Kaysy Ostrom has directed a play I Never Saw Another Butterfly, performing live at the main stage of the Studio East theatre in Kirkland, from October 8 to 17, 2021.

Kaysy is a granddaughter of Krystyna Balut, who was a child survivor of the brutal WWII deportations of Poles by the Soviet Union and in 1943 escaped to Persia with Gen. Anders’ army. Directing this play has a special meaning for Kaysy, as she performed in the same play as a child actor in 2008; at that occasion, her grandmother talked about her experiences and survivor story to the young cast.

The play focuses on children trying to help each other at the infamous Nazi Terezin camp in Czechoslovakia, where about 15,000 Jewish children perished and less than a hundred survived. The play is for children ages 9+. The cast includes about 20 students, age 8-17 and two adults. Studio East is a big company that runs dozens and dozens of courses, workshops and summer camps for aspiring actors from 4 to 19 years of age (pre-school to the end of high school).

Kaysy was performing at Studio East from age 12 to 18 and then got a college degree in theater studies. She returned to Seattle, started by teaching at Studio East summer camps and worked her way up. Besides hands-on teaching and directing, she is now the Education Director at the company.

Congratulations, Kaysy!

More: about Studio East, about the play