LABA Journal’s Editor Hanan Elstein: Should We Discuss OTHER? OTHER is a highly explosive theme, especially beyond its limited political scope and current obvious relevance. The notion of the Other, be it phenomenological, existential or psychological, is inherently elusive and resists a single coherent definition. Thinkers as well as artists, in fact human beings by
Meet the 2016-2017 LABA Fellows and our theme – OTHER. Through the study of classic Jewish texts from multiple traditions and historical eras we will explore a variety of ways for the possible existence of the Other, either in real life or in unknown or contradictory imaginative thoughts. Be it another gender, sexuality, nationality, territory, religion, or
Franny Silverman is a theater-artist and educator who creates interactive theater, ritual and educational experiences for humans of all ages. Franny is currently the Director of Learning and Action for Brooklyn’s independent, progressive synagogue, Kolot Chayeinu. This year she had the honor of being in the inaugural cohort of UJA’s Ruskay Institute for Jewish Professional
Elana Greenfield is the recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award in drama. Her critically acclaimed book, At the Damascus Gate: Short Hallucinations (Green Integer), was awarded The New American Fiction Competition. Among her works for the stage, most recently, Wrench (Part I), was presented at ArtsEmerson, Boston, produced by Sleeping Weazel, with prior works presented at such New York venues as La Mama
Gordon Haber abandoned an early career in marketing for the more rewarding, if less lucrative, fields of writing and publishing. Gordon has an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University. His awards include a Fulbright Fellowship to Poland, and he has received support from the Queens Community Arts Fund and the MacDowell Colony. His nonfiction religion
Hadar Ahuvia is a Brooklyn based performer, choreographer and educator making dances grounded in physical research and political consciousness. Her work has been presented at New York Live Arts, EMPAC, Dixon Place, CPR, Brooklyn Studios for Dance, Danspace Project’s Draftwork, Aunts, Catch, Roulette, The Whole Shabang, and Eastport Art Center, Maine. She has performed for
Keren Moscovitch is a multi-media artist and scholar living and working in New York City, whose practice explores intimacy, sexuality and the poetics of relationships. She holds an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, where she currently serves on the faculty, and a BA from Georgetown University. Continuing her exploration of the intersection of practice
Gil Sperling is a multimedia artist and performance maker. He has created short films and video installations, video design for the stage, and multimedia performances. Gil is a graduate of the School of Visual Theater in Jerusalem and holds a BA in psychology and philosophy. He spent a year as a fellow at the Academy of Media
Michael Gac Levin was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He received his BA in classics from the University of Chicago, where he wrote his undergraduate thesis on the construction of the “barbarian” in ancient Roman literature. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, a national academic honors society, in his junior year. After graduating in 2006,
Michael Leibenluft‘s directing credits include I’ll Never Love Again (a chamber piece) by Clare Barron at the Bushwick Starr (NYT and Time Out critics’ picks), How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel with Drum Tower West Theater in Beijing, Lost Tribe by Alex Borinsky as part of Target Margin’s Yiddish Theater Lab, the Subtle Body