The theme for LABA 2017-18 was WAR + PEACE. Our talented fellows had the opportunity to work on their projects while studying Jewish texts on the theme, and the work that they produced was absorbing and provocative. Here is a brief summary of their work, with links if you want to know more.
Artist and educator Tal Beery worked on and those black braids, an intense performance piece about his grandmother’s dubious account of surviving the Holocaust.
Composer Tal Gur developed Patterns of a Parachute Path, a theater piece about his father’s real experiences with the Israeli Air Force.
Amy Handelsman, a writer and story consultant, presented dramatized excerpts from Love by TKO: Life Lessons in the Ring, with a special appearance by fighter Yuri Foreman.
Playwright Jess Honovich presented charming excerpts from Super Play, a theater piece developed from her interviews with young children about superheroes.
Playwright Zohar Tirosh-Polk worked on her ambitious and fascinating cycle of plays about the founding of Israel.
Jacob Siegel, a journalist, poet, and fiction writer, moved forward on his novel-in-progress, a highbrow thriller called The Cracked Screen.
Artist Yael Sloma worked on Fear No Evil, her six-hour adaptation of Psalm 23 created with singer Noah Harley. You can listen to an excerpt here.
Indefatigable theater artist Jon Adam Ross continued his groundbreaking work exploring Biblical narratives with the In[heir]itance Project. His work culminated in five plays about Genesis performed during last year’s Tikkun Liel Shavuot: The Abraham Play, The Rebecca Play, The Jacob Play, The Leah/Rachel Play, and The Sarah Play.
Theater-maker and scholar of contemporary performance Brandon Woolf presented excerpts from his clever adaptation of Jewish apocalyptic texts, Mud and Mashiach.
