By Stanley Tiger
SAN DIEGO — Can you present 4,000 years of Jewish history in 5 minutes? No, but in the coming 5-Minute Play Festival, sponsored by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, we are promised a theatrical glimpse into some of the many facets of the Jewish life.
The brain child of SDCJC producer D. Candis Paule, the Monday, March 11th staged reading of ten 5-minute plays is a cutting edge excursion into contemporary theater. “It is a celebration of playwrights, theater and community in an evening of fun,” says Paule, who is also directing the play readings.
Being such a cutting edge format in theater, this may be the first such Jewish play festival in the country, echoing back to Bill Gates’ prediction of several decades ago regarding how the Internet will “change the way we consume information.”
Nourished on a never-ending diet of 4 minute 12 second (average) YouTube videos, the under 35 demographic communicates in rapid, definitively framed concepts, suggesting that this new theater format should hold particular appeal to a generation which is exposed to entertainment launched from small screens much more than live theater.
The ten short plays were chosen by a committee of ten play readers lead by Devorah Gurantz, chair of the Look and Listen Program. The evening will consist of a variety of funny and dramatic plays, featuring contemporary and historical settings. After the conclusion of the rehearsed readings, the audience will be treated to refreshments, shmoozing and asked to vote for their favorite 3 plays – to be identified by number – the specific playwright’s names to remain anonymous. Winners are to be announced that evening.
The participating authors are: Judith Allen, Michael Eichler, Christine Emmert, Thea Iberall, Phil Johnson, Uma Kuchina, Mark Harvey Levine, Myla Lichtman-Fields, Simon A. Ordever, Janet S. Tiger.
San Diego has an especially vibrant theater community, being one of the top theater cities in the country and is a laboratory for Broadway hits. It is also the home of the oldest new-play reading group in the country, Scripteasers*. Three of the 5-minute play finalists are associated with this 65-year-old group.
What is the magic of live theater vs. plays, movies and TV as seen on light emitting or reflecting screens of all sizes? This writer has been privileged to gain insight into this area. One of the Scripteasers members, playwright Janet S. Tiger (full disclosure: spouse) described the experience of new play readings from the point of view of the playwright. “When I hear one of my plays being read, I can tell if I am connecting with the audience by listening to their reaction. When the audience is completely still and I can hear no coughing, I can feel the intensity the group is experiencing, I know when it is working. How the audience reacts to the laugh lines and the ultimate success for a playwright – hearing the audience gasp at a plot point. It is so valuable.”
She points out that every evening of live theater is different. The reaction of the audience affects the actor’s performance and the actors affect the audience in a moment to moment actor/audience exchange. “It is only live theater that can create this intense magic.”
All are invited to experience this exciting new approach to Jewish theater, and please, particularly encourage “YouTube aficionados” to be there.”Short attention span theater” should be a welcoming carpet to the greater world of live theater in the form of this special evening.
Performance, Monday, March 11, 7:00 P.M. at the Lawrence Family JCC. For tickets ($8.00 to $10.00) call 858-362-1348 or visit www.sdcjc.com.
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Stanley Tiger is president of Jewish Universe Media, a San Diego based educational group. Email UniverseJcom@gmail.com