Israeli Stage | Bringing Israeli theatre to American audiences

Celebrating World Theatre Day

March 27, 2012

Producing Artistic Director Guy Ben-Aharon wrote the following blog post for StageSource in celebration of World Theatre Day:

THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL THEATRE

March 27th, 2012 marks the 41st anniversary for World Theatre Day.

I moved to the United States at the age of 9 without speaking much English at all, and a year later, in fifth grade, a few of my American friends invited me to audition with them for the after school production of Mary Poppins. I landed the part of Mr. Dawes Senior—the old banker who sings “Fidelity Fiduciary Bank” and then laughs to death. Doing theater taught me to express myself in English, and made me feel like I was a part of something. Theatre gave me a sense of belonging.

Now I run a small theatre company called Israeli Stage (IsraeliStage.com), whose mission it is to bring Israeli theatre to American audiences. I founded the company a little over a year ago, and since then we have put on seven different staged readings; one world premiere, three American premieres and three regional premieres. We are currently in the midst of our first tour; we are taking a staged reading of Savyon Liebrecht’s Apples from the Desert to six academic institutions in the Greater Boston Area to commemorate International Theatre Day and International Women’s Month.

I started Israeli Stage to shed light on Israeli culture, and to provoke conversations about Israel that might not happen outside of the cultural sphere. As a theatre-artist, I believe it is our job to bridge the gap between people living in opposite corners of the world, and present work that explores universal themes that allow audiences to connect to narratives that are specific to cultures that we don’t know connect to on a daily basis.

Can you imagine how different your reaction would be to the recent tragedies that are happening in Syria had you attended a play by a Syrian playwright? How much more united you would feel to the Japanese people who lost family and friends in the Tsunami had you read a script by a Japanese playwright? North Korean and South African life would not seem so distant from our own if we make space for their art to be a part of our lives.

I salute the local theatres that are presenting translated works by international playwrights (ArtsEmerson, Apollinaire Theatre), and invite everyone else to join the movement! Presenting international plays not only broadens our minds, but also introduces us to different ways of thinking.

I look forward to seeing you at the theatre,

Guy Ben-Aharon
Producing Artistic Director and Founder, Israeli Stage

Category 2011-12 Season, Apples from the Desert, Boston theatre, Letter from Guy

In The Press – Apples from the Desert | March, 2012 tour

March 14, 2012

Broadway World | March 2012

“Beginning Israeli Stage in November 2010, Ben-Aharon hopes to fuse our preconceived notions of Israel with the realities of Israeli culture, in order to create an innovative theatrical experience for the Boston community and beyond…”

A note from our sponsors

February 28, 2012

Please find this note from our friends and sponsors at the Israel Campus Roundtable:

At the Israel Campus Roundtable, we serve as a resource for students in the Boston area who are interested in connecting with Israel.

For students who identify with Israel in a cultural manner, there are many ways to express this bond: painting Middle Eastern murals, critiquing Israeli film, or participating in a dance troupe, for instance. Yet there is one cultural aspect of Israel that has heretofore been an unknown phenomenon in Boston: the theater.

Thanks to Israeli Stage, students in Boston are finally able to encounter the tremendous literary works that Israeli authors bring to life. With Guy Ben-Aharon at its helm, this organization has brought Israel to the stage gracefully, with passion and energy. Whether students have participated in the plays themselves, or enjoyed them from the audience, Israeli Stage receives high praise as a highlight of the Israeli cultural scene in Boston, and in the theatre community at large.

We are so pleased that Israeli Stage will be holding performances at Harvard University, MIT, Boston University, Northeastern University, Hebrew College and Brown University/RISD throughout the 2012 Spring Semester.

See you at an upcoming performance!

Matt Hoffman
Israel Campus Roundtable
www.israelcampusroundtable.org

Category 2011-12 Season, Apples from the Desert

In the Press – Motti Lerner’s At Night’s End, 2011-12 Season

February 9, 2012

The Arts Fuse | February 2012

“Israeli playwright Motti Lerner and Boston-based director Melia Bensussen had initially planned their workshop of Lerner’s new play,At Night’s End to be presented at Emerson College. However thanks to Israeli Stage, the Boston-based troupe dedicated to presenting readings of Israeli plays in translation, the workshop had its American premiere as a public reading at the Goethe Institute…”