{"id":33505,"date":"2019-10-25T03:57:57","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T10:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=33505"},"modified":"2019-10-23T15:27:38","modified_gmt":"2019-10-23T22:27:38","slug":"presenting-our-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2019\/10\/25\/presenting-our-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Presenting our stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tamara Micner performs her one-woman play Holocaust Brunch<\/em> this weekend at Chutzpah! (photo by Sophie le Roux)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn recent years,\u201d playwright Tamara Micner told the Independent<\/em>, \u201cI feel there\u2019s been increasing discussion about inherited trauma in indigenous communities and in other minority communities, such as Japanese- and Chinese-Canadian communities. For me, it\u2019s been valuable to remember that, sadly, we as Jews are not alone in inheriting collective trauma. In fact, I also know white, Christian Canadians who have it, too. The tsures we carry is unique in some ways, but we\u2019re definitely in good company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Micner, who now lives in London, England, will be returning home to Vancouver for a couple of weeks to perform her new one-woman show, Holocaust Brunch<\/em>, at the Chutzpah! Festival. It is one of two theatre works that will see their Canadian premi\u00e8re at this year\u2019s festival; the other is The Diary of Anne Frank LatinX<\/em>, directed by Stan Zimmerman, who is based in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

While The Diary of Anne Frank<\/em> was mounted by Fighting Chance Productions last year (jewishindependent.ca\/glimpse-of-life-in-the-annex<\/a>), Zimmerman\u2019s production features only Latinx actors. This is what makes this version of the play \u2013 written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett Based and adapted by Wendy Kesselman \u2013 unique.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose to use Latinx actors for the characters in the attic,\u201d Zimmerman told the Independent<\/em>, \u201cafter seeing a CNN report about a Jewish woman in L.A. who arranged to hide a Latina mom and her daughters after her husband was suddenly deported by ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement].<\/p>\n

\u201cContrary to initial media reports \u2013 that went worldwide \u2013 we are not replacing the Nazis with ICE agents [in the play]. We are performing a word-for-word production of the script that Natalie Portman starred in on Broadway in 1997. I\u2019m not saying the situation is exactly the same as the Second World War, but there are parallels \u2013 parallels that we can hopefully learn from. Only then can we live by Elie Wiesel\u2019s famous phrase, \u2018Never again.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Emiliano Torres and Genesis Ochoa in The Diary of Anne Frank LatinX, which will be at Chutzpah! Nov. 6-9. (photo by Elvira Barjau)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some Jewish community members were concerned about Zimmerman\u2019s casting choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cInitially,\u201d he said, \u201cI had a few Jewish friends question my decision to cast Latinx actors in the play. For them, it was more about not wanting to tarnish the legacy of Anne Frank. But, when they saw that we were honouring her memory, they understood the power of this production. I took to heart the insightful words of a young Anne Frank from her diary \u2013 \u2018Our lives are all different, and yet the same.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The concept of \u201cdifferent yet the same\u201d is one of the reasons that Micner was interested in telling the stories of Bluma and Isaac Tischler, who have both passed away. Born in Poland, they \u201cmet in medical school in Tajikistan during the war, and went on to become renowned Vancouver doctors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have known the Tischler family since 1987, when their daughter Yael and I did What Do I Do When I\u2019m Two? together at the JCC,\u201d said Micner, referring to a program at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. \u201cOur parents and grandparents have also known each other for many years.\u201d<\/p>\n

That said, Micner explored some of her gaps in understanding, through creating Holocaust Brunch<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up,\u201d she said, \u201cI felt there was a disconnect between \u2018the Holocaust story\u2019 I was taught, which focused on Western Europe and camps, and my own family\u2019s story, which was about living in Eastern Europe (Poland) and surviving the war in the Soviet Union. The Tischlers\u2019 story has those parallels as well, and it feels important to me to talk about a kind of Holocaust story that I haven\u2019t seen told in wider culture, and that some non-Jews I know have never even heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Micner is no stranger to writing plays based on people she knows.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have created shows in the past that are inspired by my own family,\u201d she said. \u201cHolocaust Brunch<\/em> is partly about another family\u2019s story, and started with the Tischlers offering me part of their family\u2019s story to tell in a piece of theatre. I take that offer very seriously as an act of trust and a responsibility, as the creator and performer of the piece. We\u2019ve had several conversations along the way about the central questions and themes of the piece as it has taken shape, and they have seen the show as it has evolved.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the central aspects of the work is looking at trauma from a third-generation perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am indeed part of the \u2018third generation,\u2019 and Holocaust Brunch explores what it\u2019s like living as a descendant of Holocaust survivors, two generations removed from that history and trauma,\u201d said Micner. \u201cIt\u2019s certainly based on some of my experiences and, inevitably, incorporates aspects of other people\u2019s experiences based on conversations I\u2019ve been part of, books and articles I\u2019ve read, and so on. There are many of us who are thinking and talking about these issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

In contrast, Zimmerman witnessed a lack of discussion and knowledge about the Holocaust and, specifically, The Diary of Anne Frank<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was quite shocked,\u201d he said, \u201cwhen the 15-year-old actor playing Anne told us that she did not know who Anne Frank was before auditioning for our production. As a Jew, I grew mad to learn that Anne\u2019s diary is no longer required reading in the California school system. I decided then that it was vital to get as many student groups as possible to see this play, with this cast.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it hasn\u2019t been only the cast and audiences who have learned something from the play.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough I was a good student at my temple\u2019s Sunday school,\u201d said Zimmerman, \u201cbeing involved in this play opened my eyes to so many stories about the Holocaust that I never knew before. These important lessons were gained by visits to several museums and meeting many survivors and hearing their stories firsthand.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cAs many of our survivors pass, it is important for us as artists to find creative ways to keep Anne\u2019s story alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the ways in which Micner creatively tells her story is with humour. Describing Holocaust Brunch<\/em> as a \u201cdark comedy,\u201d Micner explained, \u201cI think there\u2019s a history of Ashkenazi Jews using comedy to look at hard things \u2013 the oppression we\u2019ve suffered, displacement, antisemitism, poverty and so on. Holocaust Brunch<\/em> is certainly engaging with that tradition,\u201d she said. \u201cI think there\u2019s also a history of Ashkenazi humour being self-deprecating \u2013 as in, making fun of ourselves \u2013 and, one of the things I\u2019ve been interested in, is looking at where that comes from and what it would mean for us not to be the butt of our own jokes. Holocaust Brunch<\/em> is using comedy to look at communal trauma, and how we might be able to heal from that. The show also uses humour to explore stereotypes and assumptions that some non-Jews have about Jews. I think laughter helps us open up and look at hard places.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, Zimmerman would like audiences who come to see The Diary of Anne Frank LatinX<\/em> \u201cto feel like they literally stepped into the shoes of these characters \u2013 just like the actors have. Then we can all have this highly emotional and very visceral experience that can only be achieved communally with live theatre.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holocaust Brunch<\/em> runs this weekend in the JCCGV\u2019s Wosk Auditorium, Oct. 27, 1 p.m., and Oct. 28, 7 p.m. The Diary of Anne Frank LatinX<\/em>, co-presented with Howard Blank of Point Blank Productions, is at the Rothstein Theatre Nov. 6, 8 p.m.; Nov. 7, 8 p.m.; Nov. 8, 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Nov. 9, 2 p.m. For tickets to these and other Chutzpah! shows, visit chutzpahfestival.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tamara Micner performs her one-woman play Holocaust Brunch this weekend at Chutzpah! (photo by Sophie le Roux) \u201cIn recent years,\u201d playwright Tamara Micner told the Independent, \u201cI feel there\u2019s been increasing discussion about inherited trauma in indigenous communities and in other minority communities, such as Japanese- and Chinese-Canadian communities. For me, it\u2019s been valuable to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[1290,573,53,4526,9277,3302,6208],"class_list":["post-33505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-anne-frank","tag-chutzpah-festival","tag-holocaust","tag-memoir","tag-stan-zimmerman","tag-tamara-micner","tag-theatre"],"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\/33505","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=33505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}