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  2006-11-28 Day of Atonement
 


. Jerry Levens

 

 
 

This Day of Atonement is Jewish,
but it's not about Yom Kippur

Jewishsightseeing.com, November 28,  2006

plays

 



By Jerry Levens

SAN DIEGO, Calif.— Janet Tiger's new award-winning one-act play Day of Atonement will be performed on Sunday, December 3 at 7.30 pm at Swedenborg Hall, 1531 Tyler Street in San Diego . Tiger is the Playwright-in-Residence at this center, and has used this venue to introduce many of her theatrical productions over the years, including Renny's Story, which had a sold-out run last May. 

Day of Atonement is a play with a purpose; to send a message to the audience concerning an important issue, which many may have already confronted or are likely do so in the future: interfaith marriage. This story concerns a Jewish family and how its members are still trying to cope with all of the feelings such a relationship has generated over the years.

Tiger may not be a therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist, but she is a gifted playwright with a wonderful sense for creating strong and meaningful dialogue, which in turn, brings forth and into the open, the emotional thoughts and feelings of those involved. We are able to see and hear the acting out, so to speak, of the anger, the hurt, the regrets and relate them to our own experience.  

In one sense, this play is more of a theatrical workshop. A theme is developed in the opening act with sensitivity and caring. The audience is then invited to participate in an open discussion in which their own reactions and experiences with the issue are solicited. On this evening, Rabbi Scott Meltzer of Ohr Shalom Synagogue and Rev. Carla Friedrich of the Swedenborg Church of San Diego will join the playwright in providing the tools necessary for true dialogue on this difficult issue.  They will also respond to any questions, statements or other commentaries from the audience. Interfaith marriage affects almost every American Jewish family today.  As such, this evening should prove helpful for all of us by demonstrating how others have worked it out.

This interactive program will be available for presenation to other organizations, both religious and secular, as a way to help  families dealing with the issues surrounding intermarriage.

Tiger's has written over 30 plays, which have won both national and local awards. They have been produced internationally from New York (Off-Broadway) to New Zealand .  They appear in many popular anthologies in both the U.S. and Canada .  Tiger has also been awarded a Combo-NEA Fellowship Grant and has received commissions from both The Aaronson Foundation and The Kallis Foundation.

Day of Atonement was presented last August at the DFAS National One-Act Playwriting Contest, winning an award for Tiger, her fifth over the years in this competition.

For tickets or more information, please call 858-274-9678, or online at:TigerPlays@gmail.com     .    www.playsbyjanetstiger.com