Commons & Community
Finding our Meanings: A Jewish Question
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.
I no longer work for a Jewish theater. I do not wear my Jewishness on my sleeve. My Jewish practice resides somewhere between practicing and secular. My theater practice remains whole-heartily devoted, though my boyfriend and I did make the decision to stop getting tickets to see plays on Friday nights. Even so, if I were to describe the relationship between my two religions I would say I am a theater artist first, Jew second.
As the events of the four-day conference unfolded, I found myself thinking about AJT (of which I am a board member) and its relationship to its members. For most of AJT’s history it has had two basic types of members: Jewish theaters and playwrights. The core of the conference has been bringing those two groups together. Jewish playwrights are eager to find theaters to produce their work and artistic directors are looking to build relationships. However, more recently, an organic change clearly has taken place. Jewish theater companies are in decline; every year it seems one more has closed up shop. This year many existing companies couldn’t afford, or prioritize, sending their artistic leadership to the conference. In the past few years though, I’ve noticed that more and more independent theater artists and solo performers have made the journey.
As an independent theater artist myself, I am drawn to these artists. We use our Jewish backgrounds as a lens rather than a focal point. On a panel held at University of Southern California, visual artist Ruth Weisberg shared a thought that really resonated with me. “Art,” she said, “is a vessel for putting our meanings.” I loved that idea; our art is infused with how we see the world. I like the distinction that the vessel itself isn’t the meaning. For me, much of my meaning is filled with my Judaism. The facts of my life are inseparable from my religious and cultural background. But do I make Jewish theater? This is the question that seemed boil underneath the conference. One question and answer session exploded when someone asked the question “What is Jewish theater?” There were twenty people in the room – and guess how many answers. The old joke.
For me, I find my Jewish identity in how I work. My dramaturgical skills come from a Jewish root. The exegesis of a script and the way I question every moment, my interest in the underdog and ethical storytelling, these are Jewish qualities transferred to my theatrical life. Yet, I am not making work for a particularly Jewish theater or audience. In the final panel discussion, legendary comedic writer Carl Reiner said, in a serious tone, “Jewish theater is when they speak Yiddish.” Intelligent producers, like Ari Roth at Theater J, have shown that instead of remounting the past, success in a Jewish theater comes when you focus on quality productions that reflect the current moment. Jewish artists do not need to write in Yiddish or tell biblical stories; they just need to tell their story.
Keynote speaker Richard Montoya talked about how his work with Culture Clash reflects his world: “This is my theater. It is now. It is in real time.” I left Los Angeles deep in thought about my own identity, its relationship to my art and my community. I wonder if there is a Jewish theater genre and if it speaks to the present moment. As I see it, the work of Jewish artists is just as varied and complex as that of non-Jewish artists. As AJT plans its next decade I wonder if it’s important to move away from being a connector for theater companies and playwrights who wear their religion on top of their work. I hope, instead, it reaches artists who, like me, have their Jewish culture woven deep into their meanings.
Hannah Hessel is the Audience Enrichment Manager at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C. and a company member with Forum Theatre in Silver Spring, MD. She is the former Literary Director, Education and Outreach Associate at Theater J. She is a Vice President of the Association for Jewish Theatre board. She received her MFA in Dramaturgy from Columbia University School of the Arts.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE:
Leave a Reply
Blog
Why Every Working Mother (Parent) Needs a Stage Manager by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder
Playwright Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder returns to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s Southern Writers’ Project with a new play and a new kid. Follow Elyzabeth in part two of this three part series (find part one here) as she tries to balance rewrites and rehearsals with the challenges of being a working mom on
READ MORE
Tlaloc Rivas: In Search of the Artistic Home
Jamie Gahlon has asked theater artists from around the country to talk about their personal search for an artistic home. Tlaloc Rivas continues this series. What makes an artistic home? An artistic home is a place where there are opportunities for community-building and for cross-cultural dialogue. There is also the
READ MORE
Keep the Drama on the Stage by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder
Playwright Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder returns to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s Southern Writers’ Project with a new play and a new kid. Follow Elyzabeth in this three part series as she tries to balance rewrites and rehearsals with the challenges of being a working mom on the road. I always try
READ MORE
READ MORE BLOG POSTS
Hot Convos
Comments By Carol S. Lashof
PS Jill McClean, a Scottish playwright. Saw her play "Any Given Day" at READ MORE
In Defense of Supporting Work by Women: Thoughts from a Loud Mouthed Feminist Theater Girl by Meghan Arnette
Comments By Carol S. Lashof
I am joining this conversation a bit late after hearing about it at the READ MORE
In Defense of Supporting Work by Women: Thoughts from a Loud Mouthed Feminist Theater Girl by Meghan Arnette
Comments By Jen L.
Love this! READ MORE
Why Every Working Mother (Parent) Needs a Stage Manager by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder
#NEWPLAY ON TWITTER
Kristopher Frithjof Peterson about the @inkwelltheatre showcase process really interesting #newplay #2amt #dctheatre http://t.co/HEDZ6m3X
1 hour ago
Ian Thal
Excellent summation of these issues, Hannah. I was never raised in a particularly devout manner, but have found that as a playwright, I'm using theatre specifically as a means to inquire into my own sense of Jewish identity: specifically how one relates both to a larger world that isn't Jewish and how one lives in the present with an awareness of a history that spans thousands of years. The process hasn't made me that much more devout, but certainly more thoughtful and engaged.