Sophia Hanziuk is an actor and playwright from Kyiv, Ukraine, who has just started her first year at SUNY Purchase Acting BFA program. She’s a member of Young Playwrights Ukraine, a mentorship project for actors and writers living with war. She was mentored by playwrights Theresa Rebeck, Kate Robin and Alexis Scheer, and worked with directors Tyne Rafaeli and Lars Rudolfsson. 

Her short play, “Two Dogs: Hanover Germany” a refugee story, was originally performed by noted actors Brigette Lundy-Paine and Misha Brooks as part of YPU’s first reading for an audience on Zoom on July 24th 2022. It was subsequently produced as part of the collection “How Do You Feel Fear” at Orion Theater, Stockholm Sweden. It ran for over 30 performances to rave reviews and was published by Smith&Kraus in 2025. It was also produced as part of Ukraine Fringe in Kyiv, Ukraine in August 2024. 

As an actor, she performed Emily’s monologue from Heroes of the Fourth Turning for playwright Will Arbery and acted in numerous cold readings with professional actors as part of Young Playwrights Ukraine on Zoom. She starred in short films “Boyfriend in a Basement» directed by Tanya Kostyniuk in Kyiv, and «Even Here» directed by Alice Evermore in Berlin.