At the end of January, female students of Karpenko-Kary University and actors of the Young Theater accused theater director, teacher, and artistic director of the theater Andriy Bilous of sexual harassment. He was suspended, but the case with Bilous showed that these are not isolated cases in the theater sphere — students and actors began to testify against other teachers as well.
NGL.media has collected the stories of 20 women and men who reported harassment and violence while studying acting.
Testimony against Lev Somov
“You walk on stage like a prostitute, just like your mother.”
A former student of Somov’s and now an actress and producer Stefania Stavytska said that everyone on the course knew that her father had left her family. Somov knew about it too, so he used it and put pressure on her. He could say: “It’s no wonder your father left the family.”
There was a case when Stefania failed to repeat the intonation that Somov demanded three times — after that he slapped her, and told other students who didnʼt see it that it didnʼt happen.
“Look me in the eye again, I’ll show you my dick.”
Somov’s former student Maria Yakovenko, who studied performing arts with him at Kyiv International University, said that sexist remarks and other derogatory phrases, sometimes with sexual overtones, were the norm.
“Your course instructor, who introduces himself to you as a Peopleʼs Artist of Ukraine, whom you look at with admiration, can afford phrases like: ʼYou are not people, you are creaturesʼ, ʼMen have one more organ and it is not the one you thought ofʼ, ʼYou are a piece of shit, not an actressʼ, ʼLook me in the eye again — I will show you my dickʼ, ʼYou do not have 26 girls on your course, but just 52 titsʼ,” the girl said.
Another former student of Somov Oleksandra Myronenko also spoke about similar incidents. She shared that he did not call her by her first name until she lost weight.
"At first he just told me that if I didnʼt lose weight, I would play mothers and collective farm workers. And then he stopped calling me by my name and said: ʼUntil you lose weight, I will call you a fat ass.ʼ And thatʼs what happened. And every time I made a mistake, he emphasized that I was fat and professionally unfit. And thatʼs when I was broken, I stopped eating altogether, I just read a lot and exhausted myself with training," said Oleksandra.
She shared that she took medication to lose weight, and when she felt like eating, she immediately went to the restroom to throw up. According to her, Somov constantly used obscene language towards the students: “You bastards,” “You are a bunch of shit,” “You are unprofessional shit,” “You are fucked.”
Testimony against Volodymyr Halytskyi
“At first he touched my breasts so casually, and then he went down there more and more often.” KNUTKiT student Daryna Pasichnyk said that it all started in class.
At first, teacher Halytsky simply indicated how to turn around, where to look, etc. Then he began to touch the girlʼs face with his hands, and then his hands began to descend lower and lower, Daryna said.
"And at first he supposedly accidentally touched my breasts, and then he went down there more and more often. At some point he didnʼt even hide that he was touching them. And it all happened in front of the whole group, he just completely groped my breasts with his hands," the girl said.
According to her, it lasted about half an hour — under the guise of a master class, Halytsky groped the studentʼs body without asking permission.
Daryna says that her classmates were even more affected: he offered to have a threesome with his wife. She assures that the management knew about these incidents with Halytsky, as well as about the situation with Bilous.
Another KNUTKiT student anonymously said that Halytsky asked about sex, about partners, and at the same time told about his "adventures".
However, in her first year, the girl was still young and did not understand the unethical nature of such conversations on the part of the teacher.
"Moreover, when there was this situation with Talashko
Testimony against Andriy Bilous
“Why do you only want to talk to me about work, and you don’t want to arose me?”
Bilous’s former student Sofia Sapozhnyk said that he started writing to her immediately after she entered the university — each time he asked more and more frank questions.
For example, he asked if Sofia liked girls, sent her profiles of fellow students, and asked her what she thought. He asked if she wanted to try a relationship with a girl, and indicated which one. According to her, Bilous immediately deleted intimate messages.
“He increasingly made intimate comments about me, which scared me, and I didnʼt know how to react to it,” Sofia said.
“His comments about my breasts were frequent.”
Anna-Maria Baranova, now an actress at the Young Theater, said that at one of the theater performances, some girls were naked, she was naked to the waist. Later, Bilous sent a photo to the girl from that performance, where her breasts were bare, and commented on them.
"I came to his office just to talk, I probably perceived him as my theatrical father, and I told him about my affairs. We sat on the couch at armʼs length. And at some point during my monologue, he touched one of my breasts. I didnʼt understand anything, I was in a very strange, shocked state, and it seems to me that I didnʼt fully realize what exactly happened. I donʼt remember what exactly I answered him, but I definitely moved away and continued to finish what I wanted to say, left the office and never entered that office alone again," the girl said.
"Whatʼs up, you donʼt cum?"
Young Theater actress Lilia Semenyuk said that when she was a student, she started drawing and, at the request of Bilous, repainted an intimate picture where a woman depicted an orgasm. Later, Bilous wrote to Lilia that he would like to see her in such circumstances.
“He wrote to me: ʼYour picture is very cool, but I would like to see you in these circumstances.’ I said that I wouldn’t be able to draw myself. To which he asks: ʼWhatʼs up, you donʼt cum?’ And I answer him: ʼNo, there’s no problem with that.’ And then he writes to me: ʼWell, then you can record yourself on video or take a photo.’ I joked then, but I felt uncomfortable. Later, he wrote several more times in the evenings something like: ʼSo what’s up?’, ʼHow long do we have to wait?’, ʼWhen will you think of it?’” the actress said.
She says that at the time she didnʼt know how to react to this, because she didnʼt yet have personal boundaries and perceived the master as a professional and mentor.
"Within seconds, he was touching my breasts and starting to take off my shirt.”
One of the girls anonymously said that when she graduated from school, she wanted to enter a theater university and wrote personally to Bilous. After some time of communication, he offered the girl individual consultation regarding her creative program for admission.
"At some point he said that my dress was making me look fat, and asked if I had anything under it and if I could take it off so he could look at my figure. I was confused then, but I thought that he just wanted to look at my figure and there was nothing wrong with that. When I took it off, he came up and started touching my body. At the same time, he said that I was very cramped, and this is a big minus in the acting profession. He even then asked what I was ready to do to get rid of the tightness. In a few seconds he was already touching my breasts and started taking off my top," the girl said.
She abruptly backed away from Bilous and stopped all communication with him after this incident.
Testimony against Oleksandr Balaban
The student recalls that from the very beginning, her studies were accompanied by humiliation and strict restrictions. The teacher insulted the students, ignored their ideas, forced them to follow orders without explanation, and punished them for disobedience.
Rehearsals were almost non-stop, and any dissatisfaction could lead to the loss of roles. The teacher controlled not only the educational process, but also the personal lives of the students, imposing isolation and complete obedience.
According to her, the atmosphere was so toxic that she only wished that this teacher would disappear.
Testimony against Yuriy Vysotsky
“I really even thought that the only way out after this was to go and hang myself.”
Actress Veronika Mishaeva-Yakovleva said that in her second year of university they went on a business trip. On the bus, Vysotsky put her in the next seat and started touching her legs.
"At some point I feel that this hand on my knee starts again, and it starts to rise. This hand rose higher and higher, and I realized that he probably wanted to touch my genitals. I managed to drop this hand at that moment," she said.
“Kisses and mauling during hugs is crossing the line.”
A former student of Vysotsky, now an actor Serhiy Volosovets said that from time to time Yuriy Pylypovych would choose his favourite student for a day of rehearsals and sit her next to him. And during the performance or during the discussion, there would be “eruptions of energy, emotional outbursts, which were accompanied by placing his hands on the girl’s knees or by strong hugs.”
Serhiy says that the girl was clearly dissatisfied at that moment, but she couldnʼt say it openly because "he didnʼt touch her ass or offer to take down the photo".
"Maybe I donʼt understand something and itʼs not up to me to draw up a plan for studentsʼ education, but such a ʼpolite, well-mannered grandfatherʼ should not only be dismissed, but also punished for broken destinies and the fear that has forever sprouted in peopleʼs hearts. Fear of being kicked out of the course, fear of displeasing the master, fear of sitting next to the master on a steamer, fear of going on stage," says Serhiy.
According to him, Vysotsky caused psychological trauma to many students.
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