real stories told through 28 characters searching for a sense of home. Yeva represented her university in an international acting residency in Shekvetili, Georgia, as part of a Ukrainian delegation. She played leading roles in two university premieres: Countess Diana in The Dog in the Manger, and Stecha in the Ukrainian play Nazar Stodolya showcasing her range from classical to culturally specific roles. In New York, Yeva co-organized and performed as a vocal soloist in a charity performance in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. She was also a featured performer in the international project Uncovered Scenes - from Ukraine, which presented readings of plays by American authors that explore Ukrainian lives during wartime. Insta: evkasevryukova

Joanna Pickering (Playwright, Actress) is a multi-award-winning British writer and actress whose plays have sold out in New York City, London, and Paris. Her work is stocked at The Drama Book Shop and Books Are Magic. Her solo play Cease and Desist opens at Theater 555 this fall, after development at The Tank. Lara's Journey streamed to over 1 million viewers when presented by internet star Natalia Kholodenko at Theater 555, alongside collaborations with Gloria Gaynor and Kathy Sledge. In 2023, Don't Harm the Animals premiered at Chain Theater as her debut one-woman show. In 2022/23, Bad Victims sold out two London runs, co-starring Pickering Richard Emerson (West End's Chess) directed by Erica Gould (Neil LaBute, Theresa Rebeck). Other credits include Cat and Mouse (Drama Book Shop, with Dan Lauria of the Wonder Years), The Endgame (New Perspectives, then Big Funk Theater, Paris), Truth, Lies and Deceptions (Le Pavé d'Orsay, Paris). Sylvie and Sly was read by Caroline Aaron (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel), directed by Lorca Peress (Multi-Stages) for The League of Professional Theater Women. In 2025, she was commissioned by The Ukrainian Institute of America, NY, Ensemble Studio Theater, and Town Square Productions to interview Ukrainian residents for her play Till Death Do Us Part. As an actress, she's won Best Actress six times, including at the NY International Women Festival, The Actors Awards, L.A. Film Awards, as well as received Outstanding Performance awards for Diva (2023). As an activist, she collaborated with U.N. campaigns and gender rights initiatives. She holds a BSc in pure mathematics and is a member of The Actors Studio PDU, The Actors Gym, The International Center of Women Playwrights, League of Professional Theater Women and SAG. Represented by 3 Arts Entertainment, MAA Agency, and Talented in Paris. www.joannapickering.com

Karen Carpenter (Director) is the director of many critically-acclaimed off-Broadway premieres, such as Pay the Writer, Harry Townsend's Last Stand, Handle With Care, Bulldozer: the Ballad of Robert Moses, and Witnessed by the World, but is best known for the original production of Delia and Nora Ephron's Love, Loss, and What I Wore, which won the Drama Desk Award for Best Unique Theatrical Production, was named Broadway World's Audience Favorite, and has since played all over the world. Her work with writers is at the fore of everything she makes. As Artistic Director of the William Inge Theater Festival, Karen founded an annual New Play Lab - her legacy there, now in its 10th year, has presented new works by over 100 playwrights to date. She is keenly invested in works with societal impact, and has directed, produced, and dramaturged many: Period Piece, monologues on menstruation by a diverse array of 36 commissioned writers; October 7, based on verbatim firsthand accounts of the Hamas attacks in Israel; Deliver Now, the U.N. launch of a global campaign for the W.H.O. to eradicate infant and maternal mortality worldwide, among them. Upcoming: the premiere of Baggage from BaghDAD by Valerie David, at EAG. www.kcdirector.com

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