FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR

Dear Friends,

I need your help. We know how wonderful Theater J audiences are because we get to meet you every time you come to the theater, but I’m afraid the people around you may not know that. So would please do me a favor and say hello to the people around you in the theater? Maybe even introduce yourself? And share something about yourself? And if it feels right, would you ask them about their lives? Or how they came to be here tonight? Or a good performance they recently experienced? If you get any funny looks, you can point to this page and tell them that David asked you very nicely to do it.

We are in the midst of a pandemic of loneliness. At home by yourself, we can watch hours and hours of endless performances from very talented performers, but at a theater, you can enjoy a performance with others. Others who may one day become acquaintances and then one day friends (or even one day partners or spouses, it’s all happened right here before!).

And the opportunities to connect with others continue on the floor above you where there are group classes at the fitness center and on the floor below us where book clubs meet, knitting circles knit, Mah Jong players play, and on the lower level where JxJ concerts and film screenings fill the seats of Cafritz Hall just feet away from the pool where generations of Washington children have learned to swim and made lifelong friendships.

Theater J isn’t just conveniently located in a community center, we are proudly part of a thriving community of Jews and non-Jews, long-time Washingtonians and new arrivals, young and old, rich and poor, ablebodied and differently-bodied, and people of all genders. Thank you for helping to fight loneliness. I hope to see you again soon and to hear about who you met at Theater J.

Warmly,

David Lloyd Olson, Managing Director

FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Dear Friends of Theater J,

I hope you had a wonderful summer, and I’m so grateful that you are here for the launch of the season. Welcome to the world premiere of Jenny Rachel Weiner’s The Chameleon!

Drawing inspiration from family comedy dinner-table plays, The Chameleon spins out in surprising and provocative ways. Influenced by how Jewish culture uses humor to discuss difficult topics, we see Weiner probing questions about antisemitism, assimilation, and authenticity through a sharp comic lens.

Jenny is a bold, fearless writer who leans into a highly theatrical mode of storytelling. There are many themes at play, including the creation and representation of superheroes. Jewish immigrants created many of the superheroes whose mythos still inspire today. The title of the play operates both as a reference to a superhero and a nod to the chameleon’s ability to blend in. A larger question the play asks is when might it be helpful to blend in and when is it necessary to assert one’s identity?

Theater J is thrilled to be sharing this work with our DC community and collaborating with brilliant artists who are bringing this play to the stage with creative vitality.

I firmly believe in the power of writers to challenge us, pose relevant questions, and transport us to new theatrical worlds. We have a remarkable season planned with four world premieres and two regional premieres. I hope you’ll return for the HERE I AM series later this fall. Each of the three plays in the series explores identity, family, and longing in beautiful, engaging ways. Thank you for your support of the theater.

Sincerely,

Hayley Finn, Artistic Director

THANK YOU TO OUR 2023/2024 SEASON SPONSORS

LEADING PRODUCER

DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities

National Endowment for the Arts

SPONSORING PRODUCER

The Covenant Foundation

Cathy S. Bernard

Norbert Hornstein and Amy Weinberg

Sari R. Hornstein

Arlene and Robert Kogod, The Robert and Arlene Kogod Family Foundation

The Marinus and Minna B. Koster Foundation

Alfred Munzer and Joel Wind

Patricia Payne

Revada Foundation of the Logan Family

Shapiro Family Foundation

Share Fund

The Shubert Foundation

SUPPORTING PRODUCER

The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation

Patti and Mitchell Herman

Dianne and Herb Lerner

Nussdorf Family Foundation

Kay Richman and Daniel Kaplan

Helene and Robert Schlossberg

THANK YOU TO OUR PRODUCTION ANGELS

Lois and Michael Fingerhut

Bella Rosenberg

Judy and Leo Zickler

This production is supported in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Hayley Finn, Artistic Director - David Lloyd Olson, Managing Director

THE CHAMELEON

By Jenny Rachel Weiner

October 11 – November 5, 2023

Director…………………….................................………Ellie Heyman^

Set Design…………………………............................…Andrew R. Cohen+

Costume Design……………….................……………Danielle Preston+

Lighting Design………………………..................……Ryan Seelig

Sound Design……………………......................………Sarah O’Halloran+

Projection Design………………..............……………Danny Debner

Props Design...........................................Pamela Weiner

Movement Consultant..............................Leslie Felbain

Casting Director…………………….................……… Jenna Place

Production Stage Manager……………………….Anthony O. Bullock*

Assistant Stage Manager……………………………Sara Gehl

Assistant Stage Manager…………………………..Ebony Gennes

CAST (in alphabetical order)

Val.........................................................................Sarah Corey*

Mitch…………………….....................................………Eric Hissom*

Maya ……………………....................................………Arielle Moore

Phillip……………………….....................................……Rj Pavel

Bubbe……......................……………..............………..Nancy Robinette*

Joaquin………………................................………….…Ryan Sellers

Riz………………………...........................................……Dina Thomas*

Stephanie………………………….............................…Emma Wallach

The Chameleon runs approximately 90 minutes with no intermission

The video or audio recording of this performance by any means is strictly prohibited

The Chameleon was commissioned by Roundabout Theatre Company, New York, NY.

The Chameleon was written, in part, with support from SPACE on Ryder Farm.

*Appearing through an Agreement between this theater, Theater J, and Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

^The Director is a Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.

+Member of United Scenic Artists Local 829

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Sarah Corey (Val) is elated to return to Theater J, after Love Sick and Nathan the Wise. Off-Broadway: A Letter to Harvey Milk, Love and Real Estate. International: Death for Five Voices (Prospect Theatre Company). Selected Regional: Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare Theatre Company); Falsettos, Songs for a New World (Rep Stage); Shear Madness (Kennedy Center); Oil (Olney Theatre Center); Bad Jews (Gamm Theatre); Much Ado About Nothing (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); In the Book Of (Alabama Shakespeare Festival); Rhinoceros (Tantrum Theatre); A Christmas Carol (TheatreSquared); Broadway Bound, Brighton Beach Memoirs (Oldcastle Theatre Company); Caroline, or Change (Speakeasy Stage); Lippa's Wild Party (New Repertory Theater); Beau Jest (Public Theatre), Nunsense (Barnstormers Theatre). Training: Princeton University, LAMDA, Shakespeare & Company. TV/Film: We Own This City, Lady in the Lake, Swagger. In memory of Ralph Tryon. sscoreyny, www.sarah-corey.weebly.com.

Eric Hissom (Mitch) Theater J credits include Nathan the Wise, Life Sucks, Body of an American, and Everything is Illuminated. DC area credits include: The Tempest (Round House), Arcadia (Folger, Helen Hayes award), Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike (Arena), The Diary of Anne Frank (Olney), Born Yesterday (Ford’s), The Vibrator Play (Woolly Mammoth), The Effect (Studio), and others. National Tour: The Thirty-Nine Steps. Regional credits include work at Seattle Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, Cleveland Playhouse, Milwaukee Rep, Asolo Rep, Syracuse Stage and others. Television credits: One Tree Hill, Sheena, Mortal Kombat: Feature film: Out of Time. Education: MFA, FSU/Asolo Conservatory. Also a writer and director, he recently directed his play Rude Mechanics at Bridge St. Theatre in Catskill, NY.

Arielle Moore (Maya) DC: workshops of: Kin (Woolly Mammoth), Adia, Clora Snatch Joy (Round House), Elbow (Spooky Action). Regional: The Shakespearecist (Allens Lane Arts Center). Educational (American University): The Sins of Sor Juana; The Winter’s Tale; The Women; Shared Space. Education: BA in Performing Arts from American University. Website: ariellermoore.com. Instagram: @itgirlarielle

Rj Pavel (Philip) DC: AD16 (World Premiere), Lautrec at the St. James, Annie (Olney Theatre Center); Les Deux Noirs (World Premiere) (Mosaic Theatre Co.); Little Shop of Horrors (Helen Hayes Nom), Avenue Q (Constellation Theatre Co.); Chicago (Helen Hayes Nom), The Bridges of Madison County (The Keegan Theatre); The Snowy Day (Adventure Theatre Co.); Urinetown (Monumental Theatre Co.); Family Portrait (DC Music Theatre Workshop); Nat’l Tour/Off Broadway: The Golden Girls: A Puppet Parody. Regional: Beauty and the Beast (Riverside Center); A Few Good Men (Stageworks FL); Walt Disney World, Busch Gardens. Education: BFA Musical Theatre, University of the Arts. Website: rjpavel.com. Insta: @richardjohnpavel

Nancy Robinette (Bubbe) appeared in After the Revolution and Everything Is Illuminated at Theater J. She most recently appeared at Round House Theatre in Jennifer Who Is Leaving, Ford's Theatre in Trip to Bountiful, and at the Gulfshore Playhouse in Florida in Steel Magnolias. She will appear in Prayer for the French Republic this Fall at the Manhattan Theatre Club. For her 40 years plus in DC theatre, she received the Helen Hayes Tribute.

Ryan Sellers (he/him) (Joaquin): DC AREA: The Tempest (Helen Hayes Award, Best Supporting Performer) at Roundhouse Theatre; The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Second Shepherds' Play (Folger Theater); Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Studio Theatre); Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Theatre Company); West Side Story, The Threepenny Opera, Miss Saigon, Pacific Overtures. Imagination Stage: The Ballad of Mu Lan, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Night Fairy, Anime Momotaro (Signature Theatre); White Snake, School for Lies (Constellation Theatre Company); The Undeniable Sound of Right Now, Shakespeare in Love (Keegan Theatre); NATIONAL TOUR: Adventure Theatre MTC: Five Little Monkeys

Dina Thomas (she/her) (Riz) Dina was last seen in Theater J’s The Wanderers. DC Area: 2.5 Minute Ride, Cry It Out (Studio Theatre); Much Ado About Nothing, The Metromaniacs (Shakespeare Theater Company). NEW YORK: Off-Broadway: The Metromaniacs (Red Bull Theater); Clever Little Lies (Westside Theatre); Tribes (Barrow Street Theatre). REGIONAL: Everything You Touch (Contemporary American Theater Festival); The Metromaniacs (The Old Globe); Tribes (La Jolla Playhouse); See How They Run, 10x10 (Barrington Stage Company); Bad Jews, I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard, Miss Witherspoon (Unicorn Theatre). Awards: Broadway World Best Actress nomination (Bad Jews). Training: University of Missouri-Kansas City: MFA in Acting, Binghamton University: BA in Theater. Instagram: @tinydthomas and @dbtrealtor.

Emma Wallach (Stephanie) is thrilled to make her Theater J debut! DC: The Tempest (Round House Theatre); Everybody, Lost Girl, Into the Woods, The Boy Detective Fails (American University). Regional: Billy Elliot, Annie (Maltz Jupiter Theatre). Education: American University, B.A. Musical Theatre; British American Drama Academy.

Jenny Rachel Weiner (Playwright) is a playwright and screenwriter based in Brooklyn, NY, and a graduate of the playwriting program at The Juilliard School. Select plays include: Horse Girls (which continues to be performed around the world; published by Samuel French), Kingdom Come (Roundabout Underground Production Off-Broadway; published by Samuel French), Damsels (developed at Space on Ryder Farm, Williamstown Theatre Festival Workshop Production 2018, finalist for Theater J’s 2021 Patty Abramson Prize). Jenny is currently working on TV and film projects at Netflix, Hulu, and Audible, and has previously sold projects to FX, Universal, Makeready, and Amazon Studios. Thank you with my whole heart to Hayley and all of Theater J, as well as my work wife (Ellie) and actual husband (Ryan). www.jennyrachelweiner.com

Ellie Heyman^ (Director) is a director of theater and film. Recent credits: The Great Work Begins, featuring Glenn Close, Paul Dano, and Brian Tyree Henry (Drama League Award; NYT Best of 2020); Space Dogs (MCC); Eschaton (PGA Award Nomination); (Still) Asking for It (The Public Theater); The Tattooed Lady (Philadelphia Theater Company); Beardo (Drama Desk Nomination; Pipeline Theater), They, Themself and Schmerm (Under the Radar); This (Bessie Nomination for Outstanding Production; NYLA), The Traveling Imaginary with Julian Koster (Neutral Milk Hotel) rated "Top 5 shows of the year" by NPR; music-fiction podcast The Orbiting Human Circus (Of the Air), rated #1 on Apple Podcasts and downloaded over 5 million times (Night Vale Presents). Ellie is a graduate of Northwestern University and Boston University. She is a former WP Theater and Drama League Directing Fellow. Ellieheyman.com, ehstudionyc.com

Jen Jacobs (she/her) (Assistant Director) is a director, actor, singer, and overall creator. Select credits: DIRECTING: Safe Hands A New Musical (Off-Broadway, SheNYC Festival), Drown The Muse (Capital Fringe), Dear Edwina Jr. (Murch Elementary/Levine Music), Stop and Think (Mosaic Theater Company New Play Reading Series), Stef and Arno (Spooky Action Theater). ASSISTANT: Here There Are Blueberries (dir. Moisés Kaufman), The Cherry Orchard (dir. Aaron Posner), whatdoesfreemean? (dir. Amy Green). Directing Fellow at Shakespeare Theatre Company 2021. She is also a Teaching Artist for multiple theater companies in the DC area. BA in Drama and History from Vassar College. Much love to her friends and family for their constant support. www.jen-jacobs.com

Andrew R. Cohen+ (Scenic Designer) Previous Theater J credits include: Broken Glass, Jewish Queen Lear, and The Wanderers. Selected DC credits include: Murder Ballad (Studio Theatre) [Helen Hayes Award Nomination for Outstanding Set Design]. King John (Folger Theatre). The Crucible (Olney Theater Center). Earthrise (Kennedy Center TYA). The Till Trilogy, and Eureka Day at Mosaic Theater Company. Nate the Great, and Mr. Popper’s Penguins (Imagination Stage). Regional credits include: Flyin’ West (Everyman Theatre). Red Riding Hood (Arden Theatre). It’s a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play (Studio Tenn). The Piano Lesson (Le Petit Theatre). Andrew received his MFA in Scenic Design from University of Maryland, and is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829.

Danielle Preston+ (Costume Designer) Theater J Credits: One Jewish Boy, The Christians, Roz & Ray, The How & The Why. DC Credits: Passing Strange (Signature Theatre), Fat Ham, The Mis-education of Dorian Belle, and Clyde’s (Studio Theatre), A Nice Indian Boy, The Joy That Carries You (Olney Theatre), The Till Trilogy (Mosaic Theater), NYC Credits: Where Words Once Were (Lincoln Center) Regional Credits: Blues for An Alabama Sky (Barrington Stage Company), Locomotion (Children’s Theater Company), Schoolgirls; Or The African Mean Girls Play, The Realness (Hangar Theatre), B.R.O.K.E.N. Code B.I.R.D. Switching (Berkshire Theatre Group), Quamino’s Map (Chicago Opera Theatre). Danielle received the 2022 OPERA America Tobin Director-Designer Prize, William R. Kenan Jr. Fellowship in Costume Design with the Kennedy Center, And the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute Fellowship in Costume Design. Preston holds an M.F.A. in Costume Design from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. daniellepreston.com. On social media at @danielleprestondesign

Ryan Seelig (Lighting Designer): Ryan is a lighting designer and collaborative artist from Brooklyn, NY. Credits include; Turning Towards a Radical Listening (The Kitchen), God Said This (The Cherry Lane Theater), Everyone's Fine With Virginia Woolf (Abrons Arts Center), Measure For Measure (The Public Theater), The B-Side (The Performing Garage), Data Not Found (NYU Abu Dahbi), The Rehearsal Artist (Fisher Center at Bard). BA in Theatre from Fordham University. Ryan works as a Senior Event Space Design Manager for Charcoalblue LLC. See more of Ryan's lighting designs at www.ryanseelig.com

Sarah O’Halloran+ (Sound Designer) is a sound designer and composer. Her theater credits include Theater J: Gloria: A Life, Nathan the Wise, Compulsion, Talley’s Folly; Woolly Mammoth/The Second City: She the People: The Resistance Continues; 1st Stage: The Phlebotomist, The Brothers Size, Swimming with Whales, Trevor, and When the Rain Stops Falling; Studio Theatre: Cry it Out; Rep Stage: The Glass Menagerie; E2, The 39 Steps, The Heidi Chronicles, and Things That Are Round; Everyman Theatre: Sense and Sensibility, Be Here Now, Proof, Dinner with Friends; Mosaic Theater: In His Hands, The Return; Olney Theater Center: The Humans, Our Town, Labour of Love; Theater Alliance: A Chorus Within Her; Forum Theatre: Nat Turner in Jerusalem; What Every Girl Should Know, and Dry Land

Danny Debner (Projection Designer) is the Director of Stage Operations at Theater J. Previous Theater J projects include serving as the Projection Designer on One Jewish Boy, Gloria: A Life, and Compulsion or the House Behind; Sound Designer on Sheltered; and Stage Manager on The Pianist of Willesden Lane. DC-area Stage Management credits include The Vandal with Edge of the Universe Players 2, Portraits and Asian American Dance Journey with the Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company, DIGG featuring Kei Takei & Maida Withers. He received his BA from George Washington University. Website: debner.media.

Anthony O. Bullock* (Production Stage Manager) is the Resident Production Stage Manager for the 23-24 season. Theater J: One Jewish Boy, Gloria: A Life, Two Jews Walk into a War…, Intimate Apparel, Nathan the Wise, Compulsion or the House Behind, Tuesdays with Morrie, The Wanderers, Sheltered, Occupant, Love Sick, The Jewish Queen Lear, and Actually. DC: Red Velvet, Our Town (Shakespeare Theatre Company); The Pajama Game (Arena Stage); SOUL: The Stax Musical, Twisted Melodies (Baltimore Center Stage); Billy Elliot (Signature Theatre); The Children, The Hard Problem, Cloud 9, Hedda Gabler, Moment, Between Riverside and Crazy, Chimerica, Jumpers for Goalposts, Laugh (Studio Theatre). NYC: The School for Lies (Classic Stage Company) and workshops with Project Springboard: Developing Dance Musicals. Other regional credits include Barrington Stage Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, McCarter Theatre, TheatreSquared, among others. BFA from Oklahoma City University. Proud member of AEA.

THEATER J LEADERSHIP

Hayley Finn (Theater J Artistic Director) is an accomplished director and producer with over twenty-five years of experience in professional theatre across all aspects of the profession, including producing, directing, casting, education, fundraising, and has been instrumental in creating national partnerships for theatres across the country. Prior to joining Theater J, she was the Associate Artistic Director at the Playwrights’ Center, where worked with some of the nation’s leading playwrights and in her tenure produced over 1,000 workshops. She also served as a Co-Artistic Director of Red Eye Theater from 2019-2023 where she co-produced and curated the New Works 4 Weeks Festival—an annual four-week festival that commissions 11 artists each year to make new performance works—and co-led the fundraising and development of a new 150-seat black box theater in Minneapolis.

She has directed nationally and internationally, including at Cherry Lane Theatre (New York, NY), Curious Theatre Company (Denver, CO), the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Edinburgh, Scotland), Ellis Island (New York), Guthrie Theatre (Minneapolis, MN), HERE Arts Center (New York, NY), History Theatre (St. Paul, MN), Flea Theater (New York, NY), The Kitchen (New York, NY), LAByrinth Theater Company (New York, NY), Marin Theater Company (Mill Valley, CA), New Dramatists (New York, NY), O’Neill Theater Center (Waterford, CT), Pillsbury House (Minneapolis, MN), People’s Light (Malvern, PA), Public Theater (New York, NY), Playwrights’ Horizons (New York, NY), Red Eye Theater (Minneapolis, MN), Six Point Theater (St. Paul, MN), South Coast Repertory Theater (Costa Mesa, CA), and the Nine Gates Festival in Prague. Finn was Assistant Director on several Broadway productions, including the Tony Award-winning production of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge.

Finn is an Alumna of the Drama League Director’s Program, recipient of the Ruth Easton Fellowship, TCG Future Leader Grant, National Endowment for the Arts support, and a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. She received her BA and MA from Brown University.

David Lloyd Olson (Theater J Managing Director) made his stage debut at age five at the Marcus JCC of Atlanta preschool and is now proud to be one of the leaders of the nation’s largest professional Jewish theater. He most recently served as managing director of Quintessence Theatre Group in Philadelphia where he oversaw the organization’s largest ever fundraising campaign and the doubling of their annual foundation support. He was manager of the executive office and board engagement at the Shakespeare Theatre Company where he supported the transition of the theater’s artistic directorship from Michael Kahn to Simon Godwin. He has also held positions at Arena Stage, GALA Hispanic Theatre, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and Pointless Theatre. He was an Allen Lee Hughes management fellow at Arena Stage, a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Valmiera, Latvia, and the recipient of two DC Commission on Arts and Humanities Felllowship program grants. He proudly serves on the board of the Alliance for Jewish Theatre (alljewishtheatre.org) and the board of Adas Israel Congregation.

Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) was founded in 1913 as the first of the American actor unions. Equity’s mission is to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Today, Equity represents more than 40,000 actors, singers, dancers and stage managers working in hundreds of theatres across the United States. Equity members are dedicated to working in the theatre as a profession, upholding the highest artistic standards. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions and provides a wide range of benefits including health and pension plans for its members. Through its agreement with Equity, this theatre has committed to the fair treatment of the actors and stage managers employed in this production. AEA is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions. For more information, visit www.actorsequity.org.

PRODUCTION, EDCJCC, AND THEATER J STAFF

THE CHAMELEON STAFF

Head Electrician: Garth Dolan

Load in Crew: Justin Metcalf-Burton, Tad Howley, Danny Debner, Jeff Gates, Amee Barnes, Andy Reilly

Scene shop set construction: Justin Metcalf-Burton

Light Board Programmer: John Chenault

Sound Board Operator: Alondra Santos-Castillo

Electrics Crew: David Ramsey, Logan Duvall, Calvin Anguiano, Mike House

Assistant Director: Jen Jacobs

Costume Assistant: Jasmine Preston

Yiddish Coach: Bella Rosenberg

Special thanks to Signature Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Studio Theatre, and Imagination Stage Paint Shop

EDLAVITCH DCJCC LEADERSHIP

Edlavitch DCJCC

Chief Executive Officer: Jennifer Zwilling

Chief Financial Officer: Craig Mintz

Chief Operating Officer: Bini W. Silver

Senior Director of Institutional Advancement: Emily Jillson

THEATER J STAFF

Artistic Director: Hayley Finn

Managing Director: David Lloyd Olson

Producing Director: Kevin Place

Associate Artistic Director: Johanna Gruenhut

External Affairs

Director of Patron Experience: Jasmine Jones

EDCJCC Arts Marketing Coordinator: Lena Barkin

EDCJCC Arts Outreach Coordinator: Jacob Ettkin

Ticket Office Manager: Tabitha Littlefield

EDCJCC Creative Director: Molly Winston

House Managers and Ticket Office Associates: Mitchell Adams, Steven Chazanow, Emily Eason, Cristen Fletcher, Asher Herman, Lauren McNeal, Regev Ortal, Robert Reeg, Hadiya Rice, Kaneeka Rice, Sam Rollin, and Mary-Margaret Walsh.

Production

Director of Stage Operations: Danny Debner

Technical Director: Tom Howley

Resident Production Stage Manager: Anthony O. Bullock

Head Electrician: Garth Dolan

Resident Casting Director: Jenna Place

Resident Props Designer: Pamela Weiner

Education & New Play Development

Education Programs Manager: Hester Kamin

Expanding the Canon Rosh Beit: Sabrina Sojourner

Expanding the Canon Commissioned Writers: Harley Elias, Zachariah Ezer, Caroliva Herron, Jesse Jae Hoon, MJ Kang, Thaddeus McCants, and Kendell Pinkey

Yiddish Theater Lab Commissioned Writers: Lila Rose Kaplan, Caraid O’Brien, and Aaron Posner

Teaching Artists: Nayna Agrawal, Dr. Debra Caplan, Rick Foucheux, Naomi Jacobson, James J. Johnson, Caraid O'Brien, Aaron Posner, Sharyn Rothstein, Howard Shalwitz, Bobby Smith, Holly Twyford, Erin Weaver

Founding Artistic Director: Martin Blank

ABOUT THEATER J

The most influential Jewish theater company in the nation. —The Washington Post

Theater J is a nationally-renowned, professional theater that celebrates, explores, and struggles with the complexities and nuances of both the Jewish experience and the universal human condition. Our work illuminates and examines ethical questions of our time, intercultural experiences that parallel our own, and the changing landscape of Jewish identities.

The Edlavitch DCJCC embraces inclusion in all its programs and activities. We welcome and encourage the participation of all people, regardless of their background, sexual orientation, abilities, or religion, including interfaith couples and families.

TRADITION! LOOKING AT A PLAY THROUGH A JEWISH LENS

By Johanna Gruenhut, Associate Artistic Director

FESTIVE MEALS

Is there anything more Jewish than food?

Not a joke. If there is one thing that everyone knows about Judaism, it’s that it includes dietary laws, the laws of ‘kosher.’ The concept is so familiar that the term itself has entered the vernacular, coming to mean acceptable, permissible, on the upand-up, as in this example from the Merriam-Webster dictionary: “Is the deal kosher?”

The reality is that while the official laws of kosher are strict by any measure, the religion’s consideration of food hardly ends there. Orthodox doctrine requires a blessing before the consumption of anything, even a glass of water. A meal with bread demands a blessing before, and also an extended benediction after. A meal without bread is also followed by a blessing, specific to what exactly was consumed.

There are additional dietary restrictions imposed during Passover. And several customary restrictions and recommendations throughout the calendar, such as imbibing alcohol on Purim, avoiding meat during ‘The Nine Days’ (those preceding the ninth of the month Av), and the suggestion that a Shabbat dinner should include fish and also meat or fowl.

That’s not all. The production of food consumes the entirety of Zeraim (Seeds), the first of the six books in the Talmud. It includes the laws of Shmita, the requirement that all direct agricultural work stop for one out of every seven years, a sabbatical for the soil and its laborers: “For six years you are to sow your land and to gather in its produce, but in the seventh, you are to let it go and to let it be, that the needy of your people may eat, and what remains, the wildlife of the field shall eat." [Exodus 23:10-11].

Where, when, how, and especially what one eats is thus a central concern of Judaism. And so follows an important (if not Talmudic) question: wherefrom originates the particular disposition of American Jewry towards Chinese food on Christmas? There are several well-known answers, all important. The fact that Jewish and Chinese immigrants lived as neighbors on New York’s Lower East Side, that Chinese cooking typically omits dairy, and that Chinese restaurants are likely to remain open when other shops are closed. But these best explain why Jews have long enjoyed Chinese food, in general, not its status as custom, as Christmas tradition! For some, no less vaunted a tradition than latkes on Chanukah, or apples and honey on Rosh Hashana.

No, what is critical is that Judaism marks occasion with food. Every holiday has its food, food that sustains and that also symbolizes the meaning of the holiday. Of course Jewish immigrants to the US would want to mark Christmas as an occasion, even if not a religious one. Time off, time with family, lights everywhere, a pervasive sense of festival. What better way to mark this occasion than with a food that must have been entirely new, so different, a symbol of this new home?

So what if Christmas does not fit the mold of a Jewish holiday, the old saw: “They tried to kill us, we won, now let’s eat.” At least you can have chicken that is named after a General.

AN INTERVIEW WITH JENNY RACHEL WEINER

Hayley Finn [HF]: I want to find out more about your original impulse for writing this play.

Jenny Rachel Weiner [JRW]: I was watching a television show about Jewish people, and I was like, ‘This is amazing. I love it. I feel represented.’ But after a bit, I found myself going, ‘but that actor isn’t Jewish, and that actor isn't Jewish, and neither is…’. And something just started to like buzz around in me; I started to feel a little icky. And I was trying to understand why I was feeling that way.

I was feeling like, how come Jewish actors aren't playing these Jewish roles? It's this very specific culture. It's this very specific ethnicity, a very specific way of being in the world. And it [the show] felt a little bit like performative of the culture and not authentic.

I started to just think about what it means to be authentically Jewish and how would that look in a television show or a movie. That was my original impulse for the play.

HF: Comic books also feature heavily – how’d that idea come to play?

JRW: I’ve been fascinated by the fact that they [Superman, Batman, Captain America, Spider-Man, so many] were created by Jewish immigrants. These Jewish men who didn't have a place anywhere else — who were not allowed to be journalists — were relegated to making comic books, which at the time were not considered real art or writing. They were writing about their own stories, about coming to the United States, about not being seen or respected or understood, and then in their imagination, being able to shine and show who they really are.

It got me thinking about how Eastern European Jews coming over had a privilege of being white passing, but there was this necessity to leave behind your Jewishness to move ahead in the world. And there are consequences to that.

To circle back to your original question — I feel that it related to my feeling of watching this television show: the consequences to leaving our authenticity behind as a Jewish people. That revved me up.

And I felt like there was a way to express this play through a lens of humor so that we can identify with this family and also ask ourselves the hard questions. Humor brings us together. Laughing together loosens us all up. So, to really actually experience the hard stuff, we need to be together in joy.

HF: Do you think of yourself as somebody who writes through a Jewish lens, considering Jewish ideas and identity?

JRW: I think being a Jewish person and coming from a Jewish family informs everything I do. Whether or not the content of the play is overtly Jewish or not. Most of my plays center on people who are part of a marginalized group, and the politics and the dynamics inside of those groups. I think that is definitely influenced by being Jewish, by being a theater kid, by growing up in Florida. I think my work is about people wanting to be seen, wanting to be loved, wanting to be understood, and messily moving through the world, trying to find their place.

HF: You work in film, TV, and theater, but I've heard you say that The Chameleon is very much a play, and you were thinking about it as theater. Why does it need to live in this medium?

JRW: Theater can be expressed on this large imaginative, inventive scale. Film is a visual medium. In a film, if I want the audience to focus on the apple on the table, the camera zooms in on the apple and the audience knows, Okay, I'm supposed to look at the apple. In theater, if I want the audience to look at the apple, I can't just hope that everyone looks at the apple at the same time. Real people in space must speak about the apple in a way that allows the audience to know to look. Theater is more alive because it is existing in real time, in real space, in front of a real audience.

That conversation [between actor and audience] feels electric, and it's different every night. The actors might be in a weird mood, or it might be raining outside, or the audience might be tired, or something crazy might have happened in the news cycle. All of that affects how the play is expressed. Which is both terrifying and exhilarating. You cannot find that in any other medium.

THEATER FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES

TINY LIGHTS: Tales for Chanukah

Created by Aaron Posner and Erin Weaver

Sunday, December 3: 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM

Saturday, December 9: 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM

Sunday, December 10: 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM

There is nothing like a great story, well-told. Taking inspiration from the great Chanukah tales of master storyteller Issac Bashevis Singer, our theatrical storytellers will weave tales out of words, a few simple props, and theatrical devices—and then teach you and your young kids how to do the same!

Join us to celebrate the joy of Chanukah and the power of the imagination for an interactive event that includes hearing great stories—and then playing with how to do the same in your own home! This show is best suited for families with children ages 4-9, though all are welcome!

Tickets at theaterj.org/tinylights

COMING UP

THE HERE I AM SERIES explores identity, family, and longing. These three plays offer distinct perspectives on these themes. Each play can be experienced individually, but we hope you’ll consider seeing all three brilliant performances in succession.

Here are some words from the creators on the genesis and aspirations for their stories.

Iris Bahr on SEE YOU TOMORROW

I was in the thick of my caregiving for my mom in Israel when I had to start preparing for a stand-up show at a theatre in Canada that I had committed to before it all happened.

I decided instead to write and perform a piece about what I was going through in the moment with my mom, as I knew so many others could relate. It was a true departure from my previous solo pieces, where I inhabited numerous characters in fictional situations. This was just me, very raw, very vulnerable, but still true to form in alternating between wit and pathos.

Through comedy, I rejoice in offering a respite from whatever challenges people are going through and who are eager to come to the theater for an entertaining experience.

Michele Lowe on MOSES

A few years back I wrote a monologue called Queen Esther. I loved taking a character from Jewish history, a woman with her own complete story, and bringing her into the 21st century. When I decided to write a one person show, I started with the idea of bringing one of the patriarchs to life. Moses has intrigued me for decades. I took everything I knew about him or imagined about him and gave him a new journey. I’m sure I was also inspired by what I have learned during the past eight years while I’ve coached dozens of rabbis on writing and preaching their sermons. I write about love and loss. Now it’s Moses’ turn to experience both.

Sun Mee Chomet on HOW TO BE A KOREAN WOMAN

I have always wondered about my Korean birth family. When I was a young child, l used to have a recurring dream in which I would be drawing my birth mother with charcoal and then just as I was about to draw her face, I would wake up. I have always been grateful that my father was Jewish because I grew up in a family that understood discrimination, war, immigration, grief, and relentless hope. There are so many parallels in the Jewish-American and Korean-American experiences of family history and loss and survival. The play is specifically about my search for and reunion with my Korean birth family, yet it is universally about every person's desire to be whole.

My hope is to give voice to the internal life of what so many adoptees hold inside, sometimes not even knowing the questions they are housing in their own souls. It excites me to perform for Theater J audiences because there are many Jewish adoptees that I've met through the years (Korean, Guatemalan, Chinese, etc.) and our experiences are very specific and unique. We are accepted, and yet sometimes not accepted. We face discrimination within our own communities even though it wasn't our choice to be adopted. I hope to crack open these conversations by sharing one human story which is my own.