Bet Shalom Play Readers
Eric Bressler
Tevye: As the good book says, when a poor man eats a chicken, one of them is sick.
Mendel: Where does the book say that?
Tevye: Well, it doesn't say that exactly, but somewhere there is something about a chicken.
— Fiddler on the Roof screenplay
Theater has been a quintessential part of Jewish culture for a very long time; think of Purim shpiels and Yiddish Theater. Steve Barberio had spent his previous career in theater, so when he became Bet Shalom's executive director four years ago, naturally he considered ways to incorporate some artistic work into his job. A couple of years ago, COVID-19 shut down live theater and drove meetings online. The congregation had just been learning about how “small groups” were valuable to changing to a “Relational Judaism” culture, so Steve recognized the need and opportunity and started the Bet Shalom Play Readers group in November, 2020.
Bet Shalom put out a call to members to read plays over Zoom about the Jewish experience. In those first months the group read some excellent works of dramatic literature, including Broken Glass by Arthur Miller, The Last Night of Ballyhoo by Alfred Uri, Bad Jews by Joshua Harmon and Fiddler on the Roof.
Steve's extensive experience makes it easy for him to select plays to read. While working for Jewish camps and at the JCC as the Director of Theater, he formed a strong philosophical approach to producing theater that reflected the Jewish experience in some way. Over the next 25 years he directed nearly 100 plays, many of which had to do with the Jewish condition historically or in modern times.
Anita Lurye-Silver, a regular participant, comments: “I have been attending the Bet Shalom Play Reading Group since its inception, and I look forward to the monthly Sunday afternoon sessions with great anticipation. It is a lovely way to stay connected with other Bet Shalom congregants while exploring plays that are so relevant to all of us. I find that reading plays aloud with others helps us understand the literature much better. These plays were written to be performed and they come alive when we’re reading them—even on Zoom! The plays have been varied in setting, from the shtetl in Russia to the present-day USA. We have explored topics from Sholom Aleichem’s Russia and antisemitism to modern day issues of assimilation and yes, more antisemitism. The time we spend is engaging, entertaining, educational, and enlightening,” said Anita.
“It’s not easy to read plays over Zoom as the audio delay is a bit of a hindrance to finding the right tempo and rhythm of a scene,” Anita went on to say. “But during the session, the spirit of a play can come through despite this obstacle. Some people join us as readers, and others just want to hear the play read. We often discuss the work as dramatic literature and themes that relate to the people in the group.”
Barb Lebowitz agrees. “What I enjoy about the Play Reading Group is that we are able to discuss the play and the themes. It is really fun to read one of the characters. With such a big group we take turns reading the parts. Can’t wait to meet in person!”
Natalie Madgy shares that “Participating in the play reading is rekindling some active interests from long ago. Reading the lines for a character from the comfort of my home on my couch has been an unexpected pleasure. And my four-legged friend rests his head on my lap, listening. So fun!”
“I really enjoyed the meetings I attended” says Suzy Lurie. “I found both plays that I read (Fiddler on the Roof and The Last Night of Ballyhoo) incredibly relevant to my seventh grade religious school curriculum [that I teach]. Everything I do with the synagogue makes me a better teacher and a better student! Steve is great at what he does!”
Mike Milkovich chimes in: “I’ve been really enjoying it. We’ve had a variety of plays from serious to comic and in between. We’ve all had a chance to play multiple roles and/or listen, and the discussions have been insightful. It’s been really fun listening to how different people do the same role!
“In some ways we’re still in the early days — there are a lot of things that we could add in, from voice coaching to bringing in deeper discussions to actually doing staged readings. There is definitely room for more people, so folks who are curious should ping Steve!”
Tevye: Traditions, traditions. Without our traditions our lives would be as shaky as... as a fiddler on the roof!
Maybe you should make a new tradition of play reading or listening to play reading with the Bet Shalom Play Readers? For more details and information about joining the group, email Tapestry@BetShalom.org