Jewish Women's Theatre To Host Panel On Positive Aging

Jewish Women's Theatre will present a panel of remarkable and thought-provoking older women who will discuss how to grow older without getting old at JWT's Sunday Morning at the Braid at 10 am on November 3.

Well past the age of retirement, artist and Professor Ruth Weisberg, family law attorney Rosaline Zukerman, and Rabbi Emerita Laura Geller of Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, are still fully engaged with their life's work amidst the joys and challenges of aging. At the JWT event, they will share stories and secrets of how they continue to flourish.

The morning program will also include a performance of "The Chairs" written by Libby Schwartz, and acted by veteran actress Arva Rose. Schwartz's story is about a woman who became an activist...at age 90. There will also be a book signing by Rabbi Emerita Laura Geller, whose new book, Getting Good at Getting Older, has just been published.

"We are very excited to bring these incredible and inspirational women together to share their life stories and give our audience some insight into how to keep doing it all, while aging gracefully and optimistically," said Lisa Rosenbaum, an author and JWT Board member who will moderate the panel.

"We aren't young anymore," says panelist Rabbi Emerita Laura Geller. "We need to navigate the years between maturity and old age... but we are changing the way the world sees older people." Her new book, Getting Good at Getting Older, written with her late husband, Richard Siegel, brings humor, warmth, and 4,000 years of Jewish experience to the question of how to shape this new stage of life.

"I could feel myself getting great at getting older and am now looking forward to the next 97 years," said Norman Lear of Rabbi Geller's book. Letty Cottin Pogrebin, founding editor of Ms. Magazine, called Getting Good at Getting Older "a bedside companion, a portable best friend."

Another panel member, Ruth Weisberg, now 77, began taking art classes at the age of five in her native Chicago. She is now one of Los Angeles' most renowned artists, a professor of fine arts and former dean at the USC Roski School and the current director of the USC Initiative for Israeli Arts and Humanities. Her work has been showcased in over 80 solo and 190 group exhibitions, including the Norton Simon Museum, the Skirball, and at the Huntington.

"I make art out of all aspects of my identity," she says. "Art integrates my experiences, beliefs and heritage. I am particularly nourished by the history of art, the history of the Jewish people, and by the unwritten history of women." Weisberg sees her work as "affected by the lens of memory - by the sense of the passage of time and the act of remembering."

At 89, Rosaline "Roz" Zukerman still sits in her own law firm's Century City law office, surrounded by framed pictures of family, friends and clients, and by files of current cases. She began law school at the age of 50, after raising a family and pursuing degrees in psychology and counseling. Those experiences, she says, have served her clients well.

Zukerman found her niche in family law because she enjoys drawing upon a broad body of subjects and, as a mother and grandmother of twelve, she is especially empathetic with people who are facing great family challenges. The advice she gives to the many people she mentors is, "Don't ever let anybody tell you that it's too late in life to start another career."

The panel discussion, a performance of "The Chairs," a book signing with Rabbi Emerita Laura Geller, a light brunch and a raffle will all take place at the Braid, 2912 Colorado Ave., #102, Santa Monica, on November 3 from 10 am-noon. Tickets are $25 are can be purchased at www.jewishwomenstheatre.org.

JWT, voted one of the "Best Live Theatres on the Westside" by The Argonaut, stages original dramatic performances, contemporary art exhibits, classes, and other events showcasing the diverse community of writers, artists and creators who celebrate Jewish life, one story at a time. Now in its 12th year, learn more about JWT at www.jewishwomenstheatre.org.