Storahtelling

Staged Reading of Becoming Israel at The Academy of Jewish Religion

By Isadore Alexander Wolfson

Storah On The Road

Hello Storahlovers, leaders, and livers,

It is my esteemed pleasure to write some tid bits about the Becoming Israel staged reading that took place at the Academy of Jewish Religion on Monday, March 17, 2008. We all met up at the Storahtelling office in the morning and gathered our various doo-dads (I like to use words like that..oh, and tid bits too…I like tid bits) and headed on out into the great wide world of Manhattan, chugging along with our gig bag and Storahtelling banner in tow. Courageously, we boarded the trusty train bound for staged reading glory. We arrived to find that thankfully, we had been provided with bagels, juice, and coffee. What a nice surprise that was. After a quick bite, sound check, full read through, and lots of sitting and waiting, our audience filed in, staring at us with wide eyes, ready to receive the dose of Israel becomance (I made that word up) we were about to serve them. Franny expertly read the Torah verses, Emily Warshaw threw down some excellent translations as well as making sure the stage directions were properly announced throughout, and myself (Isadore Alexander Wolfson), Sarah Sokolic, and Daliya Karnovsky Bros read through the script as Jake, Leah, and Rachel respectively. I think the audience really connected to our tale in a real way. Many of the comments afterwards were eye opening and unexpected, including the gentleman that equated American Jews to the character of Leah, peering across the river Yabok at the wrestling going on between the angel and Jacob.; creating a direct comparison between the relationship with American Jews and Israel and the characters in the play. There were also a lot of people that were searching for more answers to the questions that were posed in the play. Franny, of course, reminded them that our job is not to provide those answers, but simply to provoke the questions. All in all, we learned a lot, had a great time, and really helped each other move forward in our own explorations of this play, this world, and these characters.

Love to all of you Storah Troopers,

Alex