Thirty Years of Jewish Theatre... Rewind and Fast Forward

by Howard Rypp, Artistic Director - Nephesh Theatre

"Time is relative to the motion of the observer. One man's now is another man's then." (from Gabriel Emanuel's play Einstein)

As I write this piece I am also preparing an event in Tel Aviv July 14th 2008 which will celebrate Nephesh Theatre's 30th anniversary. While gathering archival materials –black and white still pictures and muffled sound tapes, old videotapes of plays and spots featured on television programs- I am reminded of the great Jewish artists I worked with back in the beginning- in the late 70's in Toronto; Magical moments with Rebbe Shlomo Carlebach on the production of Rebbe Nachman's Legend of 7 Beggars, hosting Allen Ginsburg for 2 weeks in Toronto during the mounting of his theatre poem, Kaddish.

Since the basis of theatre is in the collective, there is no doubt that the artists you are fortunate to have worked with are key in the transformation and renewal of Jewish theatre.

As I look back over 30 years of creation, I sense a circular motion and that every production has been a natural extension from a previous one. Although we explore and define ourselves from our earlier work, it is essential that we continue to create in relation to our audience--who they are and what we want to produce for them in the present.

I look at Nephesh Theatre's first real commercial success in Israel back in 1987--a romantic comedy called Make Yourself at Home by Yitzchak Meshel. The play was about the Russian aliya--so prominent in Israel at the time. It hit a nerve and was presented more than 250 times in Hebrew during its first year. Nine years later we did a successful North American tour of the play in English. Today it would never work--it would be dated and come off redundant no matter how beautifully crafted the writing was.

Recently what has worked for us is a play on the same theme--Aliyah-Yossi Vassa and Shai Ben Attar's One of a Kind. It makes for vital theatre because the Ethiopian Aliyah is still struggling while the Russian immigration is so stable that they even have their own political parties who represent them in the Knesset. With the same team we had an earlier success –It Sounds Better in Amharic—also originally produced in Hebrew to great success (now enjoying its 900th presentation in Hebrew). But when we translated it into English we took our audience into account and transformed about a third of the play. We knew a North American audience would have an entirely different take on the incongruities between the primitive African culture to the western Israeli culture. Israelis see themselves and their culture much different than the way the Americans see them.
With One of a Kind we didn't want to touch the content in its translation. Its story had a historical significance that was important to be authentically retained. Since the challenges of presenting the play on Broadway were great, we knew we would have to make drastic transformations in its form and style. We did not want to come and make excuses for the English spoken by this ensemble of 7 Ethiopian actors (many of them hardly knew this language). We began immediately working with diction teachers, and we also enlisted a choreographer from Ghana to upgrade the dance, embellishing it with African movements. We worked for a whole year on transforming the production into English and through this experience the ensemble became tight and solid. Along the way we had many doubts and fears that we were shooting too high, but by the time we arrived and saw One of a Kind brightly illuminating Times Square at the prestigious New Victory Theatre we knew our “gamble” had paid off. The transformation and renewal was a success--and please allow me to quote the "proof”:

Andy Webster–New York Times:
“Infused with child like vigor wonder and humor…Has much to offer-- exhilarating choreography by Iddi Saaka, to Idan Zilbershtein's reggae-like songs…..Inspirational”

Paulanne Simmons– CurtainUp:
“Filled with compassion and humor, it melds Jewish and African traditions of family, song , dance, and story-telling ….”One of a Kind” is perfect family entertainment”

Gwen Orel–Backstage:
“Packed with life, joy and insight… wonderful to see a black Jewish family dancing with gestures more reminiscent of The Lion King than Fiddler on the Roof. A treat and a half!"

Now part of this transformation and renewal is to once again return it to the Hebrew complete with all the upgrading we did to suit the North American audiences. By doing so we are also transforming our audiences here in Israel now--certainly those Ethiopian communities who have never seen theatre!

I really do see how the creation of contemporary Jewish theatre lies in the transformation and renewal of material explored previously. Since moving my base to Israel, my focus on production has changed from striving to get the play up to preserving it and insuring it keeps running--I have become much more conscious of the audience I am presenting to. Working in this field can be challenging and gratifying but trying to persevere can be very draining--there are so many moments of doubt and frustration, and yes, failure.

At every AJT conference and festival which I have attended in the past 5 years, I have always left feeling encouraged by fellow artists who have chosen a similar path and inspired by the workshops, panels and productions offered. For me it was truly wonderful to be with everyone at the conference in Detroit even though it was for such a brief time. While there I had a flashback to New York 1981 when Nephesh Theatre presented Gabriel Emanuel's Children of Night with Len Cariou and Lou Jacobi. There at the first International Jewish Theatre Festival the AJT was formed and began its important work.
It's truly amazing how Jewish theatre has grown globally. Both AJT and Moti Sandak's website attest to that.

In Detroit I was there with Moti where together we introduced our plans for an upcoming International Jewish Theatre Festival to be held in Israel in June 2010. I was so grateful for the exciting responses we got and that some even wished to cancel the program planned and devote the rest of day to further discussion on this event. With our distinguished partners the Habimah National Theatre and of course the Association of Jewish Theatre, the implementation has begun.

Together we will examine the past in Jerusalem, explore the present in Tel Aviv and face the future forms of Jewish theatre in Acco. I do hope the enthusiasm felt in Detroit will continue to be expressed through your ideas and your involvement. Moti and I are very open to your ideas in both programming and fundraising. Though strange bedfellows they must go hand in hand. A great part of insuring the success of the conference and festival in Israel is your participation. Yes, the potential for exchange is great--all in the name of
Transformations, Renewal and Creating Jewish Theatre Today

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