{"id":15454,"date":"2015-10-30T00:13:39","date_gmt":"2015-10-30T07:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=15454"},"modified":"2015-10-28T15:42:53","modified_gmt":"2015-10-28T22:42:53","slug":"an-interview-with-goldie-hoffman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2015\/10\/30\/an-interview-with-goldie-hoffman\/","title":{"rendered":"An interview with Goldie Hoffman"},"content":{"rendered":"

Goldie Hoffman is set to play the character of Daphna in Bad Jews, a play by <\/em>Joshua Harmon. It will be in Vancouver at Rothstein Theatre from Nov. 10-21, directed by Jay Brazeau and produced by Famous Artists Limited. For the Jewish Independent article on the play, which includes portions of the interview below, click here<\/a>. For tickets, click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

JI: How hard was it for you to put yourself into your \u201cbad\u201d shoes, or in what ways are you similar and different with respect to the Jewish spectrum than your character?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GH<\/strong>: I\u2019m wearing my \u201cbad Jew\u201d shoes as we speak! In many ways, I think the play is actually poking fun at that very notion of being a \u201cbad Jew,\u201d as there\u2019s really no such thing \u2013 or, if there is, well then, we\u2019re all \u201cbad Jews\u201d in one way or another. There is no right way to be Jewish, either religiously or culturally and, as Jews, we grapple with what that identity means to us and how much we want it to affect our lives and sense of self.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Goldie Hoffman (photo from Famous Artists Limited)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That reminds me of the Jewish saying, \u201ctwo Jews, three opinions,\u201d and that\u2019s something that I think aptly describes Jews, but is something we should be proud of \u2013 that we accept and even thrive on debate, discussion, questions and, of course, the fact that we can openly poke fun at the religion and culture. There\u2019s definitely something very Fiddler on the Roof<\/em>-esque about this play and the characters \u2013 each character deals with their Jewish identity, changing times, and the weight of historical and cultural legacy and community, in their own way.<\/p>\n

With respect to my character, in some ways I\u2019m both my character Daphna and her cousin Liam, or at least have been aspects of both of them at one time or another. My experience and views about my \u201cJewishness\u201d continue to change and evolve, so I\u2019ve been all over the map. For instance, as a kid, I was raised Chassidic, and then as a teen I became non-observant, but was still a believer. Then I identified as \u201cspiritually Jewish.\u201d Now I no longer believe in Judaism, and I\u2019m a secular humanist, but culturally or ethnically, I am definitely Jewish (whether I like it or not). I think this is something a lot of non-Jews have trouble understanding, because the term Jew can apply to both the religion Judaism, but also the Jewish culture, ethnicity, nation, and community, as we are such an old people that we predate these modern terms.<\/p>\n

As for Israel, as you know, that\u2019s such a sensitive and ambivalent issue for the Jewish community and something we all have different views on. For my character Daphna, Israel is extremely important and she plans to make her life there. I used to share her fervent Zionism as a teen, and even considered going to Israel as well, either to a kibbutz or to do one of their volunteer programs with Magon David Adom (their national emergency medical disaster, ambulance, and blood bank services as well as national aid society).<\/p>\n

I am still a supporter of Israel, though not without my criticism, just like with other countries; but unlike Daphna, I don\u2019t support Israel from a religious standpoint and don\u2019t believe in the existence of holy lands. I can speak, read and write Hebrew (also some Arabic), and tend to really like and get along with Israelis and have a few friends and acquaintances in Tel Aviv who are in the arts scene. I think Israeli Jews are such a unique, interesting and strong people, and they\u2019re very different from North American Jews. If I\u2019m fully honest, I think they\u2019re our cooler cousins, because they\u2019re people who just \u201chappen to be Jewish,\u201d versus we here who are taught our Jewish identity and worry about how it squares up with our national one, and who are by and large much more sheltered and privileged than they are. I also think Israelis are better looking than we are, but I know that\u2019s up for debate. But c\u2019mon, all those people mixing from all those different countries and backgrounds? \u2013 you can\u2019t compete with that!<\/p>\n

I realize I\u2019m sounding a lot like Daphna now in my praise of Israelis, but again, it\u2019s from a different angle. As an artist, I\u2019m specifically very impressed with Israel\u2019s amazing and thriving arts, culture and film scene, especially given all they deal with on the international and domestic front. As I said, I\u2019m not without criticism, but I do feel Israel is unfairly castigated and vilified in the world and held to unfair double standards. I\u2019m unfortunately disillusioned about the possibility of peace there, and can\u2019t help but think of Israel and that entire region with a tinge of sadness. Still, I\u2019m definitely overdue for a visit and would love to perform live there or work on an Israeli film.<\/p>\n

However, all that said, I struggle with the paradoxical dilemma of how to continue the survival of the Jewish people and Israel, while still supporting humanism, secularism, democracy, and the belief that mixing is a great thing for humanity. I think this is a major theme the play deals with and questions, and something most Jews can relate to, as well as many non-Jews with strong cultural and ethnic identities and communities.<\/p>\n

JI: Characters that are a \u201ctype\u201d can come off as superficial. In what ways have you tried to infuse your character with reality\/humanity to prevent them from becoming stereotypes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GH<\/strong>: I think it\u2019s important not to judge your character as good or bad\/ right or wrong. Humans are complex individuals and it\u2019s important to remember that when you portray any character. In fact, generally in real life, we don\u2019t set out to be wrong or behave badly. Most of us try to go through life making good choices, and when we make bad ones or hurt people, we often don\u2019t intend to or don\u2019t even realize the impact of our words and actions. When playing a character, I try to portray their point of view, as best as I can understand it. In fact, after first reading the play, I was actually offended when first seeing Daphna described as a \u201czealot\u201d in online play reviews and synopses, because I see that term as quite negative, and I didn\u2019t see (or want to see) her that way.<\/p>\n

I feel I really understand where Daphna is coming from, even if I don\u2019t share all her views. In fact, I\u2019d go as far as to say, this is a character that is closest to me of all the roles I\u2019ve ever portrayed \u2013 to the point where it\u2019s scary and even embarrassing. As for playing a certain \u201ctype,\u201d it\u2019s true there is a certain stereotype and similarity many Jewish girls and women share, and yes, a lot of it does apply to me: brunette, outspoken, loud, animated, and yes, also stubborn and annoying \u2013 but also spunky, fun, caring, intelligent and funny (and clearly modest). Hey, let\u2019s face it, get a bunch of Jewish girls in the room, and I challenge you to tell me many don\u2019t look and sound like sisters. Daphna shares these qualities, too, but at the same time, we\u2019re of course all individuals, and so our views and outlooks on life can be extremely different.<\/p>\n

As far as her being real, to me Daphna already is a real person, and I can completely see and hear her, so I only hope I can translate that successfully to the audience. Aside from the parts of her that I relate to, I even know several \u201cDaphnas,\u201d especially being raised Jewish in both N.Y. and Montreal and now being in L.A. a lot \u2013 all big \u201cJew-towns.\u201d There is a unique experience that Jewish girls and women have, which I relate to. For example, facing certain sexist traditions and customs (especially if raised Orthodox), family dynamics, rivalries, pressures and high expectations, and, of course, last but not least, we are aware of our brethren\u2019s love of \u201cshiksappeal,\u201d which my character\u2019s cousin Liam has. Though on that subject, having dated several non-Jewish guys, I say, \u201cIt\u2019s all good, boys, \u2019cause it goes both ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

JI: How did you come to hear about Bad Jews and audition for it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GH: <\/strong>Our director, Jay Brazeau, contacted me after speaking with director, writer, actor, producer Ben Ratner, who recommended me to him. Ben runs and teaches at Haven Studio, and I\u2019ve trained with him a lot, working on many intense plays and scripts in multiple genres. So, it\u2019s really thanks to Ben that I got this part, both because of his recommendation and also thanks to his training. I was then asked to read with Amitai (who plays Jonah) in front of Jay and our producer Bill Allman in an informal non-audition audition. \u201cDon\u2019t think of this as an audition, Goldie …\u201d they said, and as I jokingly thought to myself, the unsaid continuation of that line was, \u201c… but this read will likely affect whether or not you get the part.\u201d Fortunately, I got the part, and I\u2019m thrilled and truly honored to be playing such a fun role and being part of this ensemble.<\/p>\n

JI: Are you going to get a perm to play Daphna?<\/strong><\/p>\n

GH<\/strong>: Oh no, you\u2019ve just outed me as a straight-haired chick! I\u2019m honestly still debating if I should get a perm or not. I\u2019ve had friends with the real \u201cJew-fro,\u201d and used to be jealous of them, even with their complicated product-regimen they had to wrestle with, and, of course they were jealous of my straight locks. We want what we don\u2019t have, right? I may curl my hair each night, and I\u2019ve been experimenting, burning my fingers, while I curl my hair trying to get it just right so it looks realistic and doesn\u2019t have that \u201cfake curls look.\u201d I know some actors have used extensions for this part, but I want to be able to use my hair in the scene. So, as I write this now, I\u2019m leaning towards a perm, but we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

JI: As I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve had the pleasure of interviewing before, can you share a bit about your background? How you\u2019re a dual citizen, and split your time between Vancouver and LA? In what other shows Vancouverites might have seen you recently? Whatever else you might like to add.<\/strong><\/p>\n

GH<\/strong>: Ah, now to sum up myself and my background quickly. As you can tell, I\u2019ve clearly mastered the art of being concise.<\/p>\n

Long story short, I don\u2019t have the typical North American Jewish experience, because I was raised in more than one. I was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., into a Chassidic family. My mother was from Montreal, my father from San Diego, and their youthful act of rebellion was to leave their secular Jewish lives, and join an ultra-Orthodox Chassidic movement in N.Y., much to the dismay of their families. Talk about being \u201cbad Jews\u201d and trying to define what that means.<\/p>\n

They had us 10 kids quickly, one after the other, and I spent my childhood growing up extremely religious with strict kosher rules, dress codes, and no television, secular music or books (though we were sometimes \u201cbad Chassidic Jews\u201d and cheated with books, and also went as a family to see some movies in Manhattan) \u2013 a time I now refer to as the fun \u201ccult days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their experiment with ultra-Orthodox Judaism ultimately didn\u2019t work out for us, and my parents divorced. My mother went back to Montreal to be with her family, and we kids along with her. My father is still Chassidic actually, but I\u2019d say he has his own version of it, and he lives in Vegas now. He is quite a character, and that\u2019s putting it mildly, as is my mother, even more so than in the \u201ctypical Jewish parents\u201d way.<\/p>\n

In Montreal, we re-integrated into \u201cnormal\u201d North American Jewish lifestyles, starting out as Modern Orthodox, but then with varying and changing levels of observance, and each of us being allowed to do our own thing. When I graduated, I was actually going to study law, like all good, smart Jewish girls, but changed my mind at the last second about having a stable life in order to pursue performance and the arts instead.<\/p>\n

I got accepted into Studio 58\u2019s professional theatre acting program, so that\u2019s what brought me out here. It was pretty scary because I knew nothing about Vancouver, I knew no one here, and had no money to scout out the city beforehand. After studying, I decided to stay here and started acting and doing comedy. Having been here for several years and because I\u2019m a dual American-Canadian citizen, I recently decided to make the jump to L.A., too, since there is more opportunity there \u2013 and, of course, because you can\u2019t beat all that sun and ocean. I love being on the West Coast, though I poke fun at it often, because in many ways I\u2019ll always be a bit of a fish out of water here as an ex-East Coaster. My aim is to try to juggle both cities, L.A. and Vancouver, as much as possible taking advantage of the acting and comedy opportunities both cities have to offer.<\/p>\n

As far as other performances Vancouverites may have seen me in, I played Connie in Raving Theatre\u2019s production of My Big Gay Italian Wedding, <\/em>which was put on at the Cultch. I also played Natalie, in the local independent feature dark comedy, Thirty One Scenes About Nothing<\/em>, which won best picture at the Oregon Independent Film Festival (OIFF) in Portland. I also perform lots of live stand-up and sketch around town. Last year, I ran a weekly comedy variety show, called The Comedy Cabaret<\/em>, along with co-host Ruven Klausner, in which we performed various comedy characters and acts. We formed a comedic partnership, previously called Schtuptown <\/em>(a nod towards our Jewish heritage), now called The Goldie & Ruven Show<\/em>, in which we perform live and create comedy shorts which are published online.<\/p>\n

You can follow me online at goldiehoffman.com<\/a>, imdb.goldiehoffman.com<\/a>, @theMizzGoldie<\/a> or facebook.com\/GoldieHoffman<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Goldie Hoffman is set to play the character of Daphna in Bad Jews, a play by Joshua Harmon. It will be in Vancouver at Rothstein Theatre from Nov. 10-21, directed by Jay Brazeau and produced by Famous Artists Limited. For the Jewish Independent article on the play, which includes portions of the interview below, click […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[4744,4745,4746,4330,4751],"class_list":["post-15454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-bad-jews","tag-goldie-hoffman","tag-identity-issues","tag-israel","tag-orthodoxy"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15454\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}