Theater J Hosts Convening of Years-Long Initiative to Foster Diverse Jewish Playwrights

On Sunday, February 2 at 1pm, Theater J will bring together six playwrights from across North America who have been working for three years on writing new plays that center around the stories of ethnically and racially diverse Jews. The playwrights, who are part of a Theater J initiative entitled Expanding the Canon, will convene in Washington, DC at the Edlavitch DCJCC to showcase excerpts from their new plays. Following the reading, a panel discussion with the playwrights will take place along with a dessert reception. This event, which is open to the public, is presented in partnership with Alliance for Jewish Theatre.  Prior to the public event on Sunday, the playwrights will gather that weekend to work with artistic collaborators on excerpts of their work and will reflect on the impact of the program on their artistic processes.  

Established in 2022, Theater J’s Expanding the Canon has commissioned six racially and ethnically diverse Jewish writers to create new full-length plays over the time span of two-and-a-half years that thematically and visually center diverse Jewish narratives in order to correct and broaden the historically limited portrayals of Jewishness on stages in the United States and around the world. Theater J’s support of these writers has enabled them to create new works that represent Jewish identity in ways rarely seen on the stage. 

After receiving submissions from 82 writers, Theater J artistic staff interviewed finalists and selected the playwrights who each received a $10,000 commission and a $5,000 developmental budget to be used for readings, workshops, research, and travel. Those playwrights are Harley Elias, Zacharia Ezer, Carolivia Herron, Jesse Jae Hoon, M.J. Kang and Kendell Pinkney (bios for each playwright can be found at the bottom of this release).  

The program kicked off in August of 2022 with a three-day intensive Beit Midrash (learning space) led by Rosh Beit Sabrina Sojourner, a Shaliakh Tzibur and nationally recognized Jewish leader. This intensive learning process allowed the playwrights to engage with texts and discuss Jewish thought and tradition, inspiring them as they began to craft their plays. Throughout the commission, writers have met monthly to continue to learn, share additional resources, and workshop written material. 

This convening event will be sponsored by the Covenant Foundation, CANVAS, the Leshowitz Family Foundation, and Terry Singer. 

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