Well, I haven't been writing blogs, but I HAVE been rehearsing my play, DIVIDE THE LIVING CHILD and tinkering with the script. I'm working with Heather Ondersma, who also directed MIKVAH. I'm just so thrilled with the cast that Heather brought together. (And the poster she made isn't too shabby either!) Not only are the actresses deeply invested in the play, they and Heather have been asking questions and making suggestions that have greatly improved the writing. Paula Barish even made a Freudian slip while reading the part of the nosy neighbor and it turned out to be BRILLIANT. In this new digital theater world, Eliana, J.J., Paula and Heather are from the S.F. Bay Area, Renee lives in NY City, and Bessie just moved to Israel. Keylanna, who stage manages and reads stage directions, resides in North Carolina. As awful and grueling as this pandemic is, I'm getting spoiled by the ability to cast actors from the whole world!
Everyone is invited to this latest livestream reading.
The link is above.
There will be a Q&A after the reading.
Our intention is to spread the word about DIVIDE. We hope to find a producer, so if you have any contacts in theater, please forward this invitation.
Below is a brief look at the story of DIVIDE, and a little info about my theater work, for those on the blog list who aren't familiar with it:
- DIVIDE THE LIVING CHILD takes place in Amsterdam in 1943, under Nazi Occupation. Torrie van Toom, a devout Christian, has offered to rescue a Jewish child. When the Resistance worker arrives with Hannah Bergman, 14, she also brings Hannah’s mother, Miriam. Torrie generously agrees to temporarily take in Miriam too. Hannah assumes a new identity as Torrie’s niece, and goes out into the world. Miriam must stay hidden. Tensions build as Torrie endeavors to save Hannah’s soul by converting her, and a nosy neighbor suspects that Torrie’s “niece” is a Jew.
- Terry Baum’s plays have been translated into Dutch, Spanish, Swedish and French and have been produced throughout the world. They have won Best of San Francisco Fringe Awards in 2016 and 2019, and a Fringe Fave Award at the New York Fringe Festival in 2015. Baum has also won the KPFA Radio Playwriting Award and been nominated for several Bay Area theater awards. As a solo performer, she has toured internationally. In 2019, Exit Press published an anthology of Baum’s plays, ONE DYKE’S THEATER. Baum was inspired to write DIVIDE THE LIVING CHILD while living in Amsterdam for five years. An earlier version of DIVIDE was produced by Ashland College in Ohio.
HERE IS A LINK to a podcast where Carolyn interviews me about my two Jewish plays,
DIVIDE and
MIKVAH.
When I lived in Amsterdam, I observed that the relationship of Dutch people to the Holocaust was very complicated and intense. Amsterdam in particular had been a sanctuary for Jews from the time of the Spanish Inquisition in the 1400's until the Germans invaded on May 4, 1940 -- 500 years. No other country in Europe offered that kind of sanctuary to the Jews. I'm not saying they WELCOMED the Jews who fled Spain and Portugal to escape the Inquisition. But they allowed them to stay and live in safety. If someone complained that Jewish services were being held in the apartment next door, the authorities would come and arrest the rabbi and put him in jail. For a day. Then he'd go back to holding services in the apartment next door. Spending one night in jail was religious freedom in the late 15th century, and it was not a gift to be taken lightly or found anywhere else.
I think the Dutch were the first people in Western Europe to figure out that, just because you hated people, you didn't have to kill them. That is the basis of the famous Dutch "tolerance." It's not about welcoming or embracing or loving the Other. It's not about a melting pot where people rapidly assimilate. It's about allowing the Other to live.
The Jews flourished surrounded by the tolerant Dutch, and they made a tremendous contribution to the culture -- especially in Amsterdam. In fact, the city of Amsterdam had a nickname -- Mokum, which means "The Place" in Yiddish. That wasn't just the Jews' nickname for it. It was EVERYONE'S nickname. Amsterdam was considered essentially a Jewish city. The soccer team, Ajax, still has a Star of David as its symbol -- a relic of the time when the owner and many of the players were Jews. The Dutch were proud of being a sanctuary for many. And I believe they feel a profound sense guilt for having failed to protect their Jews during the Holocaust.
Well, I could talk at great length about the Jews in Holland and my own experiences there as a Jew. All of it compelled me to look deeply into the history of the Holocaust in general and Christian antisemitism in particular. DIVIDE THE LIVING CHILD is the result.
I hope you'll come to the reading on Sunday.
Terry
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