Wherefore art thou, Abraham? Teens stage Judaism

A dozen local teens will get the chance this year to explore their Jewish roots and identities in a totally new setting -- onstage.

A Traveling Jewish Theatre, teaming up with the San Francisco High School Havurah, will select 12 students to write and perform a professional play with a Judaic theme.

The S.F.-based troupe will audition and train the young actors when the Havurah's evening classes start in September. The effort is part of a new artist-in-residence program for high school students.

"It's going to be a program where the students will learn how to create their own Jewish theater," said Aaron Davidman, ATJT's director of education. "The material will be drawn from the performers' relationship to Judaism."

Meeting Monday nights, the teens will learn acting, conduct research, begin to create a play and start to rehearse it.

Next spring, the students will perform their finished product at the ATJT's 88-seat theater in San Francisco.

The theater program will be open to both new and returning students of the Havurah, which last year enrolled 170 teens. The exception is 10th-graders, who spend the year in confirmation class.

Acting experience isn't necessary.

"The main criteria is that there's a thirst and a hunger to explore this type of work," Davidman said. "It's very fun work; at the same time, it's very demanding."

Starting its fourth year, the Havurah is sponsored by Congregations Sherith Israel, Beth Sholom and Emanu-El along with the Bureau of Jewish Education and the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation. The Jewish studies program's past offerings have included courses in the Talmud, Hebrew, Israeli culture and a comparison of Judaism to Buddhism.

The Havurah meets each year at one of the three sponsoring synagogues. This year, classes will take place at Beth Sholom.

Organizers are enthusiastic about the new course offering.

"I think it will sort of raise the bar of cultural activities in the program," said Jennifer Levine, the Havurah's director. "It will inspire kids to explore their Jewish identity within a theatrical frame. I also hope it will draw kids who are interested in drama but might not have connected with Judaism."

Davidman is looking forward to working with the students and watching them create an original play.

"They really have opinions about the world and their place in it, " he said. But often, he said, they don't have a public forum for expressing those views.

"It's fun to do 'Guys and Dolls' and all," but "there's something else going on when the students get a chance to take a stand. I think it's very much in the Jewish tradition to do that"

Mica Doctoroff, a 17-year-old Havurah student who will be a senior this fall, said the theater class "sounds really great" and would appeal to many in the program. But because she'll be busy with college applications, she isn't sure if she will try out for the course.

The idea for the theater program was hatched after Havurah participants watched an apprentice troupe with ATJT perform a play this spring called "On the Seventh Day: A Theatrical Exploration of the Sabbath."

"The students seemed to get a lot out of it," said Davidman. "They responded with a lot of excitement."

Besides giving the students a creative outlet, ATJT benefits. The troupe gets a chance to train a new crop of budding actors, who eventually could join the apprentice group or the regular ensemble.

"What we're trying to do is feed the chain, start the process even younger so we can begin to build a larger community of artists," he said.

Levine hopes the theater program will entice new teens to join the Havurah.

Auditions will take place the first night of class on Sept. 27. Additional try-outs are being scheduled at Club 18 at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco.