{{short description|Canadian playwright and actor (born 1980)}} {{Infobox writer | embed = | honorific_prefix = | name = | honorific_suffix = | image = | image_size = | image_upright = | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | pseudonym = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = 1980 | birth_place = Montreal, Canada | occupation = actor, playwright | language = | nationality = <!-- use only when necessary per WP:INFONAT --> | citizenship = <!-- use only when necessary per WP:INFONAT --> | education = <!-- use only per MOS:INFOEDU --> | alma_mater = <!-- use only per MOS:INFOEDU --> | period = | genre = <!-- or: | genres = --> | subject = <!-- or: | subjects = --> | movement = | notable_works = | spouse = <!-- or: | spouses = --> | partner = <!-- or: | partners = --> | children = | relatives = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | signature_size = | signature_type = | years_active = | module = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.org}} --> | portaldisp = <!-- "on", "yes", "true", etc.; or omit --> }} '''Andrew Kushnir''' (born 1980) is a Canadian playwright and actor.<ref name=cte>[http://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Kushnir%2C%20Andrew "Kushnir, Andrew"]. ''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', March 5, 2019.</ref> He is most noted as co-creator with Damien Atkins and Paul Dunn of ''The Gay Heritage Project'',<ref>"Gay Heritage Project has a bright future". ''Toronto Star'', November 24, 2013.</ref> a theatrical show dramatizing aspects of LGBT history which was shortlisted for the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play in 2014.<ref>[http://www.thetheatrereader.com/blog/2014/11/4/tapa-announces-2014-dora-award-nominees "TAPA ANNOUNCES 2014 DORA AWARD NOMINEES"]. ''The Theatre Reader'', June 2, 2014.</ref>
== Early life and education == Born in Montreal and raised between Montreal and Winnipeg,<ref name="SPT">{{cite web |last1= |first1= |url=https://www.soulpepper.ca/about/people/andrew-kushnir?heading=Production |title=Soulpepper Theatre - Plays, Concerts & Musicals |website=soulpepper.ca |language=en |date= |access-date=2026-01-11 |archive-date=2026-01-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260111232015/https://www.soulpepper.ca/about/people/andrew-kushnir?heading=Production }}</ref> Kushnir is a second-generation Ukrainian-Canadian.<ref name="NP">{{cite web |last1=Bajus |first1=Daria |url=https://newpathway.ca/andrew-kushnir-2019-reach-mentorship-recepient/ |title=Andrew Kushnir - 2019 REACH Mentorship recepient[sic] |website=newpathway.ca |publisher=New Pathway |language=en |date=2020-07-28 |access-date=2026-01-11 |archive-date=2020-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008160631/https://newpathway.ca/andrew-kushnir-2019-reach-mentorship-recepient/ }}</ref> His maternal grandfather, Peter Kushnir, at 17 served as a messenger for the Waffen SS Galicia Division (later the 1st Ukrainian Division) before escaping from a prisoner-of-war camp in Italy and immigrating to Canada. Peter became a master watchmaker who designed the Zenith Extra RR 56 railway pocket watch and served as a significant influence on Andrew's later work.<ref name="NP"/><ref name="Macleans">{{cite web |last1=Kushnir |first1=Andrew |url=https://macleans.ca/news/canada/my-love-for-the-giant-that-is-ukraine/ |title=My love for the giant that is Ukraine |website=macleans.ca |publisher=Maclean's |language=en |date=2022-02-25 |access-date=2026-01-11 |archive-date=2022-02-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225203254/https://macleans.ca/news/canada/my-love-for-the-giant-that-is-ukraine/ }}</ref>
He was active in the Ukrainian Youth Association and performed in community pageants as a child.<ref name="Macleans"/> He attended high school in Winnipeg, where he received The Loran Scholarship Award. Kushnir later graduated from the University of Alberta's BFA Acting Conservatory.<ref name="NP"/>
== Career == The artistic director of Project Humanity, a theatrical organization that uses the arts to raise social awareness, Kushnir specializes in verbatim theatre, which addresses social issues by creating theatrical presentations from the real testimonies of people affected by them.<ref name="cte" /> His plays have included ''Captain Princess'',<ref name=":0">"For shame: Playwright takes on guilt and organized religion with musical flair". ''Edmonton Journal'', November 25, 2006.</ref> ''foto'', ''The Middle Place'',<ref name=":1">"Shelter from the norm". ''National Post'', February 22, 2011.</ref> ''Small Axe'',<ref name=":2">"Project: Humanity play deserves to be seen". ''Toronto Star'', January 25, 2015.</ref> ''Wormwood''<ref name=":3">"Powerful play revels in deceptive simplicity". ''Toronto Star'', November 20, 2015.</ref> and ''Towards Youth: A Play on Radical Hope''.<ref name=":4">"Theatre meets research project: Andrew Kushnir followed a professor around the world to write his latest play". ''The Globe and Mail'', March 6, 2019.</ref> ''Towards Youth'' was published in 2022 by University of Toronto Press.<ref>{{Cite web |title=University of Toronto Press - Hope in a Collapsing World |url=https://utorontopress.com/9781487541200/hope-in-a-collapsing-world |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=University of Toronto Press |language=en-CA}}</ref>
Following his grandfather's death, Kushnir travelled across Europe and Ukraine to retrace his family's history.<ref name="NP"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.intermissionmagazine.ca/news/crows-2526/ |title=Crow’s Theatre announces packed 2025-26 season, including major partnership with Soulpepper |website=intermissionmagazine.ca |publisher=Intermission Magazine |language=en |date=2025-04-09 |access-date=2026-01-11 |archive-date=2026-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260112005211/https://www.intermissionmagazine.ca/news/crows-2526/ }}</ref> This research resulted in his documentary play ''The Division'' (formerly ''The Time Piece''), which examines family mythology and historical memory.
In 2023, he directed Nick Green's ''Casey and Diana'' for the Stratford Festival.<ref name=":5">Karen Fricker, [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/2023/06/10/my-mother-burst-into-tears-inside-casey-and-diana-the-most-moving-canadian-play-of-the-year.html "‘My mother burst into tears’: Inside ‘Casey and Diana,’ the most moving Canadian play of the year"]. ''Toronto Star'', June 10, 2023.</ref>
== Personal life == Kushnir came out as gay at age 19.<ref name="NP"/>
== Activism == In 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kushnir founded the We Support LGBTQ Ukraine Fund in partnership with the Veritas Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://museum.bc.ca/brain/transcript-queerying-museums-episode-4-special-episode-on-ukraine-with-andrew-kushnir/ |title=Transcripts: Queer(y)ing Museums Episode 4: Special Episode on Ukraine with Andrew Kushnir |website=museum.bc.ca |publisher= |language=en |date= |access-date=2026-01-11 |archive-date=2026-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260112000155/https://museum.bc.ca/brain/transcript-queerying-museums-episode-4-special-episode-on-ukraine-with-andrew-kushnir/ }}</ref> The fund provides direct humanitarian aid to queer and trans Ukrainians, specifically to those who are internally displaced or marginalized.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lgbtukrainesupport.com/about/ |title=About - LGBT Ukraine Support |website=lgbtukrainesupport.com |publisher= |language=en |date= |access-date=2026-01-11 |archive-date=2024-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228114020/https://lgbtukrainesupport.com/about/ }}</ref> By 2024, the fund had raised over $125,000<ref name="SPT"/> for Ukrainian NGOs such as {{Ill|KyivPride|uk|КиївПрайд}} and {{Ill|Gender Zed|uk|Гендер Зед}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://veritascharityservices.com/campaigns/we-support-lgbtq-ukraine-fund/ |title=We Support LGBTQ Ukraine Fund - Veritas Charity Services Inc. |website=veritascharityservices.com |publisher= |language=en |date= |access-date=2026-01-11 |archive-date=2026-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260112001059/https://veritascharityservices.com/campaigns/we-support-lgbtq-ukraine-fund/ }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kushnir, Andrew}} Category:1980 births Category:21st-century Canadian male actors Category:21st-century Canadian male writers Category:21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Category:Canadian male stage actors Category:Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Category:Canadian LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights Category:Canadian gay actors Category:Canadian gay writers Category:Canadian theatre directors Category:Male actors from Montreal Category:Writers from Montreal Category:Living people Category:21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Category:Gay dramatists and playwrights Category:Canadian people of Ukrainian descent