Sacred Resistance

June 19 – October 7, 2018

PODCAST

Hear Vicki Juditz’s interview on the JWT Podcast

THE PROGRAM

Written and Performed by Vicki Juditz
Directed by Susan Morgenstern
Produced by Ronda Spinak
Lighting Designer Ernest McDaniel
Stage Manager  Michelle A. Prudente
Associate Producers Susie Yuré & Rose Ziff
Artistic Associate Daphna Shull

Sacred Resistance was made possible with generous gifts from Annette & Leonard Shapiro and from Gail Solo.

 

PRESS

“Spectacular…”
“Funny, poignant and completely satisfying…”
– Santa Monica Daily Press

“…makes this litany of ‘do-gooding’ funny.”
– Jewish Journal review by Wendy Paris

“Juditz leaves us with a very relevant takeaway, ‘What am I doing to make the world a better place?”
–If the Devil Had Menopause Review

“Another Winner at Jewish Women’s Theatre”
– Splash Magazines

“Lovely, personal, and compelling…”
“Universal…”
– Stage Right…or Not With Michele Willens Podcast (at the 4min and 15sec mark)

“A Winner…” “Fascinating.”
– WillCall.org

Read “Vicki Juditz’s Journey to Judaism,” an interview with the Jewish Journal

TESTIMONIALS

“From the moment Vicki Juditz stepped onto the stage, I knew I was in the hands of a master storyteller.  This show managed to touch my heart, make me laugh, and, inspire.  What a journey packed into this tiny gem of a performance.”
– Susan, Audience member

“My friend Julie, who is not Jewish, had tears in her eyes at the end of the show and said, ‘There is nothing that could make this play better. It’s beautiful.”
– Audience member

ARTIST BIOS

VICKI JUDITZ (Performer/Writer) has performed her original stories at theaters and festivals across the country, including the Sierra, Flying Leap, Timpanogos, Minnesota, Bay Area, and national storytelling festivals as well as the Aspen LAFF Festival, the Jewish Arts Festival of Hong Kong, and the Asolo Theater in Sarasota, Florida. Los Angeles audiences see her regularly around town in the spoken-word series Tasty Words, Spark, Tell It!, Tales by the Sea, Listen to Your Mother, Expressing Motherhood, Off My Head, Story Salon, Library Girl, Strong Words, and at Moth Story SLAMs and Grand SLAMs. Her story “Swing Dancing” aired on the Moth Radio Hour and her story “Boca” was featured on KCRW’s UnFictional. For the past several years, she has had the privilege of being part of many Jewish Women’s Theatre salons. Vicki has written, produced, and toured with a number of one-woman shows, including Teshuvah, Return; Where Do Babies Come From?; and Life After Life. For Teshuvah, Return she received a Drama-Logue Award and an L.A. Weekly nomination for Best Female Solo Performer. Sacred Resistance is an adaptation of that well-received show. For several years she wrote personal essays on environmental issues for the online publication Mad As Hell Club. On TV she has had comic roles on Coach, Everybody Loves Raymond, My Name Is Earl and Yes, Dear and has appeared in countless commercials. This July she will return to the Sierra Storytelling Festival in Nevada City, CA, will be performing for Storytelling Arts of Indiana, and will be a teller-in-residence in Storytelling Live! at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, TN.

RONDA SPINAK (Producer/JWT Artistic Director) creates and produces JWT’s At-Homes Salon Theatre Series, beginning its 11th season. She has curated more than 40 original Jewish-themed salon shows for JWT, as well as adapted many of the pieces performed. Spinak developed and produced Not That Jewish at JWT’s The Braid, which ran for 16 months, garnered a LA Drama Critics Circle nomination, only stopping to move to off-Broadway. She also produced Rain Pryor’s hit show, Fried Chicken & Latkes for The Braid. Spinak co-wrote Stories From the Fringe, putting the stories of women rabbis on stage for  the first time. Since then, she and her team have interviewed on videotape, 180 national and international women rabbis, and in partnership with Jewish Women’s Archive have made many of the interviews available online at www.jwa.org. She’s the author of the critically acclaimed exercise book, ProBodX (HarperCollins), wrote for Rugrats, and her plays include Oscar Wilde’s Wife, a favorite at the Ashland New Play Festival. Spinak graduated from Stanford University, completed her MBA at UCLA and her masters in writing at USC. She has served as a grant reviewer for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, is on the board of the Alliance for Jewish Theatres, and is a member of the Dramatists Guild. She feels blessed to be working with the many talented and inspiring women who give so generously to Jewish Women’s Theatre. A special thanks to ADR. Find more information: www.jewishwomenstheatre.org.

SUSAN MORGENSTERN (Director) began directing in college by staging musical-theatre concert readings while co-teaching American musical comedy with Tom Lehrer at UC Santa Cruz. She went on to teach and direct at the renowned Stage Door Manor, a performing-arts camp in upstate New York. Los Angeles productions: Theatre West – selections from David Ives’ All in the Timing; the musicals Just Too Cool, book by Mary Garripoli, music by Phil Orem, and Saturday Night at Grossinger’s, book by Stephen Cole, music by Claibe Richardson; as well as Barbara Nell Beery’s play, The Socialization of Ruthie Shapiro. Falcon/Garry Marshall Theatre – Leap, by Arnold Margolin; Surviving Sex, by David Landsberg; the hit comedy The Psychic, by Sam Bobrick. White- fire Theatre – Richard Martin Hirsch’s Memorizing Rome. Skylight Theatre – an INKubator series fully staged presentation of Ghost-s, a Musical About a Musical, book by Kincaid Jones, music by Brian Woodbury, as well as an extended run of Meryl Cohn’s comedy Reasons to Live. In addition, Susan directed Happy Days, a New Musical, book by Garry Marshall, music/lyrics by Paul Williams, at Cabrillo Music Theatre’s 1800-seat auditorium. She recently co-authored and directed I’m Not Famous: A Musical Journey with Barbara Minkus at the Santa Monica Playhouse. Susan works as a consultant show director at Disneyland Parks and Resorts, Anaheim, where she has the privilege of working with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and all their pals. She has directed numerous JWT salon shows and is especially proud to be its Producing Director, working closely with a tremendous group of brilliant and passionately creative women.

ERNEST McDANIEL (Lighting Design) is happy to be working with the wonderful people of Jewish Women’s Theatre again. Ernest studied Theatrical Arts and Design at L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq – Paris, France, and mime at École Internationale de Mimodrame de Paris Marcel Marceau – Paris, France. He is also an actor, mime, director, and designer; who has won Best Technical Director of Michigan, and Best Set Design, for Theatre West’s Musical Comedy Murders of 1940. He has designed lights for Theatre Rocks, Sally Spectre, The Life of Thomas Paine, and Magic and Lightning: Into the Mind of Nikola Tesla. His set design can be seen this year at Theatricum Botanicum’s Haiti. Other set designs include: Sally Spectre, Titus Andronicus, Animal Farm, Nebraska Smith. Film work: Prop Master One Half Gone, Art Director Coin Laundry. Ernest has also done several national tours of his one-man mime show.

MICHELLE A. PRUDENTE (Stage Manager) has spent the last two years working as a full-time Production Stage Manager at Knott’s Berry Farm. Currently, she can be found exploring all outlets that Stage Management has to offer, freelancing across LA County. Originally from NJ, Michelle has worked on numerous productions both in the tri-state and LA areas. She would like to thank all those who have believed in her, even when she has not. You can find and follow her work at: www.michellaprudente.com.

SUSIE YURÉ (JWT’s Director of Community Engagement/Associate Producer) has proudly worked with JWT for 7 years. She has volunteered in non-profit organizations, in which she has held leadership roles in fundraising, event planning, facilities coordinating, programming, membership, marketing, and administration. Susie has produced musical theatre productions, classical concerts, and cabaret performances. She holds a BA and MA in elementary education from USC, along with her California lifetime teaching credential. While at USC, she met her husband. Her favorite role is as mom to her two children and recently as a grandmother.

ROSE ZIFF (Special Projects Manager/Associate Producer) came out of retirement to work for JWT after working at UCLA Medical Center for 33 years, where she functioned as “den mother” to more than 1000 interns, residents, and clinical fellows at UCLA, the VA, and Olive View-UCLA Medical Centers, providing resources and support. Rose is currently serving on the board of directors for Lev Eisha, a Jewish women’s non-profit religious organization and spiritual community. Her hobbies include gardening, visiting Providence St. Johns Health Center with her therapy dog, and hosting a monthly book club.

DAPHNA SHULL (Artistic Associate) is a two-time NEXT Arts Council Fellow, literary manager, and writer, born and raised in Tampa, Florida. She received her bachelor’s degree in media production from Florida State University. After graduating in 2014, she headed west to pursue a career in screenwriting and the arts. Today Daphna works as a museum educator for the Zimmer Children’s Museum and recently joined the JWT staff.

GALLERY