arts & culture
SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER
T hough International Holocaust
Remembrance Day came and
went in January, the mission to
instill the gravity of the Shoah to the
next generation continues for the Jewish
Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s
Jewish Community Relations Council and
Philadelphia’s salon-style Theatre Ariel.

The pair partnered to tour the play
“Survivors” across six Philadelphia public
and charter middle and high schools from
March 28 to April 7 as part of JCRC’s
Youth Symposium on the Holocaust.

The play, written by Santa Barbara,
California-based playwright Wendy
Kout, follows the stories of 10 young
Holocaust survivors as they endure the
hardships of Nazi rule and concentra-
tion camps. The play uses the real sto-
ries and names of Holocaust survivors.

“Survivors” was funded by the
Foundation for Jewish Day Schools
through Pennsylvania’s Educational
Improvement Tax Credit Program.

The dwindling number of survivors
alive or able to share their stories,
combined with the pandemic limiting
large, in-person gatherings, forced the
JCRC Holocaust Remembrance and
Education subcommittee to reconsider
the format of the Youth Symposium.

The program used to consist of survi-
vors speaking with more than 1,000
students congregated in a large audito-
rium or conference center.

“Although we cannot bring Holocaust
survivors into schools because of
COVID and public health concerns, we
believe this play is a great alternative, as
it retells the stories of actual Holocaust
survivors and illustrates the impor-
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24 APRIL 7, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
tance of standing up against
hatred,” JCRC Director Jason
Holtzman said.

“We came up with the idea
to use theater as a way to
create emotional connection
and provide a valuable pro-
gram that schools would want
to bring students to,” Jewish
Federation Senior Manager A dress rehearsal performance of “Survivors,”
of Community Engagement featuring cast members Brooke Shilling, DJ Gleason,
Hannah Cohen, Michael Stahler and Bo Sayre.

Beth Razin added.

The play was commissioned
in 2018 by Ralph Maranto, artistic the past,” Baer Mozes said.

director of CenterStage Theatre of the
Theatre Ariel Associate Artistic
JCC in Rochester, New York, and writ- Director Jesse Bernstein, who directed
ten by Kout for the same reason.

the play, considered his young audience
“Basically, Ralph said, ‘Wendy, I’ve — and the logistical obstacles of making
been thinking: How are we going to a set for a touring play — when making
continue to tell these important sto- choices of how to present the play.

ries?’” Kout said. “‘We have websites
Swapping elaborate set pieces for
where students can go online and lis- a rich, ambient soundscape made in
ten to interviews, and that’s all well collaboration with sound designer
and good. But there has to be a more Damien Figueras, Bernstein hoped to
personal way to interact with students create an immersive experience.

than just a screen.’”
“I wanted to create an atmosphere,
The memory of the neo-Nazi march and I wanted to put the audience inside
in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August this world,” Bernstein said.

2017 — defined by the images of white
His job was made easier by what
supremacists screaming with torches in Bernstein considered a “compelling” script.

their hands — underlined the urgency
Using the stories from real survivors
of the project for Kout.

allowed Bernstein to share a “diver-
Kout chose to use real survivors’ sto- sity of experience,” filled with details
ries, but have the characters in the play so specific they could not have been
be the age of the survivor during their thought of by an individual who did
time in World War II-era Europe. In not live through the horrors of the
addition to providing historical accu- Holocaust. Among the horrors of the
racies of the time, Kout wanted to cap- survivors’ stories were glimmers of
ture the coming-of-age that still took hope and narratives of resistance.

place for the children of the Holocaust.

“The survivors were all individu-
“​​We knew we weren’t going to dumb als who found meaning and who still
it down, and we weren’t going to make made the most out of their lives,”
it ‘Holocaust lite,’” Kout said. “It had Bernstein said.

to be authentic. It had to be the truth.”
A question-and-answer portion fol-
That message is particularly import- lowed each performance, where stu-
ant for this day and age, Theatre dents were able to further engage with
Ariel Founding and Artistic Director the material.

“We were at Abington High School on
Deborah Baer Mozes argued. Nazis not
only targeted Jews, but also disabled Monday (March 28). You could literally
and gay people, which non-Jewish high hear a pin drop in that audience ... stu-
school students took note of and could dents were so drawn in, and, at the end,
relate to — such as the war in Ukraine they gave them a really sincere applause,”
that has driven Holocaust survivors out Baer Mozes said. “It was a spontaneous
and very sincere applause.” JE
of their home country yet again.

“It’s not often taught that the past is
also present if we’re not learning from srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com
Photos by Beth Razin
Theatre Ariel Holocaust Play Tours
Area Public Schools