Comments on: Theatre as Rorschach http://aviewfromthebooth.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/theatre-as-rorschach/ ...from the rehearsal hall to the closing night party Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:24:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU By: Jibing http://aviewfromthebooth.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/theatre-as-rorschach/#comment-78 Jibing Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:10:33 +0000 http://aviewfromthebooth.wordpress.com/?p=57#comment-78 Somehow i missed the point. Probably lost in translation :) Anyway ... nice blog to visit. cheers, Jibing. Somehow i missed the point. Probably lost in translation :) Anyway … nice blog to visit.

cheers, Jibing.

]]> By: Chip Duford http://aviewfromthebooth.wordpress.com/2008/04/05/theatre-as-rorschach/#comment-72 Chip Duford Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:16:22 +0000 http://aviewfromthebooth.wordpress.com/?p=57#comment-72 I found a similar phenomenon while attending the talkback for the production of a play called Women's Minyan at the Jewish Ensemble Theatre in Detroit. The crux of the play is a group of Jewish women take an oath and form a 'minyan' to decide the fate of a mother who has been denied the right to see her children. The issues arrived when a rabbi, who was attending the production after his wife had attended an earlier performance, and when it was over, she overheard another audience member say as they were leaving, "So THAT's what happens behind the scenes of the Jewish society." An understandably alarming reaction to the conflict in the play, the mother's husband, a rabbi, was accused with evidence of pretty unspeakable acts with her, sexual and physical abuse, which forced her to leave the house and the family, a big no-no in Jewish society, evidently. Now, while that played an important part in the story, the main story was the mother having to keep it all a secret, for the sake of her children and family (I should add that this play took place in a pretty devoutly religious community in Israel.) The rabbi, who was attending the play, couldn't get past the negative portrayal of a Jewish Rabbi. And proceeded to voice his discontent about the play, and the issue, and almost made it sound irresponsible for the theatre to have produced the play. Not to mention, the fact that the play is based upon a factual incident. It did seem though, that at least in that evenings viewing, he was in the minority, as person after person voiced their opinion that they were aware that the rabbi portrayed in the play was an isolated incident, and they did not have a pre-(or post-)conceived notion about the Rabbinical clergy from the play. Myself included. Sometimes you take away what you come in with. I found a similar phenomenon while attending the talkback for the production of a play called Women’s Minyan at the Jewish Ensemble Theatre in Detroit. The crux of the play is a group of Jewish women take an oath and form a ‘minyan’ to decide the fate of a mother who has been denied the right to see her children. The issues arrived when a rabbi, who was attending the production after his wife had attended an earlier performance, and when it was over, she overheard another audience member say as they were leaving, “So THAT’s what happens behind the scenes of the Jewish society.”

An understandably alarming reaction to the conflict in the play, the mother’s husband, a rabbi, was accused with evidence of pretty unspeakable acts with her, sexual and physical abuse, which forced her to leave the house and the family, a big no-no in Jewish society, evidently. Now, while that played an important part in the story, the main story was the mother having to keep it all a secret, for the sake of her children and family (I should add that this play took place in a pretty devoutly religious community in Israel.)

The rabbi, who was attending the play, couldn’t get past the negative portrayal of a Jewish Rabbi. And proceeded to voice his discontent about the play, and the issue, and almost made it sound irresponsible for the theatre to have produced the play.

Not to mention, the fact that the play is based upon a factual incident.

It did seem though, that at least in that evenings viewing, he was in the minority, as person after person voiced their opinion that they were aware that the rabbi portrayed in the play was an isolated incident, and they did not have a pre-(or post-)conceived notion about the Rabbinical clergy from the play. Myself included.

Sometimes you take away what you come in with.

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