May 2025 – Page 5

A funny look at death

David Bloom, left, and Richard Newman share two different roles in Western Gold Theatre’s production of Caryl Churchill’s Here We Go, which is at PAL Studio Theatre until May 25. (photo by Colleen Bayati)

“I love Caryl Churchill – she is quirky,” actor Rosy Frier-Dryden told the Independent. “She makes you think, makes you work. You can’t just rely on lines! You have to bring her lines to life.”

Frier-Dryden co-stars in Western Gold Theatre’s production of Churchill’s Here We Go, which centres around a funeral. Director Kathryn Bracht describes the work as “a deceptively simple, 45-minute exploration on death and dying that is a surrealist meditation wrapped up in her crafty, clever dialogue.”

For the run at PAL Studio Theatre, which goes to May 25, Frier-Dryden is joined by fellow Jewish community members David Bloom and Richard Newman in the cast, which is rounded out by Bernard Cuffling, Kate Robbins and Peihwen J. Tai.

“Without giving all of the storyline away, the general structure of the play is that it’s in three parts: a funeral scene; a monologue scene, where the deceased speaks; and a final scene without words,” explained Newman.

“We did our first runs today, and it’s quite remarkable how the three scenes build on each other to explore relationships with aging and death,” added Bloom. “It’s startlingly funny and weirdly moving.”

Bloom and Newman share roles, as do the other actors: Frier-Dryden with Robbins, and Cuffling with Tai.

“In half of the shows, I am on stage in the first third playing one of five people attending a funeral,” said Newman. “In the other half of the shows, I play the subject of the funeral, the guy who died, who has a lengthy monologue – six pages of script, to be precise. This monologue is brilliantly written – emotional, scary and, always, funny. Quite a challenge, but such a great scene to play.

“Because of Churchill’s writing and Kathryn Bracht’s direction, each actor has a lot of leeway to interpret their lines and define their characters. Like me, David will have his own interpretation of both roles, and we’ve agreed not to watch each other, so we’ll not be influenced by the other – we’re developing our characters independently. Each of us rehearses alone in the room with the director.”

Frier-Dryden also spoke enthusiastically about the latitude the actors have in this play.

“The most marvellous thing is, you are allowed to create your own character, based on what Caryl Churchill writes and the freedom she gives you,” said Frier-Dryden. “In the first scene, I am playing a character that is older and a big personality. She is a Londoner, upper class, and lives in Eaton Square with a vast array of friends. She had an affair with the guy whose funeral we are attending. In the final scene, she is ill, has dementia and she is slipping away. She and her husband have come to terms.”

photo - Rosy Frier-Dryden’s character in Here We Go had an affair with the man whose funeral the characters have come to attend — Rosy Frier-Dryden’s character in Here We Go had an affair with the man whose funeral the characters have come to attend. *(photo by Colleen Bayati)*

“Caryl Churchill is quite simply a remarkable playwright,” said Western Gold Theatre artistic director Tanja Dixon-Warren. “She has an extraordinary command of language and deep understanding of human nature. Her work is very reminiscent of Pinter and Beckett, in that the text is pared down to its absolute essentials. There is nothing extraneous or gratuitous.

“She has a distinctive, truly singular approach to writing,” Dixon-Warren continued. “Very often there is no punctuation, and lines are not assigned to specific characters, thus allowing the director and actors to find multiple stories and characters within the piece – knowing that they will bring their life experience to the work. This requires that the director, actors, designers really dig into the play, to find all the nuances and be very, very specific about what they are saying. Her material is, essentially, just the beginning of the conversation.”

It certainly has the actors thinking beyond the play and about their own lives: Bloom is 65, Newman is 78 and Frier-Dryden is 90.

“I find myself being grateful for being alive and still being able to move around under my own power,” said Bloom, who commented that the monologue “is both a marathon and a sprint” in which he immerses himself every bus journey, so he’s physically and emotionally exhausted at the end of each day.

“I think about my parents a lot,” he added, “because the play reminds me of their last years and the different ways they faced bodily decline and death. There’s a scene I’m not in that brings up heartbreaking memories of my father’s last years. But, mostly, I’m so delighted to be working on such a beautiful piece of writing with a group of wonderful people, many of whom are even older than I am.”

“You start to think about what’s really important, what I want to do with whatever is left of my life,” said Newman, who has lost many friends in the last year-and-a-half or so.

“What strikes me most strongly is that I am enjoying being here and am looking forward to sticking around to enjoy life as best as I can, as long as I can,” he said. “I consider myself fortunate – I run, work at keeping my body as healthy as I can – and believe my mind will follow…. This play kind of dovetails with my life and the issues and experiences that arise, the things I’m doing and how I’m dealing with life at this age. It’s a kind of serendipity to be in this play.

“At the end of the day,” said Newman, “I’m reminded that life is a gift, a miracle. I have my work, friends both young and old, family. I’m blessed.”

Here We Go also resonates with Frier-Dryden, who recently lost a family member.

“I have lived through the deaths of many, especially recently, and I think of this play and its themes … all the time,” she said. “I am not just going to rehearse – I am going with the knowledge that someone dear has died, and I can send them off and honour them. I love that every day I think of the person I loved, and he is gone, but not gone.”

“Here We Go features some of the best actors in Vancouver,” concluded Newman. “This will be unlike anything you’re liable to see in the Vancouver theatre season! I hope people will come to the show to watch our performances.”

For tickets to Here We Go, visit westerngoldtheatre.org.

OrSh open house

Or Shalom’s after-school program open house takes place May 28. (photo from Or Shalom)

Designed for ages 6 to 13, Or Shalom’s after-school program brings Jewish learning to life through music, storytelling, art and experiential activities. To learn more about it firsthand, check out the school’s open house on Wednesday, May 28, 5-6:30 p.m., at Cityview Church, 4370 Sophia St. – Or Shalom’s temporary home while the synagogue is being renovated.

Rooted in Jewish Renewal values, Or Shalom’s educational program offers a holistic approach that nurtures curiosity, compassion and a vibrant connection to Jewish life. In addition to creative exploration, the school also teaches Hebrew, Jewish prayer and traditional skills, giving children the tools to engage meaningfully with Jewish texts, rituals and community. Children are encouraged to participate fully – mind, body and spirit – in an inclusive environment that honours both tradition and innovation.

Or Shalom invites everyone to meet its community, experience the program and explore how your child could thrive in it. Email [email protected] with any questions.

– Courtesy Or Shalom

Theatre from a Jewish lens

Laen Hershler performing REMNANTS. Hershler brings an interactive version of Dr. Hank Greenspan’s play, which is based on 40 years of conversations with Holocaust survivors, to the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture on June 8. He will be joined by Vancouver Playback Theatre. (photo from grad.ubc.ca)

In June, Laen Hershler celebrates his first year as artistic director of Theatre Terrific. He also hosts, on June 8, Listening with Survivors, “an evening of deep listening and shared reflection as monologues from Holocaust survivors open into a live, interactive performance with Vancouver Playback Theatre.”

“I was deeply honoured and excited to step in as the artistic director of Theatre Terrific,” he told the Jewish Independent. “This community has always felt like home to me, both as a person and an artist. I look forward to continuing this welcoming tradition.”

“Theatre Terrific Society is a trailblazing mixed-ability theatre company that has been championing inclusivity in the arts since 1985,” reads the website. The society is “dedicated to tackling the challenges of accessibility, representation and inclusion in the arts by breaking down stereotypes and fostering empathy across diverse communities. It creates work that resonates with universal human experiences, bridging differences through storytelling. With a compassionate yet bold approach to theatre-making, it cultivates spaces where respect, rigour and risk drive the creative process.”

Theatre Terrific’s last production, called Proximity: The Space Between Us, was well received at the Vancouver Fringe Festival last September. Directed by Hershler and Susan Bertoia, it was created with the cast and is about the struggles of aspiring artists.

photo - In June, Laen Hershler celebrates his first year as artistic director of Theatre Terrific — In June, Laen Hershler celebrates his first year as artistic director of Theatre Terrific. (photo from instagram.com/theatreterrificvan)

Hershler is also an actor and improviser, and he is pursuing a doctorate in research-based theatre at the University of British Columbia. He is part of Vancouver Playback Theatre, as well, and, as an observant Jew, he performs complete with head-covering and tzitzit.

“Since my shift to diligently keeping Shabbat about eight years ago, my acting career moved from mainstream theatre, which almost always necessitates working on Friday/Saturday nights, to applied forms of theatre,” he said. “These include playback theatre, forum theatre and academically situated theatre, which are much less dependent on weekend shows. I love performing in these types of shows since they tend to be very socially engaged and meaningful projects.”

Hershler’s responsibilities at Theatre Terrific include arranging all the classes, courses and productions, and hiring the instructors, directors and other artists for TT’s projects. He teaches, directs and sometimes performs in the company’s offerings, and works on establishing connections with the broader community of theatre companies regionally and internationally, especially all-abilities arts organizations.

“I love the meaningfulness of the work, the creative freedom and the amazing human beings I get to work with,” he said. “I appreciate the opportunity to create work and opportunities for theatre artists of all abilities and to produce meaningful and evocative theatre. The challenge of the work – which is learning to hold a radically inclusive space that allows for high-level artistic work while including artists across spectrums of physical, neurodiverse and cognitive abilities – is also something I cherish.”

Hershler’s theatre career began at the Jewish Young People’s Theatre of Vancouver, which was based out of the Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture. The program was guided by Lynna Goldhar Smith, who he credits as being a huge influence – he began classes with her when he was 8 years old and stayed with YPT until he was 14. He said a large percentage of people that he acted with in YPT are still involved in the arts today.

Since graduating with his master’s at the University of Cape Town in 2011, Hershler has been an instructor in the education faculty at UBC in Vancouver and in the creative studies faculty at UBC in Kelowna. He began his career as a performer and educator touring and giving workshops in France, Korea, Australia, Kenya, South Africa and elsewhere on various aspects and uses of physical theatre for both children and adults.

“I loved my role as the Tooth Prince while performing for 5-year-olds (and their parents) at one of the most prestigious theatres in Seoul, Korea,” he said.

A couple of years ago, at the Peretz Centre and at Or Shalom, Hershler performed the one-man show REMNANTS, which was written by Dr. Hank Greenspan and first produced, for radio, in 1991. Based on 40 years of conversations with Holocaust survivors, the work delves into the survivors’ experiences, exploring themes such as loneliness, rage, storytelling and the dynamics of relationships across generations.

“It was a deeply meaningful project,” said Hershler, who is bringing REMNANTS back to the Peretz Centre on June 8, in a different form.

“In this version,” said Hershler in an email, “these monologues will open into a space for collective reflection, storytelling and discussion through playback theatre – a form of theatre that invites the audience’s voices and experiences into the performance itself, creating a space for deep listening and dialogue. For this, we will be joined by Vancouver Playback Theatre.”

The evening will be about listening to the Holocaust survivors, as well as one another, he said, “to find overlap and connection with our own lives, today, in this moment in time – to learn with, to learn from, to learn alongside.”

Hershler would like to do more Jewish storytelling.

“I would love to create work that brings down the mystical tales of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, an interest I inherited from my father, who has long been a storyteller of Nachman tales…. Being Jewish is who I am, and it pulsates through all the work I do,” he said. “All my artistic work emerges from this prism, from a Jewish lens, from a Jewish neshamah (soul).”

For tickets to Listening with Survivors, go to peretz-centre.org. For more information about Theatre Terrific, visit theatreterrific.ca.

Cassandra Freeman is a freelance journalist and improv comedy performer living in Vancouver.

Ancient as modern

Mosaic Revival: Three Contemporary Expressions features the work of BC artists Maria Abagis, left, Lilian Broca, centre, and Daryl Lynne Wood. Shining the spotlight on this ancient medium, these artists challenge the viewer’s perception of what a mosaic is, and its relevance in the art world today. The exhibit is at CityScape Community ArtSpace, in North Vancouver, until June 6. (Images courtesy CityScape)

Finding hope through science

The organizer of a conference panel I’m going to be on asked me some questions ahead of the event. He asked how to find hope from a Jewish perspective amid challenging times. I responded with both academic Jewish content and personal information about my sons’ recent big success at a science fair. This person, a male academic, quickly grasped the personal narrative I provided – he thought it was about being a mother. Let’s not be “essentialist,” I suggested. My ability to provide information about hope doesn’t stem from reproduction alone.

If one looks at what is going on in the United States, where there’s interest in limiting women’s reproductive rights, including motivating women to have more children and boost the birth rate, one might think that is what women are mostly for: reproduction. Yet, all sorts of data indicate that, for example, in a country like Israel, which has a high education rate and good possibilities for women, a high birth rate is also possible.

Perhaps choosing to have multiple children is easier with better health care, reliable social networks and support and maternity leave, and in a country that ranks high in terms of happiness on a global scale. Countries without birth control or proper education for women have high birth rates, but there are also high mortality rates. Focusing on women’s reproductive capabilities alone misses the boat. If women are educated and engaged in their country’s workforce, they contribute more than their biological value – the quick response of a male academic to traditional rhetoric about mothering left me disappointed.

This notion of maintaining hope during challenging political moments can be approached in many ways. I’m still sorting out what I’ll say in the five-minute slot on the conference panel. However, something I learned yesterday in the Babylonian Tractate of Makkot, on page 20b, made me think further about these issues.

Makkot 20b is about haircuts and ritual cutting as a mourning practice. First, Jews are not supposed to cut their hair in certain ways. Second, self-harming through incisions or ritual mutilation isn’t considered an acceptable mourning practice – self-harm isn’t OK.

While I studied this, I was also checking out the Canadian election results. My father, in the United States, was surprised that we hadn’t let our kids stay up late to watch what was happening. I explained that we’d voted early, and that our kids had voted in a school mock election. Also, we wouldn’t know the complete results until later anyway. More importantly, my kids needed sleep to cope with other activities later this week. Sleep felt like more important self-care.

It struck me that much of our tradition, and Jewish law, tries to maintain a complicated form of self-care. Even in dire circumstances, Jewish tradition encourages us to practise resiliency, intellectual curiosity and hope. Each day, the sun will rise, our souls will return and we will have what we need, like clothing and food, and feel grateful for it. As I write this, I hear Omer Adam’s popular musical version of the traditional prayer said on rising, “Modeh Ani.” (Google it, it’s good!)

While we also pray for our country and its leaders, sometimes we jokingly invoke the words that Tevye quotes his rabbi as saying in Fiddler on the Roof: “A blessing for the czar? Of course! May God bless and keep the czar … far away from us!”

My household felt strangely conflicted about voting. We knew for instance that the Conservatives, in the past, cut funding for research and science, which worries us. Choosing parties that maintain or grow science funding is important to us personally, since my husband is a science professor. His lab needs funding to do research. Good science research can protect us. However, the Liberals have a poor track record of protecting Jewish Canadian citizens. Our local NDP MP has expressed something akin to real hate in my dealings with her. So, again, we can think like Tevye’s rabbi: we bless the outcome of a democratic election – no matter how it goes – while hoping those in charge don’t get close enough, through their actions, to do us any harm.

Similarly, the rabbis acknowledged that mourning causes us great psychological pain. This might encourage some to self-harm. Ideally, we should control that impulse. Self-care is a balancing act. It’s not always clear how to make safe choices.

Locally, I watched politicians’ interactions with the Jewish community with interest. In one case, an incumbent Jewish Liberal MP of a riding known to historically have a “big” Jewish community mentioned that perhaps only 5% of his riding was Jewish. His efforts made to support the Jewish community and offer allyship to Israel were an expression of his conscience. That choice likely didn’t help his chances and maybe even was an impediment to his campaign, but that decision to act conscientiously offered me hope, too, even if I couldn’t vote for him because I don’t live in his riding.

Sometimes, our choices aren’t as clear as we’d like them to be. It can be hard some mornings to rise full of hope and gratitude amid the political chaos and death we hear about each day. Given that, we need the reminder of ancient, traditional Jewish prayer and thought, too. There are days when I feel praying is a rote practice. Other days, I remember that we’re doing this in a way that brings us connection with ancestors who maybe didn’t have enough food, who suffered with terrible plagues or physical danger. In many ways, things are so much better for us than they used to be. This alone is worth our gratitude.

When the rabbis warned long ago against cutting oneself, they lived in a world without antibiotics or effective medical care. My conversation about finding Jewish hope wasn’t simply about reproduction, my maternal pride, but rather my pride in the kids doing good science. I have hope because I don’t only believe in blind faith, I also believe in science. Whether it’s Israel’s Iron Dome, Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine, or other discoveries, doing science is another form of self-preservation.

The world can be a painful place. We must make compromises to continue as a small minority ethno-religion. Those choices require us to acknowledge what’s happening, to make nuanced decisions based on what’s best in the moment, and to build a better world each day.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud of my children, whatever they do, but I’m filled with hope because my Jewish kids won all sorts of accolades at a divisional science fair. To me, that’s Jewish self-care for the future. Yes, it’s also a political statement, too.

Joanne Seiff has written regularly for the Winnipeg Free Press and various Jewish publications. She is the author of three books, including From the Outside In: Jewish Post Columns 2015-2016, a collection of essays available for digital download or as a paperback from Amazon. Check her out on Instagram @yrnspinner or at joanneseiff.blogspot.com.

Mastering menopause

Michelle Biton has released a new book. Written in the same style as The Instant Anxiety Solution: 5 Simple Steps to Quiet the Mind & Achieve Calm, her recently released The Menopause Weight Loss Solution: A Woman’s Guide to Menopause Without Pounds offers six steps to help women live their best lives during menopause. Both books are published by Hatherleigh Press Ltd.

The mnemonic device that anchors this book is SHRINK. After an introductory chapter about what menopause is, some of its symptoms, the role of cortisol (“the body’s primary stress hormone”) and a couple of other topics, each section explores one of the letters. So, chapters 2 through 7 are (italics added): Stimulate Your Metabolism; Harness the Power of Your Vagus Nerve; Reinforce the Eight Nutritional Strategies; Incorporate Daily Pelvic Floor and Core Exercises; Nurture Mindfulness and Mindful Eating; and Know Your Female Powers with Confidence.

“Menopause is a natural process,” writes Biton. “You officially hit menopause when you do not get your period for 12 consecutive months. The ovaries stop making estrogen and progesterone and the period disappears. It signifies the end of the reproductive years and the beginning of the wise ‘goddess’ years.

“But that is the easy version. Menopause, or pre-menopause, can feel like a rollercoaster ride of hormones or a symphony of fireworks.”

Pre-menopause, or perimenopause, can start in one’s 30s or 40s and last up to 10 years, writes Biton. “At least 80% of women will experience menopausal symptoms of varying degrees and severity.” And there are many symptoms or changes, including but not at all limited to: slower metabolism, poor memory or brain fog, weight gain around the middle, thinning hair, increased irritability and moodiness, night sweats, increased sadness, diminished sex drive and itchy skin.

Weight gain during menopause apparently affects 65-70% of women, who gain an average of five to 10 pounds. One reason for this is that “women’s ability to burn calories gets cut by 30% or more,” says Biton. “By the time she reaches middle age, she will have to work almost twice as hard to burn the same amount of calories as she did in her 20s.”

Biton recommends many different types of exercise to build muscle and kickstart one’s metabolism. “Simple things like lifting your body weight against gravity does the job perfectly,” she writes. “You can do them anywhere; they are easy to do and very effective. This includes exercises like push-ups, triceps dips, lunges and squats.” She gives a description of how to do lunges and planks, and talks about things like ideal intensity levels: “Regular physical activity [like walking], versus doing one intense workout on the weekend, will be more beneficial at increasing your metabolism long-term.” She notes that adding protein to every meal can help boost metabolism, as can eating the “right kind of fat,” such as omega-3 and omega-6.

A moderate approach to exercise and eating is, not surprisingly, the recommended approach and she dedicates Chapter 4 to nutritional strategies. Chapter 5 is about ways to increase core strength (“namely, your corset and girdle muscles”), to combat weight gain around the midsection, and exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles to keep incontinence at bay.

The chapter on the vagus nerve – the “key” to activating the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS), which helps us “calm down, handle stress better, regulate your mood and feel more relaxed, connected and compassionate” – takes a lot from Biton’s previous book on dealing with anxiety. (See jewishindependent.ca/ways-to-tackle-anxiety.)

“During menopause, it is common to feel stressed and overwhelmed, not to mention disconnected, irritable, worried, anxious, depressed and questioning a lot of things in life,” she writes.

She advises: “If you’re having a hard time regulating your emotions, feeling overwhelmed or overly emotional, it’s a good idea to activate your PSNS right away.” And she offers many ways to do that, from splashing cold water on your face, to running on the spot as long as you can, to deep breathing, to immersing yourself in nature, and more.

The chapter on mindfulness focuses on differentiating between physical and emotional hunger. The former “begins in the stomach” and is “a physiological need,” while the latter is “when you eat in response to feelings…. Emotional foods tend to be high in carbohydrates, as they allow more L-tryptophan, a mood-regulating amino acid, to enter the brain. Carbohydrates (and sugar) help the body to make serotonin, the ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitter, so it makes sense why emotional eaters tend to consume foods that give them a ‘sugar high.’” Biton suggests practices like mindful eating (slowing down, chewing your food well); trying “to eat out of physical hunger 95% of the time,” while allowing yourself occasional treats; and, again, adding protein to meals “to feel full for longer.”

The last chapter of The Menopause Weight Loss Solution is about retraining our minds to think more positively and reduce negative thoughts about ourselves. It also tackles perhaps sensitive topics like changes to the vagina, body odor, breast tenderness, skin and more that happen during menopause.

There’s nothing revolutionary or in-depth in this book, but rather it provides an overview and the basics of what a woman can do to understand and get through menopause more easily.

Biton has a master’s in holistic nutrition, a bachelor’s in psychology, and a certificate in kinesiology and fitness studies. She is a former Vancouverite who now lives in Los Angeles. For more information, visit michellebiton.com.