Jerusalem English Theater (JET) Community

All you need to know about English-language theater in Jerusalem

Author: JET

  • Theater vs. COVID-19 #3

    Theater vs. COVID-19 #3

    After my previous post Bakol Geller, a fabulous actress in our community shared with me this video of a neighborhood in Israel singing Od Tireh.

    [vimeo 397825398 w=640 h=360]

    Mel Brooks and Max Brooks

    The great Mel Brooks of comedy and film does it again with his son. Very clear instructions and done in a fun way. Love Mel Brooks’ smile.

    Acting is doing

    Right now we are having different experiences in the Modern Era than we have had before but there are so many ways to still connect. We just need to do it. Acting is all about doing. We do action on stage. Right now the biggest stage is the entire world and we are all actors in it. Let’s continue to create together and I am sure we will find new ways to create and certain mediums will become much more prominent. Live Streaming, Movie parties online, etc. And maybe we will do some actions that we have never done before because now we have that time to finally say Yes and.

    Khan Theatre and streaming

    Some theaters in Israel are offering their shows via streaming. The Khan Theatre is one of those theaters and You can see Napolean, Alive or Dead (In Hebrew) via their Youtube channel today.

    Learning is key

    People in the theater business are always learning. Whether it be a new dance number for a show, a new song, a new accent, or just some new lines. We can take this time to learn things that we didn’t have time for or couldn’t afford to. One of the great inspirations for this blogging and this website was Ken Davenport, a producer of Broadway and the founder of theproducersperspective.com. He has created something called The TheaterMakers Studio and just let people know that you can sign up for free for the next 30 days. 

    Ken wrote on his blog yesterday “I’d like to offer you the chance to join The TheaterMakers Studio for FREE for the next 30 days with code ‘FREE30’!”

    This is one way to continue learning. There are plenty of Masterclasses online as well as Youtube tutorials. Videos to watch. Just check out Starkid Productions, as another community member, Sivan Raz, pointed out. Everyone is throwing ideas left and right on Facebook. It’s amazing how resourceful the online world can be. So pick up something you didn’t have the time for before and get started learning something new.

    The Jerusalem English Theater Green Room

    Or you can join The Jerusalem English Theater Green Room, which was launched this past September for people involved in the JET productions to have a conversation on Facebook. People are sharing all sorts of ways to view Theater virtually and keeping other’s spirits up.

    What are you doing today?

    So what did you do today? Do you have another idea? Want to write some of your own ideas here? Get in touch with jerusalemenglishtheater@gmail.com.

  • Theater vs. COVID – 19 #2

    Theater vs. COVID – 19 #2

    Yesterday I went through all of my collection of plays to find ones that would be conducive for up to five people. In case anyone wants to have an online reading with me. I will list them here in case. I also wanted to point out the different things happening around the world that have been created by people.

    Yes, and…

    One of our alumni, Lauren Flaherty teaches a storytelling and acting class in California and used Facebook to create stories using “Yes, and…” with people commenting to continue the story. Since then others have borrowed the idea and have created wonderful stories together through Facebook.

    Musical Genius

    Another actress in our community, Avital Sykora, started a thread on Facebook of topical musical theater parodies and it has been a hit!

    Sing-along

    In Italy and around the world people are singing from their balconies. 

    Going virtual

    I plan to do an online acting class this evening. It’s all experimental but hoping it will go well. Theater very much needs connection but I hope to bring in theater games and ideas that can involve that connection through conference call.

    5 person plays

    So here are the plays that I went through. I’ve read through most of them at some point or other. I do have a bunch more that require more than 4 people for a reading, including Shakespeare of course. There’s a few monologue books as well that I am not listing here that would be great to work on while at home. Most of these are contemporary and dramatic. I wonder if any involve a virus.

    I also just got Respect for Acting by Uta Hagen. I’ve delved into her exercises and have been meaning to get this book for awhile. So there is some of my reading for the next week or so, or as the foreword by David Hyde Pierce says, a lifetime. Just reading the first chapter I find that our theater community is very lucky to be able to do what we do.

    Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf by Edward Albee Proof by David Auburn, Carol Mulroney by Stephen Belber, 9 Circles by Bill Cain, Freud’s Last Session by Mark St. Germain, Orphans by Lyle Kessler, This is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan, American Buffalo by David Mamet, Oleanna by David Mamet, Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies, Pitching to the Star and other short plays by Donald Margulies, Jack and Jill by Jane Martin, Encounters by Leonard Melfi, K2 by Patrick Meyers, The Four of Us by Itamar Moses, Pieces of the Sky by David L. Paterson, Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter, A Slight Ache by Harold Pinter, Paradise by Yasmine Beverly Rana, God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza, Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, Italian American Reconciliation by John Patrick Shanley, Welcome to the Moon and other plays by John Patrick Shanley, True West by Sam Shepard, Pterodactyls by Nicky Silver, and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

    If any of these plays are of interest to you to do a reading let me know. I can send you a digital copy somehow, or maybe you own a copy too. If you’d like to share what you are doing during these times let us know and we’d gladly share it on our page. Looking forward to hearing from you.

    Mutual support

    And in order for our community to continue what it does when this is all over and people start going back to the physical theater space we launched a donations page that links to all the English speaking theater companies in Jerusalem. There are lots of institutions and individuals that need our help to get through this – it’s a long list, and we’re by no means putting ourselves anywhere near the top

    We are in this together.

    Do you have another idea? Want to write some of your own ideas here? Get in touch with jerusalemenglishtheater@gmail.com.