Ari Brand is an actor, musician, and lifelong New Yorker. He has performed on Broadway, off Broadway, and across the country. Brand spoke to us about his current LABA project, a play based on his own experience of discovering that his father, the renowned pianist Natan Brand, lived much of his life as a gay man. Natan Brand died of AIDS in 1990. I had
LABA Alum Amy Handelsman reports on November 17th’s DRUNKISH event. Here’s what the invite said: We want to offer you a threesome to make sense of life in the age of outrage: fine wine, sage advice from Judaism’s ancient masters, and insights and reflections from current LABA Fellows. Join us for a family-style Havdalah with
“My plays…come from a deep love and pain and heartbreak.” —Zohar Tirosh-Polk In an exclusive interview, playwright Zohar Tirosh-Polk discusses LABA and her play Theo’s Dream, a wild exploration of the life of Theodor Herzl, founder of Zionism. Come see a reading of Theo’s Dream by Zohar Tirosh-Polk at the 14 St Y Theater on Friday,
Reflecting on a hummus workshop as a metaphor of life: LABA alum Amy Handelsman shares her experiences of the day. One of my strongest childhood memories is the day we made peanut butter in Miss Greenfield’s second-grade class. It was with great anticipation that we began on a crisp autumnal day—a whole Friday morning devoted to
Ronit Muszkatblit, Artistic Director LABA, on this year’s LABA fellows. Welcome to a new year of LABA. A new year of ancient questions. A new year of investigating the two given things we all have in common: Life and Death. From the moment we come into being until the moment we are no more,
Yael Sloma, artist and LABA fellow, travelled through illegal Israeli outposts in the Palestinian Territories. Here are a few of her impressions. PLEASE DO CLICK ON THE IMAGES! The morning after the 2016 presidential elections reminded me of the morning after the Yitzhak Rabin assassination: it felt as if even the trees and stones and cars
LABAlive is a unique celebration of art, theater, and Jewish texts. This Thursday, May 31st, at 7.30pm, playwright Amy Handelsman will be showing an excerpt from her work-in-progress, LOVE BY TKO: Life Lessons in the Ring (theatrical excerpts from my memoir). (Click here for tickets!) Below, Amy describes her thoughts on boxing and Judaism. Common
This coming Thursday, May 31st, LABAlive II will present an evening of subversive art and teachings based on this year’s theme, WAR & PEACE. The evening will feature LABA teacher Liel Leibovitz and works-in-progress by LABA Fellows Tal Gur, Amy Handelsman, and Jacob Siegel. Author Siegel serves up an excerpt from the novel-in-progress he’ll present at the event. from The Cracked Screen
On Thursday, May 31st, LABALive Two will present an evening of subversive art and teachings on this year’s theme, WAR & PEACE. The evening will feature LABA teacher Liel Leibovitz and works-in-progress by LABA Fellows Tal Gur, Jacob Siegel and Amy Handelsman. Here Gur serves up a few words and images apropos of his upcoming show.
It’s been a long journey to get to this point: the In[heir]itance Festival is finally up and running at the Theater at the 14th Street Y, and I couldn’t be more excited. Do you have your tickets yet? It’s forty-one performances in nineteen days of five plays created around the country, each inspired by the