Maxim Golenko

Born on April 6, 1978 in the city of Mykolaiv. From 1993 to 1995 he studied in the theater studio of the Academic Ukrainian Drama and Musical Comedy Theater in Mykolaiv, and then worked as an actor at the same theater from 1995 to 2000. In 2000 and 2001 he studied directing at the University of Arts in Kharkov at the Department of Drama Theater and from 2001 to 2006 at the National University of Theater, Film and Television Karpenko-Kary (KNUTKT) in Kyiv, qualifying as a theater director. Between 2003 and 2008, he worked as the head of the theater studio at the National Academy of Management in Kyiv, performing several shows with professional and non-professional artists. He taught "Fundamentals of Directing" from 2013 to 2015 at the Department of Scenography and Cinematography of the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture. In the period from 2006 to 2020 he created 40 performances in professional state and non-state theaters of various Ukrainian cities: Mykolayiv, Rivne, Kolomyia, Lugansk, Kyiv. In 2016, he was invited to a guest performance at the Magdeburg Theater (Germany), where he presented the production Eyelashes, based on the play by Natalia Vorozhbyt, as part of the Wild East project. In 2017, according to theater critics, he was among the 10 best directors in the country. The productions have repeatedly participated in festivals and received awards. Currently Maxim Golenko is the house director of the Odesa Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theatre and director of the independent Wild Theatre in Kyiv.