Yasha Gudzenko

Founder, artistic director and drama teacher

Yasha Gudzenko is a professional theatre director and drama teacher originally from Ukraine. She is an alumna of the European Theatre Convention and the BUZZ Youth Theatre Artists Lab, and she is also a member of the Theatre Association of Ukraine. Yasha holds a master’s degree in theatre directing and teaching from Kyiv University and has studied musical theatre directing at GITIS (Russian Institute of Theatre Arts).

Yasha was awarded a special prize for her directorial debut by the Theatre Association of Ukraine for the performance Hamlet: Dead Machine.

From 2019 to 2022, she served as the Chief Director of the Zaporizhzhia Municipal Theatre-Laboratory “Vie” in Ukraine, where she successfully staged Demons and Radio Hamlet.

Over the course of her career, Yasha has directed more than 20 productions, not only in Ukraine and Amsterdam but also in Denmark (Royal Danish Theatre, Copenhagen). In addition to directing, she works as an acting instructor and continues to teach drama. Her career also includes experience in film production as a casting director and first assistant director.

Since 2023, she has been the founder and artistic director of the United Ukrainian Theatre in Amsterdam. During this time, Yasha has created seven projects and made her debut as a playwright with the play Chaos. She is currently working on Golem by playwright Sasha Denisova, with leading roles performed by Victoria Koblenko, Zineb Fallouk, and Alexej Ovsyannikov. More information can be found on her website.