Uncovered

PAULETTE BENSON (Writer), MAJE from Hebrew Union College, has worked extensively in the greater Los Angeles Jewish community and was a Hillel director at five colleges with small Jewish populations. Benson taught Judiasm as a religio-cultural civilization class at both Cal Poly Pomona (Ethnic Studies Dept.) and again at ORT (for Russian Immigrants). Additionally, she led Jewish studies classes both at UCLA Extension and American Jewish University (then UJ), in their continuing adult education programs. She is the co-author of two published curriculum pieces (student workbooks and teacher manuals): The Jewish Family and Divorce in Jewish Life. Her current interests include creating pottery and writing her family stories. She also actively advocates stopping climate change.

VANESSA BLOOM is an emerging writer, educator, and content creator from Orange County, California. Adopted from China in 1999, she grew up in a lively multi-faith family that is steeped in story. Vanessa followed her love of storytelling to college, where she majored in history at CSU Long Beach. While receiving her BA, she joined the school’s Film Club where she wrote scripts and worked on productions. Upon graduation, Vanessa was hired as an L.A. production assistant. She also directed a documentary-short on The Bolsa Chica Land Trust. More recently, Vanessa reconnected with her Jewish familial background as a cast member of the web series LUNAR: The Jewish Asian Film Project. Additionally, she has served as a mentor for several academic programs reaching high school and middle schoolers. Finally, Vanessa is currently writing a comedy script celebrating her multi-cultural outlook and belief that stories and laughter connect the world.

ARIELLA BLUM-LEMBERG (Writer) graduated with her MFA in screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University in the spring of 2022. She previously received her BA in English from UCLA, where she participated in HOOLIGAN Theatre Company as the director of the 2019 mainstage winter musical Fame and as a writer/director in three consecutive one-act play festivals. Recently, her short play The Man and the Match was a finalist in the Full Circle Player’s New Works Festival. Ariella’s writing is largely inspired by her passion for history and literature. To connect with her Jewish heritage, Ariella began studying Yiddish to explore to the rich history of Yiddish film and theater.

JAN BERLFEIN BURNS (Writer), a native of Los Angeles, is a mother, grandmother, writer, and photographer. She has been the in-house photographer since 2013 for The Braid, where she is an Abby Freeman Artist in Residence. When she was in her 60s, inspired by finding her mother’s memoir stories, Jan began writing her own. Her writing has appeared in Avoteynu, Jewish Journal, JLL, 34th Parallel, and Gesher Galicia. Her book, March of the Living ~ Our Stories, a collection of stories from Holocaust survivors, was first published in 2014. This is Jan’s second story to be performed by The Braid and first to be performed live, on stage.

LEILAH FRANKLIN studied theater at Bard College and at the Acting Conservatory at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. Having grown up on film sets, she went into production as a PA on large productions such as Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise, and Gangster Squad, with Ryan Gosling. As an associate producer, Leilah helped manage production and coordinate marketing for the animated short The Birds and the Bees, starring Anjelica Huston, Hassan Minhaj, and Sean Astin. She likes working in fast-paced collaborative settings and dealing in material that seeks to question.