Author: JET

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Community Spotlight – Shmuel Goldstein

JET

Shmuel Goldstein is an actor who has performed with Theater and Theology, Theater in the Rough, The Stage, Center Stage, Acco Festival and Hadera Festival. He has been involved in the JET community since 2017!! We asked Shmuel some questions and would like to share his answers with you. 

JET: What is your favorite theater memory?

SG: Playing two roles in Measure for Measure, and getting the best formal reviews I have ever received.

JET: What is the hardest part about being an actor? 

SG: Not knowing how a play or production will be received. Sometimes the material that I think is really good gets a lukewarm reception (like Spelling Bee), and sometimes a production that I think is bizarre or a bomb will be a hit (like the musical film clip Little Citizen – אזרח הקטן ). Go figure.

JET: What was the most rewarding show you have done? 

SG: From a topic point of view – Almost Heaven . From a professional point of view – All My Sons.

JET: How do you prepare for different roles?

SG: Lines, obviously, but also research into the role. For example, I once played King James of Aragon, and did quite a bit of research on him.

JET: What is your pre-show routine? 

SG: Get there on time, be well rested. Hydrate, but make sure I stop about half an hour before the show. Physical warm ups (stretches), and vocal warm ups (scales, even for non-singing roles).

JET: How have you changed as an actor throughout your career? 

SG: The first thing that has changed is that I do many roles in Hebrew (Almost Heaven – כמעט גן עדן and Trio Acrobat were both in Hebrew). Character-wise, I used to be a rogue-ish type, but now I’m more avuncular or even a clown type.

JET: What is your dream role and why?

SG: Joe Keller in All My Sons came close to it, as I was the lead in a dramatic play. But if we could re-do something like Kind Hearts and Coronets (where Alec Guiness played SIX roles), that would probably be it. I came close in Measure for Measure, playing two quite different roles.

JET: Feel free to share anything else about your experience with the JET community!

SG: In addition to theater, I do quite a bit of work on film. One film was actually filmed in Jerusalem, at the King David Hotel. “Exodus 91” – about Operation Solomon, Israel’s operation to bring in the Ethiopian Jews in 1991. Directed by Micah Smith, it is a docu-drama that combines historical footage with contemporary footage that we filmed. I portrayed Bob Houdek, an American diplomat who was instrumental in moving the operation forward. Upon doing the research on Mr. Houdek, it turned out that he is not only still alive, but active as well in an advisory capacity. I found his contact information and called him up and we had a great conversation. Very pleasant fellow. Micah had not been in contact with him, and so I made the connection between the two. It was so impressive that Micah decided to take the production team to the US to interview Mr. Houdek. The interview became an important part of the movie, and Mr. Houdek introduced Micah to another key player – an Ethiopian diplomat named Kassa, who was living in the US. They got the interview with Kassa just on time, as Kassa passed away two months later. On a recent visit to the US, I too, actually went to visit Bob and Mary Houdek at their home. 

This is connected to JET because I was recommended to Micah by Yael Valier, who directed me in Theater and Theology’s Divine Right. So, you see, “theater” is not only theater, everything is connected. 

Families, Family, Father's Day

Fathers in Theater: The Beauty and the Beast

JET

In honor of Father’s Day, four men involved in our wonderful theater community share their experience of being a dad during rehearsals and shows. Read more to see their experience in balancing fatherhood and theater.

C.B. Davies

Being a father while doing a show was very exciting but also difficult. It was really special to have my young daughter come to rehearsals and even see some of the shows. I even used my newborn son’s cry for “The Candlesticks” sound effects. But it brings with it many challenges. Managing my time at home and keeping my relationship with my children and wife together. I usually am not home for bedtime which has been difficult for all of us and then add in all the extra rehearsal times.

When I didn’t have kids I could feel okay about not being home in order to do a show. Heck, Dena and I were both out being part of shows. Now I have to really think about if and when I would need to be home for my family.

I do enjoy performing and being part of shows but now I have to think about my kids and how that will affect the show. When I performed in “Peace Warriors” there were a few times because Dena was pregnant and my son was due during the rehearsal period that I had second thoughts about the rehearsals and the show dates. When auditions for “Into the Woods” came up Dena and I discussed if we would audition and it was decided that only one of us should because of our kids at home. 

I think managing a family with theater can be the most beautiful thing. I talk about Leia Rose being on stage before we started our run of “After Rome” and how that was so special for me. I see how our involvement in theater really has affected her development but at the same time it can get overwhelming with the time management especially since we are doing so many other things as well including our theater journeys.

Daniel Lewin

Being a father of a toddler, plus my wife being pregnant with our second child, equals a really hard time to do theatre. To explain, I had been cast in 2 musicals. First one was Oliver, and then midway I was cast in Into The Woods. This was making things really difficult with my schedule as I would come home from work, only have about an hour or 2 to spend with my wife and son, and then head straight to rehearsals. Unfortunately, as supportive as my wife was with me doing this, it was also a lot of work for her to handle. This started putting guilt on my shoulders with the fact that I wasn’t at home enough to help out. Unfortunately, as fun as it was to perform in the shows, the feeling of guilt still stuck with me.

The experience of doing theatre without having a child yet was of course easier and less pressuring. I knew after rehearsals or a show that I wouldn’t need to run back home in a hurry or feel any guilt (also because my wife and I were in 2 shows together when we got  married). 

With or without kids, I still enjoy doing shows. It is an undying love of mine. One thing that was amazing was the fact that both the shows I did recently let me bring my son to a rehearsal. The whole cast and creative team were super supportive of me bringing my son. It made those rehearsals a whole lot more fun. When I needed to rehearse something at that time, cast members would offer to watch him while I worked. Those moments will always mean so much to me. It makes me love doing shows here and being part of such a community SO much more better.

There were for sure times when I felt it was overwhelming for me. 2 shows, the guilt of not being home more often, my wife doing all of the work, really felt like it was a putting a strain. I have learned from this experience that I may need to stick with just one show from now on. I want to be fair to my wife, my kids, and myself. My wife has been an absolute superstar for putting up with it for half a year and I’ll forever appreciate her hard work, love and support. As much as I love theatre also, I will always be there for my kids, no matter what, even if that had to include departing from a show because my kids need me. But I do hope they will also love to be part of doing theatre one day like my wife and and I.

Jeff Fantl

As a father of five, participating in community theater offers its own unique challenges and rewards. On the one hand, time is definitely much more limited when you have a busy household to maintain, and participating in theater is probably one of the most time consuming hobbies there is! Thankfully, my endlessly supportive wife helps make that possible by picking up some of the slack at home when I’m tied up in rehearsals. But these challenges all become worth it when my kids come to see me doing what I love on stage, and when I hear them singing the tunes of “Into the Woods” over and over again at home for months after closing night.

Pascal Roy

I started to learn and do theater when I lived in Madrid, Spain. I used to learn, rehearse and play a lot back then, specializing in comedy and clowning. On July 4, 2003, my daughter Juliette was born. Then I started to do less and less theater, focusing on other “more terrenal” priorities. But theater was always somewhere on my mind. Now I am divorced and live in Israel while my only child lives in Spain. We will celebrate her 20th birthday together soon. I am happy to be back to theater now, especially through the English Community Theater, and my dream is that she comes to see me perform live on a future show (and not only see me on video). I think of her and always dedicate each one of my performances to her.