When: 7/26–8/4, 2019
Where: Philosophical Research Society, 3910 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027.
Price: $25 advance, $30 door
Tags: #processional, #participatory, #multidiscplinary, #spirituality, #mobilityadvisory, #ContactAdvisory (see below)
Theatre Dybbuk adapts a 17th-century narrative poem written in the Jewish Ghettos of Venice and Mantua about a descent into hell.
hell prepared: a ritual exorcism inspired by kabbalistic principles, performed within a dominant cultural context will blend shadowplay, choreography, a vocal sextet, and participatory techniques to craft the audience’s journey.
Press Release Follows
theatre dybbuk will premiere hell prepared: a ritual exorcism inspired by kabbalistic principles, performed within a dominant cultural context at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz on July 26, 2019 at 8:00 PM. The play will run for two consecutive weekends — 7/26–7/28 and 8/2–8/4 — with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM and Sundays at 7:00 PM. hell prepared is inspired by the 17th century narrative poem “Tofteh Arukh,” written by Moses Zacuto in the Jewish Ghettos of Venice and Mantua in what is now Northern Italy, which depicts a descent into hell from a Jewish perspective.
Enter the gates of the Venice Ghetto of the 17th century and go on a journey of dominance, separation, and survival that spirals down through the pits of Gehenna. The play will take place in multiple locations on the campus of the Philosophical Research Society, allowing the audience to be immersed in the secluded world of the Ghetto and dissolve into places beyond the corporeal.
Featuring a landscape of choreographed movement, poetic text, shadow puppetry, and choral scoring, hell prepared follows a spiritual leader as he endeavors to exorcise the dominant culture and its influence on his world. In the process, he is driven down through the pits of hell where he sees visions of a challenging past and an uncertain future.
The performance incorporates choreography by Kai Hazelwood, shadow work and production design by Leslie K. Gray, lighting design by Brandon Baruch, sound design by Martín Carrillo, costume design by Kathryn Poppen, and a live vocal score composed by Fahad Siadat in collaboration with Michael Skloff. The production is written and directed by theatre dybbuk’s artistic director, Aaron Henne, and was developed with the ensemble. The play features a cast of three performing alongside a vocal sextet.
This immersive, multidisciplinary work is presented with the Philosophical Research Society. theatre dybbuk is generously supported by the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles.
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Office facilities provided by Thymele Arts, in Los Angeles, CA.
Contact Level:
Light (Business/Acquaintance)
Content Advisories:
Mobility Advisory:
There are a few stairs on the campus between the courtyard and the auditorium/sanctuary. There is a brief, alternate pathway for anyone in a wheelchair.
The audience will be standing in the library/study for about 20 minutes, but there will be some scattered seats available for those in need.
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