Friday, December 18, 2009

Seven Jewish Children: Call to Action



Artists 4 Israel calls on all actors, writers, dancers and theater go-ers to submit their application for this casting call with the words "Art, Not Propaganda" written across the top of your resume and headshot. If you want to protest in person, the castings are being held at The Producer's Club: Address: 358 West 44th StreetNew York, NY 10036-5426(212) 315-4743. ART, NOT PROPAGANDA. READ MORE BELOW


Caryl Churchill, a self-proclaimed feminist and member of the "Palestine" Solidarity Campaign (how one can be both is confusing in and of itself), a loose confederation of uninformed misanthropes and spotlight seeking attention whores, is most famous (of course) for having written the play Seven Jewish Children.

SJC is a ten minute "history" of Israel. Shockingly enough, the 10 minutes does little to provide a fair, nuanced, reasoned or, even, rational account of the history of this beautiful and complex nation. What is not shocking is that the play is considered by many to be Anti-Semitic, biased, and quite bad art to boot. Wikipedia lists some far more damning criticism:

Christopher Hart of the The Sunday Times, condemning the play for its "straitjacketed political orthodoxy," criticized Churchill's "ludicrous and utterly predictable lack of even-handedness," typical, he said, of the "enclosed, fetid, smug, self-congratulating and entirely irrelevant little world of contemporary political theatre."[20] Theatre critic Jan Dalley of the Financial Times described the play as "agitprop" harking back to long-discredited revolutionary ideas,[21] similar to Bret Stephens's criticism in the Wall Street Journal. [22] and Susannah Clapp's criticism in The Observer. [23] Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic Monthly also calls the play a blood libel and said it was "the mainstreaming of the worst anti-Jewish stereotypes -- for instance, that Jews glory in the shedding of non-Jewish blood -- is upon us".[24] Columnist Melanie Phillips wrote that the play is "An open vilification of the Jewish people... drawing upon an atavistic hatred of the Jews” and called it an "open incitement to hatred”


Where else to find such rubbish but at a New York theater. Recently, I received the following casting call:

SEEKING PERFORMERS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN WORKING ON POLITICAL PLAY!

Upcoming Equity Showcase, is casting:
1 Male soldier, late 20s-early 30s 
1 Male soldier, early-mid 20s 
4 dancers--male and/or female, no specified age 
3-5 actors, male and/or female, no specified age

The showcase will be comprised of the play by Caryl Churchill, Seven 
Jewish Children, in addition to dance, song, poetry, and multimedia 
performances. All proceeds from show will be donated to the UK-based organization 
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).

Auditions will be held from 6:30-9pm at the Producer's Club on Friday, 
Dec. 18th. Appointment only, this is NOT an open call!! 
Actors please prepare a 1-minute contemporary, dramatic monologue. You 
may also be asked to read from sides after monologue. 
Dancers will be asked to learn a choreographed piece for the audition. You 
can also prepare 1-minute choreographed piece of your choice, but this is 
not necessary. We will provide speakers for iPod or mp3 player hookup for 
music.

Send headshots and resumes, as well as your preferred audition time to 
7jewishchildren@gmail.com


Artists 4 Israel calls on all actors, writers, dancers and theater go-ers to submit their application for this casting call with the words "Art, Not Propaganda" written across the top of your resume and headshot.

Thank you.

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