Traveler’s Prayer
True stories of surprise and transformation as we travel away from home but still bring our Jewishness with us.
January 11 – February 6, 2025
THE PROGRAM
Material Produced, Adapted & Curated by Ronda Spinak
Co-Directed by Susan Morgenstern and Todd Felderstein
Dramaturge Lisa Pearl Rosenbaum
Additional Material Adapted and Curated by NEXT Fellows
Erica W. Jamieson, Eryn Kieffer, Karen Agam-Macarah, Adam Rosenthal, Alma Schofield, Deborah Shkurovich
South Bay Producer Liz Altman • Managing Director Sharon Landau
Stage Managers MJ Adamson and Amanda Horowitz
Musical Welcome / Song
Performed by Rhiannon Lewis.
Io Hebraica
Written by Rabbi Susan Nanus. Performed by Amy Tolsky and Michael Naishtut.
Not Just History
Written and performed by Jill Remez.
Hope
Written by Linda Allen. Performed by Roni Geva and Michael Naishtut.
The Man in the Doorway
Written by Lisa Pearl Rosenbaum. Performed by Amy Tolsky.
The Great Escape
Written by Ruth Belonsky. Performed by Jill Remez, Michael Naishtut, Amy Tolsky.
Going Away
Music and lyrics written and performed by Rhiannon Lewis.
A Jew in Michigan
Written by Mindy Myers. Performed by Michael Naishtut.
Pussy Writes a Letter
Written by Cindy Chupack, from her comic memoir: The Longest Date: Life as a Wife (now available in paperback from Penguin). Performed by Roni Geva.
A Taste of Italy
Written by Sharon Landau. Performed by Amy Tolsky.
Transported Back
Written by Rabbi Linda Seidman. Adapted from an interview with Ronda Spinak. Performed by Jill Remez and Michael Naishtut.
A Different Kind of Blessing
Written by Rabbi Linda Seidman. Adapted from an interview with Ronda Spinak. Performed by Michael Naishtut, Jill Remez and Roni Geva.
Kaddish
Written By Ellen Sussman. Performed by Roni Geva.
Our People Live
Written by Olivia Cohen-Cutler. Performed by Amy Tolsky.
Traveler’s Prayer (song)
Music and lyrics written by Debbie Friedman. Performed by ensemble.
ARTIST BIOS
MJ ADAMSON (They/He/Her) first came to The Braid as the stage and production management intern. After the conclusion of their internship they participated in the NEXT program and were subsequently invited to become the NEXT program coordinator. MJ holds a BFA in stage management from The University of Southern California. Their degree has allowed them to amplify voices in non-profit organizations such as The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival, Hero Theatre, and Critical Mass Performance Group. A multidisciplinary artist, MJ has also been credited as a costume designer, producer in both film and theatre, a production-manager and screenwriter.
LINDA ALLEN lives in Saratoga, CA, with her husband, Mark. A fan of The Braid since the early days, she is one of the coordinators for the northern California series. She and Mark love to travel; the 2024 mission was Linda’s fourth trip to Israel. When at home, Linda can usually be found quilting.
LIZ ALTMAN (South Bay Producer) wrote Almost a Sacrifice, previously performed at the JWT/Braid salon Unknown Stories of Biblical Proportions. Other credits include song lyrics for activities at the University of Michigan and the Dallas Bar Follies; and co-directing, co-writing, and performing in the annual SMU law school follies. Braid: Advisory board member and South Bay producer. Professional: president of a real estate company. Hobbies: tennis, art, and travel. Special love to her muse, Louis.
RUTH BELONSKY is an advocate for justice, a dedicated educator, and a compassionate chaplain. Her parents, German Jews, fled to South Africa, and she was born in the city of East London, where she witnessed apartheid’s injustices. In addition to teaching music, Ruth served as a city councilor, championing anti-apartheid efforts. Her activism forced her family to flee to the U.S in 1979. Ruthhas been the violinist for Lev Eisha for more than a decade, also co-leading shabbat services at Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue. On retiring from teaching, Ruth earned a master’s degree in Jewish studies and chaplaincy, working at Little Company of Mary Hospital for 10 years. Now an independent community chaplain, Ruth has served 15 years on the executive board of the Faith Based Advocacy Council under the L. A. County Department of Mental Health, five of those years as chair. Her story shares the journey of resilience, advocacy, and faith that has defined her life.
JESSICA CABOT is a writer, director, and producer originally from and currently living in Los Angeles, CA. She is best known for her work on Shitty Boyfriends, a web-series she created for Refinery29. The series starred Sandra Oh and was executive produced by Lisa Kudrow in partnership with New Form Digital, receiving a Webby Honoree for Comedy: Long Form or series in 2016. Jessica also co-created, co-produced, and starred in Lifetime’s first web-series, The Young Hillary Diaries. Some of Jessica’s other notable credits in the entertainment industry include working as an assistant for writer/director Joey Soloway, writer’s assistant on Weeds, and as the official backstage NBC Page on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She recently earned her MFA at USC’S School of Cinematic Arts in Film & Television Production. Jessica is passionate about telling stories that reveal deep emotional truths, or just make you laugh.
DAVID CHIU (Marketing/Communications Manager) is a full-time staff member at The Braid. His journey with them began as a writer for their landmark show True Colors. Alumnus of The Braid’s NEXT Emerging Artists Fellowship. Writer for numerous Salon theatre shows and served as literary curator/adapter, director, or dramaturge on various other Braid productions. Producer of The Braid’s What Do I Do with All This Heritage? about Asian Jews. Producer on The Braid’s digital content studio StoryNosh (including the Tastes of Tradition series) and The Braid’s Candlelight Storytelling series for young professionals. Wrote for Amazon Prime’s television series LORE. Vice President of Social Justice at Temple Isaiah of Los Angeles; recipient of its 2019 Emerging Leader Award. Board member of environmentalist organization California Interfaith Power and Light. Jew of Color, of Litvak and Cantonese heritage. LA Community Leader for The LUNAR Collective.
CINDY CHUPACK has won two Emmys and three Golden Globes as a writer/producer of Sex and the City, Modern Family, Everybody Loves Raymond, and most recently Fleishman is in Trouble. She made her feature directing debut with Otherhood (starring Angela Bassett, Patricia Arquette, and Felicity Huffman), now available on Netflix. She’s performed stories for The Moth; been published in the NYT’s Modern Love column; and authored two comic memoirs: the NYT bestseller The Between Boyfriends Book: A Collection of Cautiously Hopeful Essays, and The Longest Date: Life as a Wife (in which this story originally appeared). Her first children’s picture book, We Waited for You, was released in 2023. Cindy lives in Marina del Rey, California, with her 14-year-old daughter (whose adoption was the happy ending to tonight’s story). For more about Cindy visit cindychupack.net.
OLIVIA JANE COHEN-CUTLER is an attorney whose four-decade career included senior-executive positions within the entertainment industry in labor and employment, TV business affairs and standards and practices. She concluded her 30-year tenure at Disney/ABC Television as the storied “network censor.” Olivia served as chair of the Morning Star Commission, founded by Hadassah, advocating strong, diverse media portrayals of Jewish women. She is a member of the board for the Jewish Women’s Archive, and is currently a member of the fiduciary board of The Braid. Olivia is a deputy commissioner of civil marriages for the State of California, helping hundreds of couples say “I do.” She is the only child of Holocaust survivors whose lives she seeks to honor every day. Olivia is married and a ridiculously proud mother and oma to her beloved kids and grandsons.
TODD FELDERSTEIN (Associate Director) is the resident artist at The Actors Studio West where he is a very active director-member. Working across mediums, Todd is currently adapting the ever-popular Way of the Peaceful Warrior for the live stage. At the onset of the pandemic, he founded the digital stage Smartphone Theatre which went on to present over fifty original plays to thousands of international audiences. Early credits include writing on the Spider-Man animated series for Sony TV before traveling to Israel during the second intifada to direct/produce the feature documentary Magics, now on Amazon Prime. Todd is an alumnus of the LA Jewish Federation’s TALA Filmmaking Partnership and a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park.
ANDREW FROMER (Digital Manager) a Los Angeles native, attended Windward School in Mar Vista where his career as an actor began in the school plays and musicals. After completing his BFA in theater at UC Santa Barbara and an exciting year of living in Israel, Andrew returned to LA for acting and producing. His TV credits include Never Have I Ever (Netflix) and Anger Management (FX); feature film credits include Highway to Havasu (Billy/Producer) and The Sweet Life (Mike/Assistant to Production). Theater credits include Pledge (Sherman u/s), Bad Jews (Jonah), and The Braid’s Stories from the Violins of Hope. Andrew also edits, directs, and runs youth engagement at Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas, and he hopes you will check out some of the stories he has edited/directed in the Braid’s wonderful digital storytelling series, StoryNosh.
RONI GEVA is honored to be returning to The Braid where she is an Abby Freeman Artist-in- Residence. An actor, writer, and producer born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, and College Station, Texas, Roni spent much stage time in Chicago, where she was nominated for a Joseph Jefferson Award for best supporting actress in a musical (Urinetown). Other theatre work includes The Clean House, Pride and Prejudice, Love Loss, and What I Wore, Grease, and others. Television/film work includes roles on AppleTV, Netflix, Fox, Amazon, CW, NBC, Hulu, Disney+ and others. Roni also co-created the Emmy-nominated comedy CTRL ALT DELETE. Wanna know more? ronigeva.com
AMANDA HOROWITZ (Stage Manager) is a Jewish theater artist from Los Angeles and an Abby Freeman Artist-in-Residence with The Braid. She earned her B.A. in theater and B.S. in mathematics from The University of Alabama. She has since stage managed plays, Zoom events, religious services, and educational courses with companies including The Braid, Theatre Ariel, Young Actor’s Studio, Lab/Shul, Bayit Shelanu, and Maple Counseling. She’d like to thank The Braid for all of the love and opportunities to work with such wonderful people.
ERICA W. JAMIESON (NEXT+ Fellow) writes fiction, essays, and spoken word memoirs. Her writing has appeared in Self Magazine, Lilith, and in various online journals. Most recently, Erica is a recipient of the 2024-2025 Next+ Literary Fellowship from The Braid. Erica teaches generative writing classes, including a cohort of multi-aged adults who use writing as inspiration to foster meaningful conversations between generations.
ERYN KIEFFER graduated from CSUN in 2024 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in television production. Eryn grew up in Calabasas, CA, with her parents and older brother and sister. She attended de Toledo High School. Eryn participated in theater from kindergarten through high school appearing in several plays and musical productions. In her senior year of high school, she took a screen writing class, which started her passion for screen writing. Several of her projects were produced during her time at CSUN, which include SeeThrough, a psychological thriller that explores the intricacies of abusive relationships and how justice is served, and You’ll Never Make It, a witty comedy about the ridiculous hoops one must jump through in the theater world, and the cruelty one must endure to find fame. Eryn is excited to have the opportunity at The Braid to continue her journey in storytelling.
SHARON LANDAU brings 25 years of non-profit leadership experience to The Braid, helping programs and organizations scale and thrive. She has shaped, implemented and evaluated new public health policies and programs in California and nationwide, enabling pharmacists to prescribe birth control. Sharon holds a master of public health from UCLA and is an alumna of the California Women’s Policy Institute and Center for Collaborative Planning’s Leadership Institute. She also served as a mentor for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders. She is an Israeli-American who lives in Los Angeles and enjoys baking (and eating) challah!
RHIANNON LEWIS (they/them) is a singer-songwriter, composer, musical director, actor, and animation voice actor born and raised in the heart of LA. Rhiannon got their start in theatre from a very young age, performing in plays at summer camp and their local temple. As an adult, they love bringing all aspects of performance into their art-making, with a focus on storytelling. Rhiannon is a recent graduate of CalArts with a BFA in the performer-composer program. At CalArts Rhiannon delved into producing student projects. Outside of music and theatre (but not that far outside) Rhiannon is engaged at Temple Beth Israel of Highland Park and Eagle Rock, helping lead Friday night services.
KAREN AGAM MACARAH (NEXT+ Fellow) is a writer and performer from Los Angeles. She’s written and produced a one-woman show, Wine Time with Roni, for Hollywood Fringe and United Solo in NYC, as well as co-written a musical/song cycle entitled Five, themed around the five stages of grief, which she and others also performed at Fringe (Encore Award winner). Favorite past roles include Mama Rose in Gypsy, Mary in Merrily We Roll Along, the Witch in Into the Woods, and Edith/Young Edie in Grey Gardens.
JODI MARCUS (Community Partnership Lead) vividly remembers that day in second grade when she tucked herself into a corner to read Swimmy by Leo Lionni, and was struck by the desire to write stories when she grew up. After writing “everything but” — grants, marketing materials, website copy — she decided she was “grown up” and embarked on her creative journey. Thankfully, this included joining The Braid team in 2021, where she is surrounded by incredible talent. Jodi helps to share The Braid experience with others by booking shows across the country. In a much younger iteration of her life, Jodi saw half the world as a dancer.
SUSAN MORGENSTERN began directing in college by staging musical theatre concert readings while co-teaching American Musical Comedy with Tom Lehrer at UC Santa Cruz. In Los Angeles, Susan has directed numerous shows, and has also worked as a consultant show director at Disneyland Parks and Resorts, working with Mickey, Minnie, and friends. She has directed many Braid salon shows, as well as Annie Korzen: Famous Actress, and Ovation Recommended, Sacred Resistance. Her position at The Braid has become the most meaningful, working with amazing actors, writers, and Braid leadership, while also informing and illuminating her Jewish life.
MINDY MYERS grew up in NYC where her love of theater originated. She was inspired by the likes of Zero Mostel in Fiddler, Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl, Yul Brenner in King and I, and Mary Martin in Peter Pan. Always a sucker for a good story, Mindy tried her hand at storytelling, enjoyed finessing life stories for the storytelling mode, and ended up winning 11 out of 16 times at The Moth. She has performed at Oakland’s Storyslam, The Lark Theater in Larkspur and Mechanics Institute in San Francisco. Most recently her play, Apparently, was featured as one of eight winning plays at Playwright Center of San Francisco. She is currently writing a play called Mangos for Dinner, a virtually unknown historic and dramatic account of her mother’s Holocaust internment in Trinidad. Mindy wishes to thank her friends and family for believing in her and encouraging her to pursue her craft.
MICHAEL NAISHTUT appeared in NYC at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Theatre for the New City, and the NY Public Theatre. In Florida he performed at EPCOT as well as in Scapino at the Riverside Theatre and in Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Florida Shakespeare Festival. In Japan, Michael performed regularly on television and theater, including the solo show Defending the Caveman. In Los Angeles, he performed in Romeo and Juliet at the Met, in Lyman-The Musical at the El Portal, and in Once-The Musical at the Laguna Playhouse. He was nominated for an acting ensemble Ovation award for the musical Memphis, has performed with The Second City, toured with Old Jews Telling Jokes, and narrated the novel The Arrow Catcher. He has appeared in the TV shows Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Operation Repo, 1000 Ways to Die, and the film Babylon. Michael also performs Japanese Taiko drumming with his group, Akaoni Daiko.
RABBI SUSAN NANUS is an associate rabbi and director of Adult Programs at Wilshire Boulevard Temple. In that capacity, she teaches, preaches, performs life cycle ceremonies, and produces and oversees most of the adult cultural, social, and educational programs at the temple. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Rabbi Nanus did not decide to become a rabbi until her mid 50s. Before that, she was a playwright and film and television writer in New York and Los Angeles. Her play, The Survivor, about the Warsaw Ghetto, was produced on Broadway, Off Broadway, and in Los Angeles. As a television movie writer, she has had 15 movies on air and won numerous awards, and she has written two pieces performed by The Braid. Rabbi Nanus is also the proud mother of daughter Lili. In her scant spare time, Rabbi Nanus loves to attend theater, watch movies, read mystery novels, and do research on her favorite subject, Queen Elizabeth I.
JILL REMEZ (Performer/Writer) is an actor, writer and storyteller. Theatre credits include LATC: Lena, Mix-Mix, International City Theatre: Myra, Deathtrap. Wallis Theatre: The Bluest Eye (workshop production). Open Fist Theatre Company: Ofelia, Anna in the Tropics. West Coast Jewish Theatre:
Kate, Broadway Bound. Mark Taper Forum: Ensemble, Body of Bourne (World Premiers). Laguna Playhouse: Germaine, Picasso at the Lapin Agile. South Coast Rep: Sofia, Two Sisters and a Piano (West Coast Premiere). FILM/TV credits include Yellowstone, Bosch: Legacy, The Neighborhood, Made For Love, This is Us, Curb Your Enthusiasm, I Think you Should Leave, The Good Place, 88, DUSTWUN and Eat Wheaties. Voiceover credits include Demonslayer, Blue Exorcist, In/Spectre, Lupin Part 6, Battlestar Galactica, The Reflection and LA Noire. Jill’s recent play, Writing on the Wall, has been a finalist in several playwright competitions and her short film, Empty Nest, was nominated for best screenplay in several film festivals. She currently teaches voice-over for
Kalmenson & Kalmenson.
LISA PEARL ROSENBAUM (Writer/Dramaturge) is a writer and dramaturge at The Braid, where she also develops and moderates programs that give voice to diverse and compelling Jewish voices. Her award-winning novel, A Day of Small Beginnings (Little, Brown & Co, 2006), a multi-generational story set in Poland, was inspired by her family history, and that of her in-laws, Polish Holocaust survivors. Stories from the Violins of Hope, her play about the remarkable Israeli violin maker who restored instruments that survived the Holocaust, drew from her lengthy interviews with Amnon Weinstein himself. A video of the Braid’s production was created during the pandemic in 2021, with actors performing from scripts, without sets or costumes, accompanied bymusicians from the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony. It was shown globally, and at the United Nations. A full stage production of the play, written with Ronda Spinak, was performed in 2023 at the Bondi Beach Pavillion Theatre in Sydney, Australia. Lisa is delighted The Violin Maker, based on Stories from the Violins of Hope, is having its American premiere. She is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild list.
ADAM ROSENTHAL is an LA-based writer and producer. Originally from Sandy Springs, Georgia, he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Chicago before fleeing to the warmer climates of Southern California. He’s been a teacher,a coffee-fetcher, an unpaid joke writer, a paid joke writer, and a pleasure to have in class. He’s fascinated by the ways people build methods of coping with tragedy, trauma, and anxiety and loves telling stories that act as a lighthouse for others. He co-hosts a podcast about Judaism and the Occult called Call Your Monster. He lives with his brilliant wife, their less-than-brilliant poodle, and their stereotypical cat. It’s been almost a decade and he still doesn’t understand Mad Men.
ALMA SCHOFIELD is an emerging writer based in Los Angeles, CA. A storyteller at heart, she crafts compelling screenplays and stage plays, that highlight the Black diaspora. Inspired by her experiences as a first-generation Liberian-American woman, a mother, and a Southerner, her background fuels her desire to create authentic, compelling scripts that resonate deeply with audiences of all backgrounds. With her recent acceptance into The Braid’s NEXT Emerging Artist Fellowship, Alma is excited to develop her craft and make her mark in the world of stage and film. With her unique perspective, her ultimate goal is to use her voice and her talent to uplift the richness and complexity of diverse life experiences through professional works that inspire and engage.
RABBI LINDA SEIDMAN Following retirement from a career as an aerospace engineer, Linda Seidman became an ordained rabbi. Rabbi Linda believes that we can make spiritual connections with the Divine without compromising common sense, and that connection can bring healing, strength, and a new perspective. Rabbi Linda loved working in the county jail system with inmates; helping people at such a difficult time in their lives was challenging but extremely rewarding. “In jail, people are struggling with the idea of repentance, and we could help guide them on that difficult path,” says Rabbi Linda. Rabbi Linda also works with hospice patients facing a very different type of challenge: the end of life. Currently, she provides hospice services to the Jewish and interfaith communities and teaches Torah study from a woman’s viewpoint. Rabbi Linda and her husband Larry, who is also a rabbi, live in southern Orange County.
DEBORAH SILBERSTEIN SHKUROVICH (NEXT+ Fellow) was born and raised in Mexico City where she graduated from the Universidad Iberoamericana with a BA in communications. She worked as copywriter at Foote, Cone and Belding in Mexico City, and then moved to the US to pursue a MSJ from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Deborah worked as managing editor at Cahners Publishing, as a freelance English-Spanish translator and currently works as Development and Executive Administrator at Shalom Institute.
ELLEN SUSSMAN is the New York Times bestselling author of four novels: A Wedding in Provence, The Paradise Guest House, French Lessons, and On a Night Like This. She is the editor of two critically acclaimed anthologies, Bad Girls: 26 Writers Misbehave and Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex. She offers two writing retreats in Tuscany every year. Ellen teaches through Stanford Continuing Studies as well as in private classes, and she is the co-founder and co-director of Sonoma County Writers Camp. www.ellensussman.com
DAPHNA SHULL (Creative Producer) is honored to be co- producing events for Jewish young professionals with her colleague, David Chiu. Outside of The Braid, Daphna is a writer, visual artist, musician, and photographer based in Bakersfield, CA. She was named a “Rising Star” by VoyageLA; her artwork has been displayed by the Los Angeles Art Association, and her op-ed was recently published by JNS. Daphna is a huge believer in the power of language to reveal truth and heal broken things.
BEN SUSSKIND is a LA based director, playwright, composer, actor and sound engineer. He is a recent graduate of UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television where he studied playwriting and directing. One of Ben’s proudest accomplishments was the establishment of Untitled Theater Company, a student group at UCLA dedicated to offering a platform for original peer-written plays to be produced. Recent credits include The Manager (Bourbon Room 2023, Music and Lyrics) and When the Cows Come Home to Roost (Untitled Theater Company 2023, Director and Playwright). Ben is incredibly excited to be working with the Braid and the rest of the NEXT cohort.
AMY TOLSKY, originally from Chicago, currently resides in Los Angeles. She spent thirteen years in London after graduating from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and has also trained with The Second City and The Groundlings. She has appeared in more than 20 films and 60 television shows, most recently on NBC’s St. Denis Medical, Amazon’s Jury Duty, Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, and the Hulu feature Quiz Lady. She also keeps busy doing commercials and voiceover. She has performed in more than 100 theatrical productions in Europe and the U.S., including four European tours of Hair and touring Oh Coward in England. Amy was an acting founder of Absolute Theatre in London. Los Angeles and regional venues include South Coast Repertory, A Noise Within, The Road, Theatre 40, Boston Court, The Whitefire, and Greenway Court, among many others. www.imdb.me/amytolsky
SUSIE YURÉ (Associate Producer/Director of Community Engagement) has proudly worked with The Braid for fourteen years. Susie has produced musical theatre productions, classical concerts, and cabaret performances. She has volunteered in nonprofit organizations in which she has held leadership roles in fundraising, event planning, facilities coordinating, programming, membership, marketing, and administration. She holds a BA and MA in elementary education from USC (where she met her husband), along with her California lifetime teaching credential.
ROSE ZIFF (Associate Producer/Special Projects Manager) came out of retirement to work for The Braid 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, volunteering at Providence St. John’s Hospital with her therapy dog, and hosting a monthly book club.
