THE VICTIMS OR: WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT IT? to Get Virtual Reading This Month
There will be a talkback with playwright Ken Kaissar immediately following the reading.
By: A.A. Cristi Jun. 18, 2021
Independent producer Adam Kern will present a reading of Ken Kaissar's Play The Victims Or: What do you want me to do about it?, which will have a virtual reading on Thursday June 24th 2021 at 8:00 PM EST on Zoom. Amy Kaissar will Direct.
In 2008, Israeli-American playwright Ken Kaissar traveled to Israel and the West Bank territories to research a very realistic play about the mothers of suicide bombers and their victims. But the research he gathered drastically changed the play that he felt compelled to write.
He collected hundreds of interviews of Israelis and Palestinians alike and was struck by a common viewpoint that all of them seemed to share. Both sides believe that they are the victims in the conflict, and both sides recognize that the situation is unjust and needs to change, but none of them seem to have any idea of how to realize the change. What's more, none of them believe that there is any participant currently involved in the conflict who has the ability to make the change. As a result, the ubiquitous attitude that was heard over and over again was: "What do you want me to do about it?"
It became very clear that a Beckettesque landscape would be the most poignant way to depict the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a society that recognizes that action must be taken, but a society that feels completely paralyzed. About the The Victims story
The Victims slips back and forth between two parallel worlds, one literal and the other absurd. As David travels to Israel to gather research and an understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Paula stumbles into the garden of Jadi and Bassee, two creatures who live in an idyllic world where they grow their own food and live in tranquility (despite the daily beatings from an alleged landowner). With Paula's arrival comes hope, as she sets out to put an end to the hostilities. Eventually, Paula and David's optimism and good intentions are hindered by the ubiquitous attitude that all sides of the conflict have adopted: "What do you want me to do about it?"
Performances Date: June 24th 5:00 PM PST / 8:00 PM EST Performance will be available On-Demand for 36 hours following the reading. Runtime - 120 minutes, with a 5 minute intermission.
For more information visit our Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/835222803755501.
Who's Who?
Ken Kaissar (Playwright)
Ken Kaissar's plays have been performed or developed by the Philadelphia Theatre Company, Delaware Theatre Company, Phoenix Theatre Company, Fusion Theatre Company, Jewish Repertory Theatre, Urban Stages and Passage Theatre. His adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer's THE CANTERBURY TALES was commissioned by Columbia University. His other plays include A MODEST SUGGESTION (available on Amazon), FAT MUSLIM GIRLS and A LEG UP. He holds a BFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon University and an MFA in playwriting from Columbia University. Ken is a co-producing director at the Bristol Riverside Theatre (brtstage.org), and the host of the podcast The Audition Helper available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Amy Kaissar (Director)
Amy Kaissar is the Co Producing Director of Bristol Riverside Theatre in Bristol PA. For Bristol Riverside Theatre: 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Driving Miss Daisy, Enemy of the People (co director). Other directing includes Cleveland Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Abingdon Theatre, and Epiphany Theatre. Producing Credits: Shake and Bake: Love's Labour's Lost (Drama Desk Nomination), Midsummer: A Banquet (Drama Desk Nomination), Telephone ("Inspired and utterly original" - Ben Brantley, New York Times), and The Heidi Chronicles on Broadway (co Producing Director). BFA Carnegie Mellon, MFA Columbia University
Etai Benson is an Israeli-American actor based in NYC. Before the pandemic, Etai was starring as Paul in the much-anticipated Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company. He originated the role of Papi in the Tony Award winning musical The Band's Visit. Broadway/National Tour: Wicked (Boq); An American in Paris (Adam). TV: God Friended Me. Regional: The Fortress of Solitude (premiere, Dallas Theatre Center), A Room with a View (premiere, The Old Globe), Next to Normal (Weston Playhouse), My Name is Asher Lev (GableStage). Workshops: The Band's Visit (dir. Hal Prince), The Devil Wears Prada (dir. Anna Shapiro), Little Miss Sunshine (dir. James Lapine). Etai trained at the University of Michigan and the legendary Moscow Art Theatre. He is a Grammy Award winner as Principal Soloist on The Band's Visit Original Broadway Cast Album. @etaibenson
Henry Cohen
Henry Cohen is excited to make his acting debut in the online reading of The Victims of What Do You Want Me To Do About It? Henry is a rising seventh grader at Princeton Day School in Princeton, New Jersey. He lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with his parents, younger sister, and rescue dog, Kenobi. In his free time Henry enjoys soccer, legos, reading, and playing video games with his friends. Henry would like to thank his family for their love and support and Ken and Amy Kaissar for this fun opportunity.
Ayelet Firstenberg
Ayelet Firstenberg has performed at ACT, TheatreWorks, SF Playhouse, Laguna Playhouse and more. She recently appeared on CBS's FBI. She lives in eastern PA.
Adam Fried
Adam Fried is an actor , writer and producer living in Los Angeles. He has a BA in Musical Theatre from Ball State University, and a graduate from the Professional Program for Acting for the Camera with UCLA. After performing regionally in theatre and two national tours, Adam worked as an actor in NYC for several years before moving to California to work in Film and Television. He is a founding producer with Chrysalis Pictures, co-director of the Moving Parts Film Festival and a staff director with ROCK YOUR REEL. Most recently, Adam is currently shooting the upcoming espionage TV Series "IN THE SHADOWS" (expected this summer on URBAN FLIX), as well as recently playing Michael Falcon in the Upcoming Female Driven Spaghetti Western "VENGEANCE TURNS". He also can be seen as playing Kellan in the upcoming series "THE CHARLOTTE CHRONICLES". Currently, Adam can be seen starring as Hank Eisenberg in Guest House Film's "HAPPINESS ADJACENT" now streaming worldwide on Amazon Prime, as well as hosting the talk show "COCKTALES" available worldwide on SEEKATV.
Adi Hanash
Adi Hanash is an actor and playwright from Las Vegas, Nevada. Previous credits include: The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Woolly Mammoth, Helen Hayes Nomination for Supporting Actor); Comedy of Sorrows (Hybrid Theatre Works); AK-47 Sing Along (ERA); Cymbeline (New York Classical Theatre); Zoya’s Apartment, Kate Crackernuts (ART/MXAT). Film/TV: Law and Order: SVU, Madame Secretary, White Collar, Rubicon, Our Idiot Brother, Non-Stop, Person of Interest and The Bourne Legacy. As a co-writer/actor: Nothing Left to Burn (Ars Nova ANTFest, The Public Theater New Work Now!, O'Neill Semi-Finalist, The Lark Playwrights Week 2015.
Taïfa Harris
Taïfa Harris is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon School of Drama is happy to be part of The Victims once again. Some theater credits include Yale Rep, Roundhouse Theater, Crossroads Theatre, Hartford Stage, The Acting Company, City Theater Company in Pittsburgh, Sierra Repertory Theater, Imagination Stage and The Depot Theater. Favorite roles: Veronica in Valley Song Alma in, Flight, 10 Months at Delaware Theater Company, Ernestine in Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Breedlove in Sheila’s Day, and Nell in Ain’t Misbehavin’ Film/ TV: The Temptations, The Colbert Report, With Friends Like These, The Hospital, Chains. She lives in NYC with her husband and their 3 pretty cool kids. Proud member of SAG-AFTRA and Actor’s Equity Association.
David Hilfstein
David Hilfstein is a American actor based in New York. He recently worked with Bill Murray, Adam Driver, and Chloe Sevigny, in the Jim Jarmusch directed The Dead Don’t Die. In 2018, he was nominated for Best Actor in the dark comedy short film, Legit. In the same year on NYC stages, he originated the role of Dr. Kalanathi in Sixteen: The Troublemaker Diaries, and the role of Jacob in Looking Through Glass, written by Ken Kaissar. Regional/International: Ragtime (Tateh), Fiddler on the Roof (Perchik) *TANYS Award, Rent (Mark) Israeli Premiere, Fat Pig (Tom), Arsenic! The Musical (Mortimer) TV: Marvel The Defenders (Netflix/Disney+), Six Degrees of Murder, Street Justice The Bronx, Shadow of Doubt. David is also an Israeli citizen, having made aliyah and lived in Jerusalem for seven years. He holds a B.S. in Exercise Science from High Point University and is a proud SAG-AFTRA member.www.davidhilfstein.com
Adam is a producer, director and actor, currently based in Seattle. Most recently he served as the Artistic Virtual Programs Manager for Cleveland Play House, and is a co-owner of Shadow of the Run Immersive in Cleveland. As an actor he has been featured on CBS (One Dollar), feature film I See You, and at the American Repertory Theatre, the Old Vic in London, the LA Philharmonic and the Classical Theatre of Harlem. MFA A.R.T. / Moscow Art Theatre Institute at Harvard. www.adam-kern.com
Jonathan Marballi
Jon is a half-Indian, quarter-Sicilian, quarter-Russian-Jewish actor, writer and producer who grew up in the midwestern United States and overseas in Asia. He has appeared on a variety of shows including Broad City (Comedy Central), Thingstarter (SeeSo), and House of Cards (Netflix). He is an alumnus of the Upright Citizens Brigade and spent several years performing on a variety of house teams at their New York and Los Angeles theaters. He has also worked at a number of theaters around the country including The Flea Theatre and Berkeley Rep.
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