I am a playwright, director and actor, and the artistic director of Traveling Jewish Theatre, a 29 year-old experimental company based in San Francisco. I’ll be posting a weekly blog about the process of writing my new play “A Jerusalem Between Us.” I start with the question, why? Why write this play? The Sundance Institute Theatre Program is producing a reading in Los Angeles this coming Friday night. They sent out a flyer that reads:
"A Jerusalem Between Us" takes stock of some of the recent controversies that have divided Americans and American Jews. Davidman untangles the Rachel Corrie controversy, considers the word “apartheid”, reflects on the spirit of Jewish values and wonders what’s left of the Left. This solo play follows one man’s journey from America to the Middle East on a quest to answer some of the most provocative questions of our time.
The other day a gentleman sent an email to the artistic director of the LA theatre that has generously offered to host the reading. He offered to moderate. When the artistic director replied that Sundance had already chosen a moderator, the gentleman replied with the following:
If I'm not going to speak, I probably won't come. But I'd like to see a review of it…I don't want this guy sitting there spewing some anti-Semitic, self-hating Jewish crap. Can you find out something about it? I can't find any reviews online. It's important that we don't use the theater as a forum for any anti-Israel propaganda, right? The way the blurb is written about that horrible Rachel Corrie character gives good reason for concern that there might be a problem brewing….Please find out more. It's never too late to cancel an anti-Semite!
Why write this play? To bring forward a nuanced, complex and dynamic story about an American Jew and his relationship to Israel in the midst of a culture of fear, one-dimensional analysis and hysterical allegiance. This blog will cover the developments of the play. For more information you can also stay tuned to aarondavidman.wordpress.com.
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