Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Monday, October 09, 2023
'I wanted to create a Jewish superhero': Jenny Rachel Weiner, whose play 'The Chameleon' premieres at Theater J
DC Theater Arts: When The Chameleon opens next week at Theater J, DC theatergoers will have a chance to find out why New Yorkers are raving about Jenny Rachel Weiner, a wickedly funny playwright who uses laughter to illuminate complicated issues.
In this case, the issue in the spotlight is assimilation and the havoc it can wreak on identity.
I think Jewish representation is very important. There are some in the media/ arts, and while usually used as stereotypes or jokes, there are some prominent ones. I may be biased, but being Jewish and from New York, I could read this with a personal lens. One thing I wonder is how this character will be reciprocated. Will it be a character that solely Jewish people relate to/ like, or will it be more universal? Can it be a loved character, knowing about all the antisemitism in our world? Jenny Rachel Weiner has a strong image of who her character will be, and the process of taking that character, rather than just the idea of one, and bringing it to life is very intriguing to me. The roller coaster of what this project is to Weiner is inspiring to me, writing, specifically screenwriting has always been an interest of mine and this Jewish character just makes me more invested.
DEI is a hot button topic recently with seemingly every theatre making strides to increase their equity in the work that we do. However, this issue is that at some theatres this is surface level and sure surface level changes are changes in a way, but they can, and should, dig deeper. I love seeing a theatre that is opening diving deep and working on exploring the work of different religious and ethnic groups, as Judaism is at its core an ethnoreligious group. I also appreciate that at least part of the cast identifies as Jewish. We are making improvements in other areas of theatre to make sure that actors are getting to tell stories that they are a part of, but religion has a long way to go in this area. If you take Funny Girl for instance, an intrinsically Jewish story, is on tour right now with a very talented but now Jewish star which begs the question, can she accurately tell this story? If I was in DC, The Chameleon is a show I would take time to go see.
2 comments:
I think Jewish representation is very important. There are some in the media/ arts, and while usually used as stereotypes or jokes, there are some prominent ones. I may be biased, but being Jewish and from New York, I could read this with a personal lens. One thing I wonder is how this character will be reciprocated. Will it be a character that solely Jewish people relate to/ like, or will it be more universal? Can it be a loved character, knowing about all the antisemitism in our world? Jenny Rachel Weiner has a strong image of who her character will be, and the process of taking that character, rather than just the idea of one, and bringing it to life is very intriguing to me. The roller coaster of what this project is to Weiner is inspiring to me, writing, specifically screenwriting has always been an interest of mine and this Jewish character just makes me more invested.
DEI is a hot button topic recently with seemingly every theatre making strides to increase their equity in the work that we do. However, this issue is that at some theatres this is surface level and sure surface level changes are changes in a way, but they can, and should, dig deeper. I love seeing a theatre that is opening diving deep and working on exploring the work of different religious and ethnic groups, as Judaism is at its core an ethnoreligious group. I also appreciate that at least part of the cast identifies as Jewish. We are making improvements in other areas of theatre to make sure that actors are getting to tell stories that they are a part of, but religion has a long way to go in this area. If you take Funny Girl for instance, an intrinsically Jewish story, is on tour right now with a very talented but now Jewish star which begs the question, can she accurately tell this story? If I was in DC, The Chameleon is a show I would take time to go see.
Post a Comment