Alliance for Jewish Theatre
AJT’s 2021 Virtual Conference
was Sunday, October 24 through Tuesday, October 26
Information for AJT’s 2022 Conference will begin to come out next year. Sign-up for our email list to get all the latest details. Explore our website pages to see more information from our 2021 Conference and become an AJT Member.
AJT’s 2021 Virtual Conference featured: two hands-on workshops (playwriting with Aaron Posner and physical theatre); several panel discussions (Climate Change & Jewish Theatre, Jewish Comedy, Jewish-Latinx Storytelling with Jewtina y Co, and Jewish Theatre-Making Around The World); a session with DNAWORKS on Discovering Personal Identity; a variety of Affinity Group Meetings; formal and informal opportunities for Networking; a range of Performances; a Q&A with Leigh Silverman; and more.
(last updated on Tuesday, October 26, 2021)
2021 Conference: Detailed Plan of Events
DAY ONE – SUNDAY OCTOBER 24
What: Keynote – Opening Plenary Session with Leigh Silverman
Who: Leigh Silverman, Director of over 58 World Premiere Plays & Musicals, 2019 Obie
(Moderator) Debórah Eliezer, Social Activist, Artistic Director, foolsFURY Theater; San Francisco, CA
(Opening Prayer) Kendell Pinkney, Theatre Maker, Producer, Founding Artistic Director of The Workshop
(Land Acknowledgement) Kyla García (Taíno Nation of Borikén), Indigenous Actor, Poet, Playwright, Director, Organizer, Activist based in unceded Tongva Land
(Community Guidelines) Shawna James, Board Liaison at Theatre Communications Group
(Opening Remarks) Jeremy Aluma, Director, Producer, Executive Director of AJT
When: Sunday, October 24, 12pm – 1:30pm Eastern Time (9am – 10:30am Pacific Time)
Description: An opening prayer, a land acknowledgement, and opening remarks will be given at the top of this session. A moderated keynote discussion about the future of our industry, the power of theatre in this moment, the influence of Jewishness on Leigh Silverman’s own work, and more. A question and answer period with attendees will follow. EVENT 1
This event will be recorded and made available to conference attendees for 30 days via a private link.
This event will open the conference. If you have questions, email conference@alljewishtheatre.org
What: AJT’s First Performance Event
Who / Projects (in show order):
The Braid presents When the Mikvah Water Touches Your Black Hair by Shekhiynah Larks, directed by Susan Morgenstern (USA)
LABA: A Global Laboratory for Jewish Culture presents Name Game by Sara Felder & Yehuda Hyman (USA, Israel)
Theatre Ariel presents The Scribe by Jesse Bernstein (USA)
Nephesh Theatre presents Black Pepper by Aviv Looz directed by Howard Rypp (Israel)
High School Dybbuk by Shara Feit (USA)
(Emcee) Ben Rosenfeld, Standup Comedian, Creator of 4 Standup Albums, 2 Books, and a Gameshow
(Emcee) Michelle Slonim, Standup Comedian, Playwright, Author, and a Worried Jewish Mother
When: Sunday, October 24, 3pm – 4:30pm Eastern Time (12pm – 1:30pm Pacific Time)
Description: Performance excerpts curated by the AJT Conference Committee. The first of three performance events. EVENT 2
This event will be recorded and made available to conference attendees for 3 days via a private link.
What: Social Hour
Who: Everyone! (a social event)
(Moderator) Adam Immerwahr, Artistic Director of Theater J
When: Sunday, October 24, 6pm – 7pm Eastern Time (3pm – 4pm Pacific Time)
Description: A social event that will provide the opportunity to meet and network with other artists and producers in small groups, with curated discussion prompts. A great chance to renew connections and meet new Jewish theatre makers from around the world. EVENT 3
This event will not be recorded.
What: Latinx-Jewish Storytelling and Artist Panel
Who:
Panelists: Melia Bensussen, Jewish & Mexican Director, Artistic Director of Hartford Stage
Melanie Catan, Actress, Writer, Artistic Director & Producer of La Caja Negra, Uruguay
Victor Esses, Theatre Maker, Lebanese-Brazilian/UK Based, CASA Festival Associate
Jewtina’s VOCES Guest Artist: Eddie Chavez Calderon, Campaign Director of Uri L’Tzedek
Moderator: Kimmy Dueñas, Experiential Educator, Community Manager at Jewtina y Co.
Jewtina y Co. is a Jewish and Latin organization on a mission to nurture Latin-Jewish community, identity, leadership, and resiliency, and celebrate Latin-Jewish heritage and multiculturalism.
When: Sunday, October 24, 7pm – 8:30pm Eastern Time (4pm – 5:30pm Pacific Time)
Description: Taking stories from the personal to the dramatic with Jewtina y Co., a Jewish and Latin organization on a mission to nurture the Latin-Jewish community. Together we will celebrate the Latin Jewish Theatre community and the art of storytelling. Attendees will be given an opportunity to workshop personal, cultural and historical stories of identity as well as learn from a Panel of Artistic Leaders at the intersection of Jewish and Latinx. The first hour will be a panel with Jewish Latinx Leaders in the community about their dreams, hopes, and experiences as artists. The last 30 minutes will include a writing exercise about how to take the personal from your life and turn it into something monumental. This event is for all conference attendees and not exclusive to those who are Latinx Jewish artists. EVENT 4A
Learn more about Jewtina y Co. here: www.jewtina.org – @jewtinayco
(note that this program overlaps with 4B but is off-set by 30 minutes)
This event will be recorded and made available to conference attendees for 30 days via a private link.
What: Panel Discussion – Jewish Comedy
Who:
Panelists: Daniel Goldstein, Director, Kleban Prize Winning Writer, Row, Unknown Soldier, Godspell
Sarah Hollis, Actor, Producer, Writer (My Divorce Party, Black White & Jewish)
James Sherman, Playwright, Actor, Professor (The God of Isaac, The Ben Hecht Show)
Michelle Slonim, Playwright, Stand-Up Comedian
Gwydion Suilebhan, Playwright, Author (Punching Up), NPX Director
David Winitsky, Founder & Artistic Director of Jewish Plays Project
Moderator: Danielle Levsky, Post-Soviet Writer, Clown, Educator, Producer, AJT Board
When: Sunday, October 24, 7:30pm – 9pm Eastern Time (4:30pm – 6pm Pacific Time)
Description: Meet the various generations of Jewish comedy actors, playwrights, and changemakers who are invigorating the way Jewish comedy is expressed. How does the history of Jews in comedy shape their work? What kind of innovations are they introducing to the concept of “Jewish comedy”? Is there even still such a thing? How are they addressing current issues inside and outside the Jewish community through humor? Come laugh, learn and laugh some more. EVENT 4B
(note that this program overlaps with 4A but is off-set by 30 minutes)
This event will be recorded and made available to conference attendees for 30 days via a private link.
DAY TWO – MONDAY OCTOBER 25
What: Panel Discussion – Jewish Theatre-Making from Around the World
Who: Artistic Leaders of Jewish Theatre Companies from Argentina, Canada, Hungary, Israel, México, Poland, and Spain
Panelists: Aya Kaplan, Theater Stage Director, Playwright, Lecturer & Teacher, Israel
Helen Marcos, Playwright, Psychodramatist, Artistic Director of La Caja Negra, México
David R. Peralto, Presidente Fundación Teatro Joven, Spain
Lena Rubenfeld, Activist, Cultural Producer, FestivALT Artistic Co-Director, Poland
Janos Szasz, Theatre & Film Director, Professor, Hungary
Michelle Wejcman, Theatre Director, Producer, Cultural Manager, Consultant, Argentina
Moderator: Ari Weinberg, Artistic Director of Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, Canada
When: Monday, October 25, 12pm – 1:30pm Eastern Time (9am – 10:30am Pacific Time)
Description: This panel will address a range of questions including: How are Jewish Theatre leaders across the globe adapting to the new world and the future world to come? What are the themes that are different from each part of the world? How are theatre institutions supported financially in each country? How does anti-Semitism impact theatre-making in each country differently? What is the Jewish and non-Jewish breakdown of audiences and artists at each company? EVENT 5
This event will be recorded and made available to conference attendees for 30 days via a private link.
Full Details
What: Writing Workshop – Personal Playwriting with Aaron Posner
Who: Aaron Posner, Playwright, Director, Theatre Professor (Stupid Fucking Bird, My Name Is Asher Lev)
(Moderator): Shawna James Director, Producer; Board Liaison at Theatre Communications Group, NY
When: Monday, October 25, 3pm – 4:30pm Eastern Time (12pm – 1:30pm Pacific Time)
Description: Aaron Posner (Stupid Fucking Bird, Life Sucks, My Name is Asher Lev), will lead playwrights and artists in finding the personal in your playwriting. What hooks you into the story? What is your POV of this story? What irks you about the story? All of these questions are ways Aaron will show you how to find the personal in a quintessential Jewish tale. This event will carve out time for a writing exercise lead by Aaron. A moderated Q&A with Aaron and the audience will end the session. EVENT 6A
(note that this program overlaps with 6B but is off-set by 30 minutes)
This event will be recorded and made available to conference attendees for 30 days via a private link.
What: Working Session – Towards a Jewish Theatre Bill of Rights
Who: Moderator: Adam Immerwahr, Artistic Director of Theater J
When: Monday, October 25, 3:30pm – 5pm Eastern Time (12:30pm – 2pm Pacific Time)
Description: Gather together to discuss what our expectations might be when non-Jews create Jewish work? How should we communicate those standards? This participatory workshop will brainstorm and explore steps towards the creation of a group document for AJT to consider as we evaluate our role within the field at-large. EVENT 6B
(note that this program overlaps with 6A but is off-set by 30 minutes)
This event will be partially recorded and made available to conference attendees for 30 days via a private link. Because it is a working session we anticipate utilizing breakout rooms that would not be recorded.
What: Community Gathering: Affinity Spaces
Who:
(Mixed/Multi-Identity Facilitator) Shawna James, Board Liaison, Theatre Communications Group
(Latinx and Sephardic Co-Facilitator) Jazmine Aluma, Writer, Playwright
(MENA and Mizrahi Affinity Co-Facilitator) Jeremy Aluma, Executive Director of AJT
(API Facilitator) Alex Chester, Actor, Founder/Editor-in-Chief of Mixed Asian Media
(Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Co-Facilitator) Bex Ehrmann
(MENA and Mizrahi Affinity Co-Facilitator) Debórah Eliezer, Artistic Director, foolsFURY Theater
(Black Co-Facilitator) Yehudah Jai Husband, NAACP Award Animator, Artistic Director of SH’MA Theatre
(LGBTQIA+ Co-Facilitator) Stephen Kaplan, Playwright
(LGBTQIA+ Co-Facilitator) Danielle Levsky, Writer, Clown, Educator, Producer, AJT Board
(TGNC Co-Facilitator) Catherine Miller, Trans Non-Binary Casting Dir., Dramaturg, Gender Consultant
(Disability Facilitator): Ben Raanan, Director, Artistic Director of Phamaly Theatre
(Latinx and Sephardic Co-Facilitator) Jody Steiger, Vice Pres. of Teatro Espressivo, Costa Rica
(Black Co-Facilitator) Anike Tourse, Theatre & Multimedia Maker, Edinburgh Fringe
When: Monday, October 25, 7pm – 8pm Eastern Time (4pm – 5pm Pacific Time)
Description:
Join us to gather in community during AJT’s 2021 Virtual Conference. These spaces are meant to allow folks from across our vital and vibrant Jewish Theatre ecosystem an opportunity to meet, share stories, and build lasting relationships. Affinity Groups will be hosted by racial/ethnic identity; gender; ability; and sexual orientation. Due to our time constraints, these sessions will be happening concurrently. We recognize that you may hold multiple identities, and understand the potential harm or discomfort that may come with choosing one group to attend. We ask you to choose whichever group feels most called to at the time of the session. EVENT 7
This event will not be recorded.
What: AJT’s Second Performance Event
Who / Projects (in show order):
My Father’s Son; Searching for Identity written and performed by Avi Aharoni (USA)
Lilith Women’s Theater presents Mikvah by Terry Baum (USA)
Summer of Semitism by Ori Black (Canada)
Yiddish Theatre Ensemble presents God of Vengeance by Sholem Asch (USA)
Stranger in This Land by Si Kahn (USA)
When: Monday, October 25, 8pm – 9:30pm Eastern Time (5pm – 6:30pm Pacific Time)
Description: Performance excerpts curated by the AJT Conference Committee. The second of three performance events. EVENT 8
This event will be recorded and made available to conference attendees for 3 days via a private link.
DAY THREE – TUESDAY OCTOBER 26
What: AJT Annual Membership Meeting
Who: AJT leaders and AJT Members
When: Tuesday, October 26, 12pm – 1pm Eastern Time (9am – 10am Pacific Time)
How: This event is for AJT Members, if you are a member and are registered for the conference, you will get the link to the meeting
Description: AJT’s Annual Membership Meeting where we will discuss our future plans, hear from our membership, and introduce new board members. EVENT 9
This event will not be recorded.
What: Playwright Community Conversation
Who: Playwright Attendees
Lead-Facilitator: Wendy Kout, Writer, Producer of Stage, Screen and Social Justice Fundraisers
Support-Facilitator: Hank Kimmel, Playwright, Dramaturg, President of AJT, Founding Member, WTP
When: Tuesday, October 26, 1pm – 2pm Eastern Time (10am – 11am Pacific Time)
AJT’s Community Conversations are peer-led community gatherings designed for artists and leaders to convene and talk about strategies, solutions, and ideas for professional growth. Our goal with AJT’s Playwright Community Conversations is to collect artists together in a brave space where you can be open, honest, and vulnerable with one another and learn from your colleagues and peers. This event will break attendees into smaller groups in breakout rooms at times to encourage more opportunities for everyone’s voice.
AJT’s Playwright Community Conversation will be led by AJT Board Members, Wendy Kout and Hank Kimmel. The discussion will focus on the building and expansion of AJT’s playwright community and identifying development, fellowship, and production opportunities. What lessons did you learn this last year? What new opportunities did you find? What are the residencies? Fellowships? ListServs out there for playwrights? How can you best utilize the New Play Network (NNPN)? How do you connect to theatre companies? Artistic leaders? Pitch your plays? What resources and opportunities does AJT provide? What else can and should AJT be doing for its member playwrights? EVENT 9A
(note that this program overlaps with 9B and 9C)
This event will not be recorded.
What: Artistic Director & Organizational Leader Community Conversation
Who: Artistic Directors & Organizational Leaders Attendees
Facilitator: Ari Weinberg, Artistic Director of Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, Canada
When: Tuesday, October 26, 1pm – 2pm Eastern Time (10am – 11am Pacific Time)
AJT’s Community Conversations are peer-led community gatherings designed for artists and leaders to convene and talk about strategies, solutions, and ideas for professional growth. Our goal with AJT’s Artistic Director & Organizational Leader Community Conversations is to collect leaders together in a brave space where you can be open, honest, and vulnerable with one another and learn from your colleagues and peers. This event will break attendees into smaller groups in breakout rooms at times to encourage more opportunities for everyone’s voice.
AJT’s Artistic Director & Organizational Leader Community Conversation will be led by Ari Weinberg, the Artistic Director of Winnipeg Jewish Theatre in Canada. The discussion will focus on the building and expansion of AJT’s Artistic Director & Organizational Leader community and identifying plays and projects in Jewish Theatre. What are the new Jewish plays and projects out there? Who are the new playwrights writing Jewish theatre? What Jewish plays come from Sephardic, Mizrahi, Ethiopian, or other Jews of Color POVs? Are there any specific themes or topics your company is trying to find plays about? EVENT 9B
(note that this program overlaps with 9A and 9C)
This event will not be recorded.
What: Independent Artist Community Conversation
Who: Independent Artist Attendees (including actors, directors, designers, dramaturges, etc.)
Facilitator: Illana Stein, NYC Theater Director & AJT Theatremacher Program Director
When: Tuesday, October 26, 1pm – 2pm Eastern Time (10am – 11am Pacific Time)
AJT’s Community Conversations are peer-led community gatherings designed for artists and leaders to convene and talk about strategies, solutions, and ideas for professional growth. Our goal with AJT’s Independent Artist Community Conversation is to collect artists together in a brave space where you can be open, honest, and vulnerable with one another and learn from your colleagues and peers. This event will break attendees into smaller groups in breakout rooms at times to encourage more opportunities for everyone’s voice.
AJT’s Independent Artist Community Conversation will be led byIllana Stein, NYC Theater Director & AJT Theatremacher. The discussion will focus on the building and expansion of AJT’s Independent Artist community and identifying development, fellowship, and production opportunities. What lessons did you learn this last year? What new opportunities did you find? What are the residencies? Fellowships? ListServs out there for actors, directors, dramaturges, and other artists? How do you connect to theatre companies? Artistic leaders? EVENT 9C
(note that this program overlaps with 9A and 9B)
This event will not be recorded.
What: Workshop – Clowning and Physical Theatre with Zach Steel
Who: Zach Steel, Clown, Actor, USC Head of Comedy, Assistant Professor in Medical Clowning
Moderator: M.J. Kang, Playwright, Actor. Company of Angels, Barrow Group.
When: Tuesday, October 26, 2:30pm – 4pm Eastern Time (11:30am – 1pm Pacific Time)
Description:
This clowning and physical theatre workshop will allow artists to move and personally explore how clowning and movement can be utilized in a digital space. During the first 60 minutes, Zach Steel will lead participants through a series of fun, collaborative clown and physical theatre exercises. The final 30 minutes will be a moderated Q&A with Zach Steel about clown performance, clown teaching, and medical clowning and will include opportunities for audience questions. EVENT 10A
(note that this program overlaps with 10B but is off-set by 30 minutes)
This event will be partially recorded and made available to conference attendees for 30 days via a private link. The first 60-minute clowning portion will not be recorded, the 30-minute Q&A will be recorded.
What: Panel Discussion – Jewish Theatre & The Climate Crisis
Who: Panelists:
Tsur Mishal, Climate & Communication Researcher (PhD Student), Tel Aviv University, Israel
Gab Reisman, Playwright, Director, Immersive Performance Maker
Julie Weitz, Video and Performance Artist (including My Golem)
Sarah Zell Young, Associate Director, National Programs at Hazon
Moderator: Rebecca Joy Fletcher, Jewish Climate Theatermaker, Chicago Actor, Climate Coach
When: Tuesday, October 26, 3pm – 4:30pm Eastern Time (12pm – 1:30pm Pacific Time)
Description: A panel for artists, activists, and changemakers to talk about climate crisis performance and Jewish theatre — the importance of it; and the role of Judaism within it all. Panelists will discuss the need for new forms to meet this crisis. Attendees will learn how to engage and involve theatre spaces and theatre companies more so we can all start thinking systematically about programming work around the crisis into seasons, and learn ways to approach climate saving techniques in production. EVENT 10B
(note that this program overlaps with 10A but is off-set by 30 minutes)
This event will be recorded and made available to conference attendees for 30 days via a private link.
What: Theatremacher Community Conversation
Who: 2021-2022 Theatremacher Cohort
Facilitator: Illana Stein, NYC Theater Director & AJT Theatremacher Program Director
When: Tuesday, October 26, 4:30pm – 5:30pm Eastern Time (1:30pm – 2:30pm Pacific Time)
How: This event is for the AJT 2021-2022 Theatremacher Cohort, if you are a Theatremacher and are registered for the conference, you will get the link to the Theatremacher Community Conversation.
AJT’s Community Conversations are peer-led community gatherings designed for artists and leaders to convene and talk about strategies, solutions, and ideas for professional growth. Our goal with AJT’s 2021-2022 Theatremacher Cohort Community Conversations is to collect the 2021-2022 Theatremacher Cohort together in a brave space where you can be open, honest, and vulnerable with one another and learn from your colleagues and peers. This event will break attendees into smaller groups in breakout rooms at times to encourage more opportunities for everyone’s voice. EVENT TM
This event will not be recorded.
What: DNAWORKS and Discovering Personal Identity
Who: Daniel Banks, Ph.D., Director, Co-Founder/Artistic Director, DNAWORKS, Dialogue and Healing through the Arts
Adam W. McKinney, M.A., Dancer, Activist, Co-Founder/Artistic Director of DNAWORKS, Dialogue and Healing through the Arts
DNAWORKS is dedicated to dialogue and healing through the arts, focusing on identity, heritage, culture, and liberation.
When: Tuesday, October 26, 6pm – 7:30pm Eastern Time (3pm – 4:30pm Pacific Time)
Description: A screening of HaMapah/The Map Dance-on-Film and a community discussion around discovering personal identity. HaMapah/The Map Dance on-Film (30 min.) chronicles dancer and choreographer Adam W. McKinney’s return to his ancestral homelands—Benin, Poland, Montana, Arkansas, Missouri, and Wisconsin—to trace the intersections of his African American, Native American, and Jewish heritages. Directed by Daniel Banks and filmed by documentary filmmaker Laura Bustillos Jáquez, the work was created over a four-year period as a way to investigate the possibility of healing transgenerational traumas. HaMapah/The Map Dance-on-Film explores issues of identity, heritage, and ancestry and offers a complex and powerful story about humanity and mixed-heritage identity. EVENT 11
This event will be partially recorded and made available to conference attendees for 3 days via a private link. The film and introductions will be recored, the breakout rooms and sharing portion will not be recorded.
What: AJT’s Third Performance Event
Who / Projects (in show order):
Settlements by Seth Rozin (USA)
Jewish Plays Project presents Motherland by Lisa Kenner Grissom (USA)
The Golem Theater presents Final Cut by Andras Vinnai (Hungary)
The Trial of William Shakespeare by Alex Poch-Goldin (Canada)
The Victim by Lawrence Goodman (USA)
When: Tuesday, October 26, 8pm – 9:30pm Eastern Time (5pm – 6:30pm Pacific Time)
Description: Performance excerpts curated by the AJT Conference Committee. The third of three performance events. EVENT 12
This event will be recorded and made available to conference attendees for 3 days via a private link.
What: Final Social Hour
Who: Everyone! (a social event)
(Moderator) Adam Immerwahr, Artistic Director of Theater J
When: Tuesday, October 26, 9:30pm – 10:30pm Eastern Time (6:30pm – 7:30pm Pacific Time)
Description: A social event that will provide the opportunity to meet and network with other artists and producers in small groups, with curated discussion prompts. A great chance to renew connections and meet new Jewish theatre makers from around the world. This event will close out the conference.
For our final Social Hour on Tuesday October 26, 9:30pm EDT/6:30pm PDT, we want to make space for you to talk about the ideas and inspirations that have come up during the Conference—or that you wish had come up during the conference! If you have something you’d like to talk about, let us know and we will make space for it. EVENT 13
This event will not be recorded.
AJT’s 2021 Virtual Conference is made possible by generous support from sponsors and donors including jMUSE, The Joelson Foundation, and Diane Gilboa.
