HowlRound: Everyone knows some variation of the old joke: you take four Jews, you get five opinions. And if you take fifty Jewish theater makers, you get over a hundred opinions. The math may not be as accurate as the sentiment. But trust me, I’ve been attending the Association for Jewish Theatre (AJT) conferences since 2003. There I found people just as nerdy about theater and just as interested in Jewish culture as I. The 2003 conference also led to my first job: working initially as an intern and then as the Literary Director at Theater J. The connection to AJT has remained, and I continue to make the annual pilgrimage. This is why I journeyed to Los Angeles in February.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Finding our Meanings: A Jewish Question
HowlRound: Everyone knows some variation of the old joke: you take four Jews, you get five opinions. And if you take fifty Jewish theater makers, you get over a hundred opinions. The math may not be as accurate as the sentiment. But trust me, I’ve been attending the Association for Jewish Theatre (AJT) conferences since 2003. There I found people just as nerdy about theater and just as interested in Jewish culture as I. The 2003 conference also led to my first job: working initially as an intern and then as the Literary Director at Theater J. The connection to AJT has remained, and I continue to make the annual pilgrimage. This is why I journeyed to Los Angeles in February.
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2 comments:
This article is a lot more interesting than I expected it to be. The idea of Jewish theater repels me on first thought. I grew up thinking that my grandmother went to see a production of Fiddler on the Roof every weekend. Of course, that can't be true, but that's how I automatically associate it. It just seems limited and monotonous. However, upon reading this article and actually thinking about it further, it doesn't seem nearly as limited. I do think that a collaboration from people with diverse perspectives and backgrounds makes for better, more interesting theater. A Jewish theater can of course include a variety of perspectives, but it is limited to a fairly specific demographic. This gives it a disadvantage. The author's description, however, makes it seem so appealing. I am reconsidering my opinions.
I agree with Abby: I was drawn to this article because I feel similarly to the author about where my art and religion intersect. I have not yet worked on may shows that were inherently "Jewish", some have explored Judaism as a theme, though they have been put on in secular theatre settings. This author would argue that then I have indeed engaged in Jewish theatre, since something about my having been raised Jewish has to have influenced my contributions on those shows. Anyone involved in a collaboration brings their background to the table with them, and Judaism is no exception. Perhaps it is simply because globally speaking Jews are such a minority and have such a specific history as a people (though a class I am currently taking on Jews in Latin America is making me believe that less and less) that theatre with Judaism in it is somehow different, though I don't think that's true.
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