Heroes, Streaming, virtual, Yom Hashoa

Theater vs. COVID – 19 #7 Yom Hashoa, perseverance, heroism, and thank you

Today is Yom Hashoa. I just finished a long preparation for a live reading of Vilna by Ira Fuchs and am glad that I persevered and made it happen. The video is below.

Yom Hashoa Facebook Live Ceremony and Reading of Ira Fuchs’ Vilna

Doing this project has brought up a couple of thoughts for me in the past few weeks and I am finally able to share some thoughts here. We are living in a time where people are doing heroic deeds by just being. We live during COVID – 19. It keeps us homebound. It keeps us from living the way we are used to. Of course it is not the same as what my ancestors, my Bubby and Zaidy and their families went through. It will never be the same. They had their stories and we share them today. But now we are creating our own stories. How we go about our story and what choices we make today will be told in the years to come.

These past few weeks have been hard for me. I wanted to continue writing here but I have taken my time. I go in and out of how and what I can accomplish. I get depressed that I am not accomplishing enough and yet there are sparks of inspiration. I said I would read Uta Hagen’s Respect for Acting and I have been reading it but I have not finished. I said I would complete Theater Makers Studio’s course but have not even finished two sessions. I know that I am doing other things that are as good. I launched JET Live! and directed, hosted and acted in the above video but sometimes we need to take a break and refresh. I do have Shabbat for that and I am blessed to be part of the Jewish people and to celebrate what Shabbat is but even during the week we need this. We who are home have that ability during COVID – 19 to take that break. That is what makes us heroes today. To persevere and refresh and continue.

And there are those on the front lines of the COVID – 19 struggle and they too are heroes. They are making sure that those in the field are staying strong, staying safe, and surviving. It is a struggle and there are losses but these people are keeping it together for all of us. The policemen, the healthcare workers, food workers, and more. They are all heroes

What is the Hero story

What is a hero? Who is a hero? I searched on google and honestly could not figure out the right answer or even determine if there was a correct answer. Heroes will be different for each and every one of us But in our discussion last night there was the mention of a hero being a person who finds themselves in a certain situation and rises to the occasion. Human beings, us, are heroes and living through a heroic time just because we are living now. We can call others heroes from their time, but we can also call ourselves heroes today.

We are all heroes

I want to thank every one of you. You are all heroes in today’s story. All an inspiration of what the human spirit can endure.

#stayhomestaycreativestaysafe

Share your written work here. Join the blog. Have any other ideas to weather this virus? Want to join JET Live!? Let us know @ jerusalemenglishtheater@gmail.com

Streaming, Theater Vs. Virus

Theater vs. COVID – 19 #4 with a little bit of American Football and my dog

Stuck at home but I’m feeling lucky. This is a time where we should appreciate our dogs. I feel like they are taking us out on a walk and not the other way around. Of course right now is when our dog got sick with some stomach issue. He seems to be doing better and he is on medication. Here is a recent picture I took of him with the new Iphone 11 camera.

Dallas or Denver?

Now let’s talk about theater and some football.

Something’s coming…

The new West Side Story! Read about it here. And know that great things are coming.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/03/a-first-look-at-steven-spielbergs-west-side-story

Monologue with TheaterMakers Studio

So one of the first things that happened during my TheaterMakers Studio stay was a monologue contest. I decided, hey, why not? And I wrote a monologue. I don’t think it’s my best. Actually it might be my first in a while. But here it is.

“One day I was sitting around minding my own business when suddenly I had this huge crisis on my hands and bam! It all went to shit. Someone decided that it was better that I mind my daughter’s business and my wife’s business and my mom’s business and anyone else’s business within my own business. Of course, I don’t know how I could get involved in anybody’s business. We’re not making any money from any of this, are we? I mean I had my own business and was minding it pretty well until I was told I couldn’t anymore because, well, ya know, virus. But now I can’t even mind my own business and I have like all these other businesses to attend to. What kind of person makes this happen? Whose business is it anyway? Oh, wait. No one’s business! Hmm, well maybe there’s a new kind of business out there. I mean I got more time now with my daughter, got more time with my wife, got more time with my mom and everyone is in each other’s business. Maybe that is the new business. But instead of business in a monetary sense it’s just the business of love and connection. I think I could get behind that. Just let me mind my own damn business!”

Adulting with Jane gives us a schedule!

My friend Jenny Paul Rothschild recently has been working on a web based series called Adulting with Jane and has a group on Facebook called Adulting: The Struggle is Real. Now she is working tirelessly like many of us to keep people safe and entertained. She has been finding resources and has put them all in a google document in a schedule. There is opera and Broadway and it is all online where you can watch from your living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, wherever.

Theater events and online presence here. Including many Broadway stars giving online mini concerts at 2pm and 8pm daily. Those are the usual times Broadway shows play.

https://bit.ly/3a7pSmE

or you could just go to Youtube here straight to Broadway Stars in the House.

Broadway and West End online 

BroadwayHD is giving a free 7 day trial for anyone interested in watching Broadway shows and West End shows! They have a pretty extensive list.

https://www.broadwayhd.com

Virtual Reading coming from Israel with our very own Theater in the Rough

Theater in the Rough, always looking for new ways to present theater, recently had living room theater with small audiences. Well here they go again during this new age of theater. They are having a virtual reading of King Lear next Monday, March 23, at 8pm!

Now this one is interesting. Guess when Shakespeare wrote this great play? During a plague!

To watch live, here is a link to the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/255737652089980/

And here is a link to sign up to read: https://forms.gle/e2npKALs4x7xzyD67

And because my life revolves around the American football world as well

NFL Gamepass is offering free viewing of games from past seasons plus more. This offer is until July here. That means I can see this play

Malcolm Butler interception during 2014 Seahawks vs. Patriots Superbowl

and many others and appreciate what Tom Brady and the Patriots have done for Football. Talking about Tom Brady. He has moved on from the Patriots but as I have been telling a few of my friends it puts life in perspective that it doesn’t bother me much because of Corona. However, it also doesn’t bother me much because I know how much he has done for the Patriots organization and the inspiration he is in general.

We know we can’t have live theater now but now is the perfect time to be inspired by what we have done or what we have seen others do throughout the years and know that when this all is over we will come out stronger and better for it.

Does anybody want to share there written work during this time here? Have any other ideas to weather this virus? Let us know @ jerusalemenglishtheater@gmail.com or comment here