{"id":44805,"date":"2024-07-26T01:43:36","date_gmt":"2024-07-26T08:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=44805"},"modified":"2024-07-25T18:23:43","modified_gmt":"2024-07-26T01:23:43","slug":"grateful-to-do-what-she-loves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2024\/07\/26\/grateful-to-do-what-she-loves\/","title":{"rendered":"Grateful to do what she loves"},"content":{"rendered":"

Advah Soudack (photo courtesy)<\/i><\/p>\n

I watched Hallmark\u2019s Love, Lights, Hanukkah!<\/i> on television but never imagined that I would meet the actress who played Becky Berman, the lead character\u2019s half-sister. But Advah Soudack lives right here in East Vancouver.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This spring, I organized a series of Playback theatre classes for people with lived experiences of mental health challenges and addictions, which was funded by the Consumer Initiative Fund. Laen Hershler, a member of Vancouver Playback Theatre, recommended Soudack to teach the classes.<\/p>\n

Soudack taught with enthusiasm, determination and emotional honesty. She gained the trust of the students quickly and soon they were leaping up on stage to improvise one another\u2019s stories and emotions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had a wonderful time teaching Playback these past few weeks,\u201d she said. \u201cI was amazed and inspired by the bravery I witnessed in the class. I loved working with a group of artists coming from all walks of life, some with years of theatre and improv experience and others with very little.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the thing I enjoyed most about teaching Playback \u2026 with this specific group of individuals, was witnessing a group of people who didn\u2019t know each other at first, come together, play, explore, trust, allow themselves to be vulnerable, share with open hearts, let go and create together as if they had been working as a troupe for a long time.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Soudack\u2019s enthusiasm for the theatre began when she was a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up with a lot of music in my home. My dad was very musical and played the piano, and my mom was always singing around the house,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn elementary school, I had a music teacher named Donna Piper and she saw my flair for performing and told my parents to take me to audition for The Music Man<\/i> with a company called Greater Vancouver Opera Society,\u201d she added. \u201cAt 8 years old, in leggings my mom had bought me in France, a fitted T-shirt and a funky baseball hat, I sang \u2018Wadda Wadda Wadda\u2019 and played the air trumpet. I got the part!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Advah Soudack (photo courtesy)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soudack regularly teaches improv to children. For several years, she took her considerable talent to Perry Ehrlich\u2019s Gotta Sing! Gotta Dance! performing arts summer camp at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. There, she taught improv and ensemble-building exercises and assisted director Chris McGregor. She also \u201ccreated and ran the finishing school program, which taught kids audition skills, from entering the audition room to character creation, and how to prepare monologues and songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soudack recently completed two seasons at Bard on the Beach with A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/i> and Henry V<\/i>. Other recent theatre credits include Courage Now<\/i>, The House at Pooh Corner<\/i> and a touring production of Glory<\/i>. You may have seen her on television in Blockbuster<\/i> and\/or The Christmas Contest.<\/i> She is also known for her work as an actor in animated films, including My Little Pony<\/i>, Polly Pocket<\/i>, Lego Friends<\/i>, Beyblade Burst Evolution<\/i> and Adventures of Ayum<\/i>a.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She says that all the roles she has played have been challenging and fulfilling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I have grown and learned from every role I have played and every theatre project I have been part of,\u201d she said. \u201cI guess one role that sticks out for me is the role of Lucille Frank from Parade, which I portrayed about six years ago with Fighting Chance Productions. This was one of the first roles back from a hiatus I had taken from theatre. I had been forcing myself to audition again, anything that came my way, even if I was scared sh*tless.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she got the role, she began a journey into the world of Leo and Lucille Frank. Leo Frank was wrongfully convicted of murdering a young girl in 1913, and was lynched by a mob who broke into the prison when his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Lucille Frank defended her husband through everything, dying in 1957, long before Leo Frank was posthumously pardoned in 1986.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was at the downtown library for days and spent many hours reading old, archived newspaper articles about the case, reading books and looking up everything I could find that had information about the young, Jewish couple living in Atlanta, Ga.,\u201d said Soudack, adding that the roles she finds most exciting are the ones based on real people and events. When the research involves history, she is always extra excited.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel very honoured that I have had the opportunities that I have had to work in the arts in Vancouver,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel very grateful to be able to do what I love and what inspires me and makes my heart feel full. It is also a gift to be a vessel for others\u2019 stories and bring them to life for this community.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Soudack spent time in Israel about 10 years ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Oct. 7 happened, I felt very strongly about going. I am still wanting to go and plan to make a trip in the near future,\u201d she said. \u201cI have so many family members in Israel and it feels like a second home. Whenever I am there I always think, \u2018OK, this is home, I feel like I belong here.\u2019 There is something about the energy of the country and the people that makes me feel alive and vibrant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soudack is a proud graduate of the University of Alberta\u2019s bachelor of fine arts\u2019 acting program. In Hebrew, Advah<\/i> means \u201clittle wave\u201d or \u201ccrest of the wave.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cassandra Freeman<\/b> is a journalist and improviser who lives in East Vancouver.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Advah Soudack (photo courtesy) I watched Hallmark\u2019s Love, Lights, Hanukkah! on television but never imagined that I would meet the actress who played Becky Berman, the lead character\u2019s half-sister. But Advah Soudack lives right here in East Vancouver.\u00a0 This spring, I organized a series of Playback theatre classes for people with lived experiences of mental […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44806,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[20057,6891,21838],"class_list":["post-44805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-acting","tag-advah-soudack","tag-teaching"],"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\/44805","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=44805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}