Acting Studio for
Real Life
Play-shift is a change of state through play. Not play as entertainment. Play as a way to shift how you show up — in your body, your attention, and your relationships.
We work with games, improvisation, and acting exercises. You notice habits. You try new responses. You adapt in real time.
Skills you can Feel and Use
Presence
Staying with what’s happening — in your body, in the room, with others.
Adaptability
Letting go of fixed responses and meeting the moment as it changes.
Communication
Speaking, listening, and responding without overthinking or performing.
Confidence
Not bravado. A grounded sense of “I’m here, and I can handle this.”
Creative Thinking
Seeing new possibilities and responding with fresh, original ideas in the moment.
Connection
Relating to others with attention, honesty, and ease.
Courses
6-week coursePresence & Play
Presence & Play is a 6-week course designed to help you reconnect with your body, your attention, and the present moment. Using actor training practices such as movement, voice work, and simple improvisation, participants learn to step out of their heads and into direct experience. Before learning to ride the wave of spontaneity, you learn how to stand on the surfboard. Grounded, aware, and present.
Tisto was born in Ukraine, now based in New York. Created by actors for non-actors, our studio is a place to feel free, be authentic, and build real communication confidence in everyday life — anytime, anywhere.
TISTO is Ukrainian for “dough” — a metaphor for human potential that can be shaped, strengthened, expanded and rise through the right space.
Igor Kliuchnyk
Actor, Director, Cultural Manager
Igor Kliuchnyk
Co-founder of Beautiful Flowers Theatre and NAFTA Theatre, Kharkiv
Co-founder of TISTO School (UA) 1,000+ graduates and 20+ training programs
Co-founder of Parade Fest International Theater Festival
Co-founder of the humanitarian foundation Rescue Now (since 2022) TEDx speaker
15+ years working at the intersection of theater, education, and leadership. Building and leading teams of 200+ people using theater-based methods.
Mariia Vanieva
Actor, Acting Teacher, Team Coach
Mariia Vanieva
30 years of theater and performance practice.
Actress of Kharkiv State Academic Drama Theatre (2017-2022).
Teaching experience in Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts, Berlin.
Co-creator of TISTO School in Ukraine.
3,000+ hours facilitating acting and embodied training.
Olha Kryvosheieva
Actor, Educator, Business Coach
Olha Kryvosheieva
9 years of professional stage experience.
10 years teaching at leading arts institutions in Ukraine and Germany.
Author of the Flow-Vision Coaching Method.
1,000+ workshops and masterclasses.
Oriana Ng
Filmmaker, Director, Acting teacher
Oriana Ng
Performance, film, and directing experience:
- Theater director and filmmaker working across New York, Europe, and the United States
- Directed three theater productions in NYC in 2025, including her original play Eclipse
- Director of The Cocktail Bench (Fresh Fruit Festival, Theatre for the New City)
- Director of Sugar Daddy (Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre)
- Films screened at Dallas, Brisbane, and St. Louis International Film Festivals
- Winner of Best Drama Short at the Barbados Independent Film Festival
Voices from the room
