Judih speaks to Dor Nahum about the Mustache Theatre, 2012!

The Mustache Theatre!

Eshkol Council Youth Theatre has done it again!

“The Newspaper” (העיתון) is this year’s play. I spoke to Dor Nahum, a member of the Mustache Theatre about the play.

Part1:Intro

Judih: Hi Dor. Could you introduce yourself?

Dor:: My name is Dor Nahum. I’m 16 1/2 years old. I live in Moshav Eshelim (http://www.negev-net.org.il/HTMLs/article.aspx?C2004=12616) in the area of Ramat Negev or Nitzana. My hobbies: I love photography, and bike-riding in the area and, of course, sleeping.

J: Tell me about The Mustache Theatre – (Teatron haSafam) – what is it, how long has it been active?

D: The Mustache Theatre has been active for quite a while – more than a decade. The theatre is for teenagers from Grade 8 till 12. It’s a theatre group for people who love theatre. They come and participate in all kinds of acting exercises, acting, drama play, fooling around and just enjoying themselves. Of course, every so often, we perform a  play

J: Okay. Who are the professionals you work with?
D: We have a director, Yaacov Amsalem. He’s everything for us – our director, someone who makes us laugh, and organizes everything. There’s Arieh, in charge of our finances, and who arranges the logistics of where and when we perform, all the technical details.

J:What play did you do last year?
D: Last year’s play was I am Me, a play that I unfortunately wasn’t a part of.  But it was very successful

J: Where did you perform last year?

D: it was performed in the Bat Yam Theatre Festival, and won Honourable Mention. And this year, I’m in the play.

Part II.

J: Tell me about your current play. How did it begin?

D: This year’s play is called The Newspaper. It’s a play that’s based on all the newspapers for youth – like Ma’ariv leNoar and others that deal with stories about and for teens – funny stories, stories about problems between teens and their parents who try to get close to them.

J: How did you begin work on the script?
D: We worked with a scriptwriter who watched us do warm-ups and exercises in our rehearsals. Then we went to books and took texts from there. If it was Meshkenat Tzedek or Ha Na’an Ve Aru (from India) from the Tea House from the book Cunchiat ha Kesem. (The Magic Shell)

We took all kinds of books and constructed the texts of the play.

J: Who was the scriptwriter?

D: I don’t remember the name. But he sat with Ya’acov our director and chose parts for everyone.

J: I see. Is there anything else you want to add about the process?

D: Actually it was a really short process – from the first read-through of the script till performance. We barely had to time to rehearse or run through the script. And after only 2 weeks, we already went to perform in Bat Yam, at the Festival.

J: Wow

D: And we got another Honourable Mention! From the Directors of the Festival and from the Critics.

J: Excellent.

Part 3

J: Do you have a monologue?  Can you tell me about it?

D: Yes, I have a part. I was Aru, the owner of the Indian Tea House. And I’d verbally abuse a young Indian. Young Indian, Tea House – everything must run perfectly. If within 3 minutes the tea doesn’t get to the client, well then he’ll go to another Tea House. So, all the time I tell him, go there, go over there. I played the “bad guy”.

J: Did you enjoy playing him?

Dor: Yes, but on the other hand no. When I walked around, half the girls came to me crying that I was a bad man, an evil man.

And I’d say, half-cynically,”Okay”….

J: Yes, how did it really feel.

D: It was weird. On one hand, it was wait a minute, I’m not really like that, but on the other hand it was great – it really made them feel something. One friend told me that if people in the audience yelled to me: “Stop getting him crazy, stop sending him from side to side”, then it really meant that you succeeded in being believable.

J: Yes, you really did it! And congratulations

D: Yes, and we performed here in the Eshkol Auditorium, we also managed to get the message across, very well! Rami (Zvilli, Jr. High Principal of Nofei Habsor) said to me that I can take over his job.

J: You succeeded to that extent! Good for you.

J: How did you prepare for your role as Aru?

D:.The truth is that I was myself, as a mean human being,  that I didn’t have to consider him or his needs, but only that he needs to work on schedule and I listened to the Director. Ya’acov gave me very clear directions, to emphasize things, to move in a certain way

J: Okay.  So you brought it from within yourself.

Dor: yes!

.

J: So tell me more about the play. Is it about the relationship between parents and their children?

D: Yes the whole story is about a couple who go to see the school counselor and he tells them about the problems at school, academic and social and how he doesn’t do anything. He asks where its coming from, if its due to circumstances at home, or some other place. And that the parents have to learn how to communicate. He gives then a paper ‘The Newspaper’ and there they read articles about how to relate to their son.

J: Were there parents who came to you and said that they related to the idea?

D: Yes, someone came up to the director and admitted that it was true

J: Excellent. No doubt there were others who felt the same.

J: Do you think the Mustache Theatre will be doing this play next year?

D: No every year we do a new play, with fresh ideas. If there’s a huge demand, then there’s a chance we would give another performance. It’s a really good play. We have another performance on June 15^th at Kibbutz Kerem Shalom.

J: Okay, now speaking personally, what was your favourite part of the play?

D: To stand in front of the audience, to act, and to see that  they got the message, that they were really attentive and didn’t disrupt us.

Part 4: Future and other Comments
J: What are your plans for next year?

D: I plan to continue with the Mustache Theatre because I really enjoy it there, even though I live quite far. There’s a great atmosphere and the people really enjoy theatre. But even if someone doesn’t think they have a sense for theatre, they can still come. It’s free and whoever comes is welcome. Come, take a look, and if you enjoy it, stay!

J: so you love it!

Dor: I love it. It’s not the first time that I’m involved in theatre. Since the 8^th grade I’ve been doing theatre, directing plays for the local council or in Ashkelon with a friend of mine, a scriptwriter, who asked me to direct his play,  That play was well received. We also performed it in Ashdod and we received a lot of good feedback.

Theatre is the one thing that I’d give anything for.

J: Do you see yourself working in theatre in the future?

Dor: Yes, as an actor, or a director.

J: Great. Is there anything you’d like to add?

Dor: I hope that people will see the play, that they’ll come because it’s fun. We laugh and enjoy ourselves. It’s for those with a theatrical sense and even for those who don’t! Come, take a look, and give it a try. It’s fun!

J: Where do you do your rehearsals?

D: For the plays, it’s in Moshav Amioz or in Nir Itzhak in the Little theatre. The workshop is on Mondays here at school (Nofei Habsor Comprehensive), from 4:30 – 6:30. And it’s worth coming.

J: Okay! Good luck to you, Dor.  Thanks so much for talking to me.

 Judih Speaks to Dor Nahum in Hebrew, on youtube!

The Mustache Theatre! Community Youth in performance

This is the poster for ‘I am Who I am’, a performance by the Mustache Theatre.

The last time I saw the community Mustache Theatre perform was during Operation Cast Lead. The performance at that time was based on authentic fears and experiences during a time when we, in this area, were experiencing constant rocket attacks, usually early morning as children boarded their school buses or in the evening when a family was home, without access to a fallout shelter. Those dreadful times bred deep fears that were compounded with every boom.

At that time, the Mustache Theatre offered a forum for kids to pen their anxieties and shape them into skits. With every rehearsal and later every performance,  this drama therapy worked its magic. Talking about fears released the pressure. “Red Alert” (Tzeva Adom) was the resultant play.

Now, two years afterwards, rocket attacks are fewer and other problems have stepped into the foreground. Last night’s performance of  “I Am Who I Am” focused on individual stories of normal everyday kids.

One was embarrassed because of her Russian roots. She only wanted to be like every other Israeli teenager. Another had an eating disorder. A third coped with a mother with diagnosed schizophrenia. And on it went. Each character had his or her moment to express dilemmas or pain within the environment of a youth camp.

The script, based on the participants’ stories, was edited into final form by Na’ama Goren. Direction was by Ya’acov Amsalem, himself brandishing the mustache for which the troupe was named.

Actors: Yonatan Malchi, Yonatan Segal, Ya’ara Melinski, Liron Malchi, Mor Lavie, Miri Sosnovski, Nisanit Cohen, Idan Hameiri, Shirli Vinogradov and Tom Segal are all students in Nofei Habsor Comprehensive School, ranging in age from 13 – 17.

The backing for this project comes from the heart and soul of one woman, Aliza Ben Yehuda, who works with the Eshkol Regional Council in the Youth Social Services Department. She, in her wisdom, saw that theatre was an immediate remedy for alienation during troubled times, and through her efforts, the theatre group was created ten years ago and has been nurtured ever since by other members of the Youth Social Services branch.

After the performance, the  participants offered thanks to all of the adults who gave them a hand, to one of their fellow actors, Dvir, who acted as Assistant Director.

The show was enthusiastic, clearly a labour of love for all involved. This troupe generally performs in national festivals throughout Israel and I expect they will be on the road with the show in the near future.

– Judih, talking now for Let My People Know

January 18th, Kibbutz Nir-Oz + reports from other areas

January 18th, first day of Ceasefire.

Well, morning’s arrived, finally. I was tempted to update this blog last night. We knew that a ceasefire was going to come into effect at 2 a.m. Knowing that prepared us for almost anything up to that point.

Sure enough, around 11:30 p.m. we heard a Tzeva Adom and, as always, counted down for the boom. Luckily it landed our of our immediate neighbourhood but somewhere close, probably in our fields. Then, within a few seconds, came the noise of an approaching rocket and a loud thud and from my window I could see a burst of light. Sitting up in the dark, my heart pounding,  I waited for noises of Army police and investigators. There were none.

I continued to listen for  more information. Where had the missile landed?  The sound of planes, some distant booms.  My son walked in the door, dropping off dirty laundry, telling his story, similar to mine:  taking cover for the Tzeva Adom and then listening to rocket approach, seeing a burst of light. He left. After a few minutes came another Tzeva Adom alert and 3 more booms somewhere nearby.

Chai Masala

Unable to sleep, I made some Chai and turned to Ynet and Ha’aretz. There was no mention of the qassam or mortar fire. Instead, all was geared towards the approaching ceasefire hour, with the clause allowing Israel to take pointed action against any rocket fire against us.

Since Nir-Oz experienced pre-ceasefire rocketfire, nothing was reported.

So now morning has arrived. The ceasefire is in effect and the only sound I hear are drones, surveillance drones. And crows. The crows are on watch this morning.

School is not beginning today. Our Eshkol Council (link in Hebrew), under the mayoralty of Haim Jellin, has decided to go with the Homefront Command and keep us at home for one more day.

We’re all going to need a relaxing break from this war vacation. More chai, more storks, more relaxation techniques.

Judih, Jan 18, 7:41 a.m.

Update: 7:56 – My friend located on a kibbutz further north in Otef Aza has reported constant sounds of booms and gunfire near her. Nothing different in the soundscape since about 7:00 a.m.  She’s staying near her home, with a protected room, for the time being.

9:00 – Report of 2 qassams on Sderot. Oops…checking YNet – 6 qassams. And this report from YNet: Exchanges of Fire Reported in northern Gaza