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Irene Kapustina, Strength out of Shadows, is a New York City based stage director with Eastern European roots (Minsk, Belarus). She holds B.A. in Theatre and M.A. in Applied Theatre; her studio training includes classes at The Second City and The Barrow Group. Irene has directed at The Drama League, The Barrow Group, The Players Theatre, TADA!, Theater for the New City, Dixon Place, Manhattan Rep, and other venues; site specific work includes Tallulah Lounge and the Museum of Sex in New York.

 

Irene’s most recent work, POOR PEOPLE, a stage adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel POOR FOLK, was presented at the New York International Fringe Festival 2015 and was characterized as "a detailed and heartfelt encounter with loneliness and longing that draws shockingly strong parallels between 19th century St. Petersburg and 21st century New York" (FringeReview) and told with "with clear-eyed compassion and unflinching emotional truth" (TheatreIsEasy) by using "every theatrical tool available... to summon the bittersweet beauty of Dostoevsky’s writing to the stage" (New York City Artists).

 

Irene's applied theatre work includes devising original theatre with American youth and immigrants, as well as facilitating sessions on conflict resolution and emotional literacy development through theatre. As part of her master thesis she worked with a group of immigrant students to build an original play, Finding Roots in an Immigrant’s Life; it was presented to the community and started a dynamic inter-generational dialogue about what it means to be an immigrant. www.IreneKapustina.com​