Children are invited to join us at The Vilna Shul for a theatrical journey around Sukkot with theater creator Rotem Goldenberg.
What are the Four Species? And what does Ushpizin even mean? Do some people really sleep in a Sukkah for seven nights? Starting with the holiday of Sukkot, we will discuss issues such as permanent home, temporary home, welcoming guests and family.
Our journey will begin with meeting the strange investigator Ushpizina and an interactive quest with riddles surrounding Sukkot and the Four species. The chilren will help Ushpizina find where each out the Four Species is hiding. After the quest, we will then show "Who is Rasberry Juice?", an adaption of an iconic Israeli story called Rasberry Juice. This is a funny show about friendship, performed in modern puppetry style, where everything is made of paper and performed on a table.
After the show our journey continues with a creative activity in which children and their parents will create paper pop-up houses. A temporary house that can be folded and opened - temporary, just like a Sukkah. This will be an opportunity to discuss the themes surrounding what a "home" really means.
This program is the first of many wonderful collaborations between The Vilna and the JCC of Greater Boston. Together, we hope to welcome and connect urban Jewish families living in and around the city of Boston.
About Rotem Goldenberg
Multi-disciplinary artist, puppeteer, storyteller and medical clown. Holds a dual Bachelor's degree from Tel Aviv University in the Multidisciplinary Program in Humanities and in the Theater Arts (summa cum laude). Graduated from the School and Stage for Physical Theater, inspired by the method of Jacques Lecoq.
Originally from Israel, Rotem moved to Cambridge, MA this past year. She creates art for both young and adult audiences. Her art exists between the spaces of visual theater, puppets, performance, storytelling, and clowning. She performed with her works in various festivals in Israel (The Train Theater, Acco festival) and worldwide (China, Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Germany, France and more).
She believes in using theater as a tool in both social activism and therapy. For the past decade, she has been working in medical clowning, accompanying children and their families to treatments and procedures via the Dream Doctors project. She is an actor and partner in the Holot Theater, a social theater group for Israelis and asylum seekers.
In partnership with:
