SpaceBridge

“One of the most moving theatre works I’ve ever witnessed.”

— Carol Rocamora, American Theatre Magazine

Russian refugee children and their American-born friends unite in joyful resistance, offering anti-war messages and reimagining what it means to belong.

Following its acclaimed New York premiere, the groundbreaking and deeply moving SpaceBridge comes to Boston! In this singular production, Russian refugee children—who fled to the U.S. with their families for opposing the war in Ukraine and now reside in NYC shelters—join forces with their American-born peers to imagine a more welcoming world where new friendships can truly take root.

They are joined on stage by acclaimed actor Ellen Lauren (SITI Company) as Samantha Smith, who in 1983 at the age of 10 wrote a letter to Soviet leader Yuri Andropov pleading for peace. Invited to visit the Soviet Union in response, she became famously known as “America’s Youngest Ambassador” and was interviewed by everyone from Ted Koppel to Johnny Carson. Smith tragically died in 1985 at the age of 13, but in SpaceBridge she is brought back to life as an adult who continues the dialogue she began as a child.

The title SpaceBridge refers to the “satellite-mediated citizens’ debates”, also known as “spacebridges,” between the U.S. and the USSR, which prompted unfiltered and uncensored conversations between ordinary people from both cultures during the Cold War.

Created by Irina Kruzhilina, this delightful, moving, one-of-a-kind piece of documentary theater centers the stories of children we seldom consider: Russian youth affected by the war in Ukraine. Supported by award-winning Broadway designers such as Peter Nigrini (Dear Even Hansen, Fela!) and Darron L West (Cult of Love, Jitney), SpaceBridge follows the true stories of these children’s efforts to integrate into American society where they often encounter suspicion, bullying, and a lack of empathy.

SpaceBridge was originally presented by La MaMa ETC in association with En Garde Arts and Visual Echo, as part of the Under the Radar Festival in NYC.

Info

Venue

Robert J. Orchard Stage,
Emerson Paramount Center
559 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111

Dates

Nov 21, 2025 - Nov 23, 2025

PACKAGES

TICKETS

GROUPS

Details

95 mins

Ages 12+

SpaceBridge is primarily in English with some portions in Russian. English subtitles are provided for any sections spoken in Russian.

Access

Open Captioned Show
Sat, Nov 22 2:00 pm

ASL Interpreted Show
Sat, Nov 22 8:00 pm

Audio Described Show
Sun, Nov 23 2:00 pm

NOTE: OUR PRICES HAVE NOT INCREASED! ALL-IN PRICING is now in effect. In compliance with the H.R.1402 bill , we now list the total price of tickets, with no additional mandatory fees added at checkout.

Performances

Friday, Nov 21, 2025

8:00 PM

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Saturday, Nov 22, 2025

2:00 PM

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Saturday, Nov 22, 2025

8:00 PM

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Sunday, Nov 23, 2025

2:00 PM

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Artist Note

Support for SpaceBridge has been made possible by a two-year artist residency at La MaMa ETC. The project was commissioned in part by En Garde Arts’ Joan D. Firestone Commissioning Fund and through its Uncommon Voices program and by Creative Engagement—a regrant program supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by LMCC. Additional institutional support was provided by the David Richenthal Foundation and the Leon Lowenstein Foundation.

Educational partnerships include the Stella Adler Center for the Arts and the New School of Drama.

Companies

Visual Echo, La MaMa & En Garde Arts

Visual Echo

Visual Echo is a New York–based multidisciplinary performance organization founded by a collective of immigrant artists and educators. Rooted in our cross-cultural experiences, we create bold, socially engaged performances and educational programs—locally and internationally—that address civic issues such as immigration, polarization, and peacebuilding. We believe in the power of theatre to activate communities, integrate the marginalized, and foster healing. Our work sparks dialogue and dismantles barriers between people of all backgrounds by bringing them together in new and unexpected ways.

La MaMa

La MaMa builds audiences that are integral to the creative process. Our local and global community members who gather in our physical, digital, and hybrid spaces to see new work, are often the first audience for that work. The audience response helps to shape the evolution of the piece for the artist, and is an essential part of the creative ecosystem that La MaMa nurtures. La MaMa believes art is a force for change. Violence, discrimination, and systemic racism will not stop without a unified resistance.

En Garde Arts

En Garde Arts is the award-winning pioneer of New York City’s site-specific theatre movement. En Garde has a rich, impactful history of using the city as our stage to create, produce and present bold theatrical experiences that reach across artistic, physical and social boundaries. It has a significant legacy of producing ground breaking productions by Anne Bogart, Chuck Mee, Tina Landau, Reza Abdoh, Jonathan Larson and Mac Wellman, among others.

Conceived and directed by:

Irina Kruzhilina

Written by:

Irina Kruzhilina and Clark Young

Projection designer:

Peter Nigrini

Associate projection designer:

Zoey Crow

Lighting designer:

Brian H Scott

Sound designers:

Darron L West and Sophie Yuqing Nie

Cinematographer:

Aleksei Postnikov

Choreographers:

Laura Peterson and Robbie Simpson

Composer:

Ian Miller

Voice / Speech coach:

Alba Quezada

Props artists:

Moira Zhang, Jacqueline Brockel, and Noyu Ueda

Puppet designers:

Yuliya Tsukerman and Nick Lehane

Assistant directors:

Anamaria Willars and Colin Wilson

Stage Manager:

Berit Johnson

Production Manager:

Thijs Beuming

Assistant Coordinator:

Irisdelia Garcia

DEVISING ASSISTANTS:

Lars Montanaro, Pau Zabaleta Llauger, and Rodrigo Pocidonio Silva

Cast

Ellen Lauren as Samantha Smith

SpaceBridge ensemble:

Alisa Shaverdova, Anastasia Skorobogach, Anna Skorobogach, Arina Skorobogach, Artem Skorobogach, Leon Ladia, Lily Borzenko, Mark Savin, Mars Markelov, Sasha Boikova, Sonia Tsatskina, Adele Nigrini, Alexis Edel, Drake Malave, Henry MacDowell, Isaac Stinson, Maisie Pickar, Nate Hatter, Sabine Gutenberg, Silas MacLean and Zora George

Irina Kruzhilina

Irina Kruzhilina is a New York-based director, scenographer, visual dramaturg, experience designer and educator, creating work at the intersection of visual art, live performance, and civic engagement. Her creative endeavors range from interdisciplinary downtown theatre to large scale parades, from opera to site responsive installations. Her work has been shown at Times Square, Tokyo, Disney, BAM, Prague National Theatre, NY Philharmonic, and Barbican Center. She is the founder of Visual Echo, a New York-based performance organization dedicated to facilitating generative dialogues among people from diverse backgrounds. She holds the position of associate professor at the New School of Drama, where she codeveloped a new MFA program in Contemporary Theatre and Performance. Irina is a La MaMa resident artist and Joan D. Firestone Fund Award recipient.