{"id":34914,"date":"2020-05-29T03:56:51","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T10:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=34914"},"modified":"2020-05-28T20:22:06","modified_gmt":"2020-05-29T03:22:06","slug":"big-sister-available-for-rental","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2020\/05\/29\/big-sister-available-for-rental\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Sister available for rental"},"content":{"rendered":"

Those who missed the Vancouver performances of Deborah Vogt\u2019s Big Siste<\/em>r, which is performed by her real-life sister, Naomi Vogt, can rent it online until June 11. (photo from JW3)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Former Vancouverite Deborah Vogt\u2019s play Big Sister<\/em> is available to rent on JW3\u2019s website until June 11.<\/p>\n

Vogt is the arts and culture programmer at JW3, which is described on its website as a \u201ccross-communal hub for Jewish arts, culture, family programming, social action, learning and much more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJW3 opened its doors in October 2013 with the mission to increase the quality, variety and volume of Jewish conversations in London and beyond,\u201d said Vogt of the centre, which is located in north London, on Finchley Road.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in Vancouver and lived there my whole life, but decided to move to London three years ago,\u201d she said. \u201cI miss the trees, ocean and sushi in Vancouver, but love the excitement and opportunities in London. I joined JW3 as an employee in September 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Big Sister<\/em> is a one-woman show about Vogt\u2019s sister\u2019s 75-pound weight loss, told through Vogt\u2019s perspective, but performed by her sister, Naomi Vogt. It played the Vancouver Fringe Festival in 2018. At that time, Deborah Vogt told the Independent<\/em> that writing the play was a challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all,\u201d she said in that interview, \u201cit was difficult trying to find the balance between Naomi as my real human sister and Naomi as a character. We wanted this show to be entirely truthful, while still presenting a piece of theatre. And this show touches on painful aspects of both of our lives (in a funny way, of course), so trying to write that without overstepping my place or lying to the audience about what actually happened (two sides to every story, right?) was difficult to manoeuvre.\u201d (See jewishindependent.ca\/fringe-mixes-drama-comedy<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

The video that is available via JW3\u2019s website is from a sold-out production at the Cultch in February 2020, said the playwright. Being available online means that the work will be able to reach more people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe run at the Cultch sold out by opening night, so there may be people that didn\u2019t get a chance to see it then now have the option,\u201d said Vogt. \u201cPutting Big Sister<\/em> online in this form also expands on one of our themes: vulnerability.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never meant to share our work this way,\u201d she explained. \u201cWe filmed it for archival purposes, not for public viewing. The show is meant to be live, and intimate, and present. That\u2019s not an option right now, so, instead, we get to experiment with what it\u2019s like for people to experience Big Sister <\/em>in their living rooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt also means the show lives on. For both Naomi and I, the show changes as our relationship changes. The filmed show captures our relationship in one specific moment in time. I\u2019m interested to see what the next iteration will be.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked to clarify what she meant by that, Vogt said, \u201cI am speaking about our real-life relationship as well as our work, because the two became intertwined during Big Sister<\/em>. The show allowed us to talk about things we never knew about one another, so it has affected, and strengthened, our relationship. If we decide to put the show on again, we may have to rewrite parts of it to reflect our current relationship. I have an idea for a sequel, but I haven\u2019t told Naomi yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

JW3\u2019s presentation of Big Sister<\/em> is part of a season of streamed theatre through its virtual platform, said Vogt.<\/p>\n

The first released was Wot? No Fish!!<\/em>, which explores \u201cthe issue of the \u2018outsider\u2019 as artist, immigrant or disabled family member,\u201d said Vogt. It is available for rental until June 4. Becoming Electra<\/em> \u2013 \u201ca heart-warming and original one-woman drag show about a queer Jewish girl trying to find her voice\u201d \u2013 is available until June 21.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fourth piece is a West End show that had to end the run early, and more info will be released soon!\u201d said Vogt.<\/p>\n

About the online theatre presentations, she explained, \u201cWhen JW3 had to physically shut our doors, the whole team worked incredibly hard to adapt and continue bringing programming into people\u2019s homes. This means classes are online, we have a brand new website, and have had to come up with other creative ways to provide community during this difficult time. While we figure out the next steps for theatre and performance, we wanted to share a season of filmed versions of shows that have a special relationship to JW3. Big Sister<\/em> is the first time I\u2019ve been able to share my own theatre work with my programming work.\u201d<\/p>\n

While JW3 closed its doors to the public in March, Vogt said, \u201cThe building is now being used as a food bank, cooking and delivering meals to vulnerable people in Camden. The team has delivered over 5,000 meals already. So, while the building has closed to the public, the space is still being used to support the community. And that reflects the aims of the wider organization: everyone is working really hard to provide entertainment, education, community and connection during these isolating times.\u201d<\/p>\n

To find out more about JW3 and its programming, including various arts and culture rentals, visit jw3.org.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Those who missed the Vancouver performances of Deborah Vogt\u2019s Big Sister, which is performed by her real-life sister, Naomi Vogt, can rent it online until June 11. (photo from JW3) Former Vancouverite Deborah Vogt\u2019s play Big Sister is available to rent on JW3\u2019s website until June 11. Vogt is the arts and culture programmer at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[9912,880,6205,9913,2436,6208],"class_list":["post-34914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-big-sister","tag-cultch","tag-deborah-vogt","tag-jw3","tag-naomi-vogt","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\/34914","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=34914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}