Lianna Makuch

Director | Playwright | Producer | Performer

About

Lianna Makuch is a second generation Ukrainian Canadian theatre artist based in amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton) on Treaty 6 Territory. She has traveled several times to Ukraine to research and develop her plays Barvinok and Alina, gaining awards and recognition from both the professional theatre and Ukrainian communities. Lianna received a Dora Award for Outstanding Direction for her for directorial debut, First Métis Man of Odesa, which has been seen on stages nationwide. Lianna has been fortunate to recently work and create with the Stratford Festival (Langham Directors’ Program), the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the Citadel Theatre, as the Gene Zwozdesky Artist-in-Residence at MacEwan University, and more. Her professional work has been recognized with Dora Awards, as a Gina’s Prize Finalist, Edify Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40, Shevchenko Foundation REACH Award, and more. As a passionate Ukrainian activist, she has been honoured as one of UDonation International’s 50 Canadian Fellows of Ukraine, Ukrainian Canadian Congress Leadership Awards (National and Provincial) , and her impactful theatre work has been referenced in the House of Commons.

More about Lianna here

  • "...one of the rising stars of directing in Canada"

    Liane Faulder, Edmonton Journal

  • "The two-hander format is brilliantly executed... Directed by Lianna Makuch, every punchline hits the gut with simplicity and clarity..."

    - Ben Waldman, Winnipeg Free Press

  • "Everything works quite well in this production, largely because of the seamless directing vision from Lianna Makuch."

    - Daniel Greenways, Edmonton Scene

  • "...directed in glorious dramatic detail by Lianna Makuch…. There’s an attention to performance under Makuch's direction."

    Liz Nicholls, 12thNight

More Press

Selected Upcoming Projects

Support Ukraine

Lianna is an avid Ukrainian activist who has helped raise nearly $100,000 since 2022 to support direct contacts in Ukraine actively involved in defence efforts against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Learn more and how you can support

Get in touch

Have questions? Want to collaborate? Let’s chat!

Contact