The Charlotte Jewish News - March 2002 - Page 3
Of GbEMER Charlotte
Federation News
Of CfeEAiER Charlotte
Drama on Holocaust Uses Young Voices
The Touring Theatre Ensemble
of North Carolina will perform its
latest drama, Let Your Children
Tell, at JCC’s Gorelick Hall on
April 10 at 7:00 PM, in a program
sponsored by the Jewish
Federation of Greater Charlotte.
Let Your Children Tell is the
story of the Holocaust told in the
words of five young people who
experienced it. Taken from diaries
and testimonials, these young
people, from Germany,
Czechoslovakia, Austria, The
Netherlands, and Hungary,
respond to the deeds and decrees
of Hitler and his Nazis by provid
ing intimate glimpses of their lives
in hiding, in exile, in ghettos, and
in labor and concentration camps.
Portrayed by six actors, we
meet these young people as they
watched, listened and recorded the
dark deeds visited upon them.
“The hope is that the story of
this darkest hour of history can be
kept alive through their telling and
thereby remind the world what
can happen when racism goes
unchecked,” said Brenda
Schleunes, writer and director of
Let Your Children Tell. Ms.
Schleunes is producing artistic
director for the Touring Theatre
Ensemble.
The North Carolina Council on
the Holocaust commissioned the
original theatre documentary.
The Touring Theatre Ensemble
of North Carolina is based in
Greensboro but travels
throughout the eastern U.S.
bringing the written word to
life through dramatic presenta
tions. Now in its 20th year of
productions, the Touring
Theatre Ensemble is dedicated
to promoting literacy and read
ing and to issues that encour
age a greater sensitivity to
diversity.
Actors Find Depth,
Challenge in Drama
Acting in Let Your Children
Tell is as challenging as it is
rewarding. Just ask the six pro
fessional actors who portray
the characters telling the brutal
story of the Holocaust.
Taken from diaries and testimo
nials, five young people from
Germany, Czechoslovakia,
Austria, The Netherlands, and
Hungary, respond to the deeds and
decrees of Hitler and his Nazis by
providing intimate glimpses of
their lives under the Nazi regime.
“As challenging roles go, this is
right up there,” said Gay-Taylor
Upchurch who plays Vera
Diamant at ages 10 and 17. “It has
been a challenge to dwell on the
Holocaust for several weeks. But
it’s also rewarding.”
The cast of "Let the Children Tell” per
forming the documentary play.
Upchurch said playing a person
who lived through the Holocaust
has given her insight into the psy
chological trauma many Jews
endured. “I didn’t realize how
gradually their rights were taken
away,” said Upchurch. “Once the
Nazis stripped these people of
their dignity and hope, it was eas
ier to do what they did to them —
Jewish Federation Seeks $2.5 Million
Campaign
The mission of the Jewish
Federation of Greater Charlotte is
to create and build an organized
and effective Jewish community
able to address communal needs
and fulfill our commitment to sup
port Jews in need locally and
worldwide.
The Jewish Federation’s 2002
Annual Campaign is in full swing.
Our goal for this year’s campaign
is $2,500,000, a ten percent
increase over last year’s record
breaking campaign of $2,300,000.
We know these are difficult times,
with the country recovering from
the shock and the aftereffects of
September 11; however, the needs
have never been greater at home
and around the world. There are
more requests for emergency
loans from the Community
Tzedakah Fund than ever before,
and people are visiting the food
pantry at Jewish Family Services
with greater frequency. Yet, we
ask that people do what they have
always been asked to do — to dig
deeper into their pockets to assist
Jews in need. In Israel, the social
service needs have increased as
that country seeks to assist the vic
tims of terrorist attacks and
addresses the effects of the practi
cally non-existent tourist industry.
The crisis of Argentinean Jews
continues to escalate, and assis
tance is needed to help those in
need in Argentina, and to assist in
the immigration and absorption of
Argentinean Jews in Israel. In the
Former Soviet Union, our help is
needed to feed and provide medi
cine for hundreds and thousands
of elderly Jews who live on pen
sions of $18 per month.
According to Jill Newman,
2002 Annual Campaign Chair, the
2002 Annual Campaign currently
stands at $2,108,000, which is fan
tastic. This year our Major Gifts
Campaign soared to new heights,
due to the generosity of our major
givers, whose gifts averaged more
than 18% over those of the previ
ous year. The Campaign Cabinet
is currently working very diligent
ly contacting donors and encour
aging them to make their 2002
pledges. We hope to complete the
campaign on April 14, which is
Super Sunday. Volunteers are
needed to assist with the all day
phone-a-thon. To volunteer, or for
more information about Super
Sunday, the Annual Campaign or
the Federation, please contact Sue
Littauer, Campaign Director, at
704-944-6758.
Jewish Federation 2002 Calendar of Events
Thursday, March 14: Judaic Road Show
7:30 PM at the home of Patty Gorelick
Bring your undiscovered Judaic treasure to Charlotte’s first Judaic Road Show.
Wednesday, April 10: Yom Hashoah Commemoration Play:
“Let Your Children Tell”
Sunday, April 14: Super Sunday
Sunday, April 21: Community Yom Ha’Atzmaut Celebration at Shalom Park
Monday, April 22: JFGC Annual Meeting, 7:45 PM in Gorelick Hall
Thursday, May 2: 4th Annual Spring Lecture
Fern Schumer Chapman, author of Motherland
7:30 PM at Temple Beth El
Wednesday, May 22: Pride of Place: Jews in Southern Life
Dr. David Goldfield
7:30 PM in JCC - Gorelick Hall
Sponsored in part by CAJE, WTVI and the Jewish Federation
For more information on any of these events, please call
the Federation office at 704-944-6757.
eliminate them. I didn’t realize the
Holocaust was such a calculated
process right from the beginning.”
Upchurch has found other chal
lenges in her role. “Because Vera’s
lines are taken from diary entries,
it is challenge to turn her words
into an interesting monologue.”
Upchurch said the struggle for
Vera is the separation she faced
from her loved ones after she was
sent to live with strangers in
England.
“She never knew from one day
to the next where her family was
and how they were doing,”
explained Upchurch. “Vera is a
hopeful person. She has to be in
order to hold herself together. Vera
undergoes a big change and has to
grow up quickly.”
Harvey Robinson plays Juergen
Bassfreund, a sensitive, intelligent
young man with aspirations of
being a doctor. ‘The first time
Juergen understands the severity
of the situation is when he is taken
out of school and forced to work
in a factory,” said Robinson. “He
realizes then that he could die but
he must remain rational. He
begins to document everything.
That is how he removes himself
from the pain and fear surround
ing him.”
Robinson said he admires the
way his character pays attention to
the advice of fellow prisoners.
“His ear is constantly to the wall,”
said Robinson. “If he had not paid
close attention, he would have
died. Instead he kept himself alive
and shared his story with us. We
can use that story for the greater
good.”
Robinson relates closely to his
character, Juergen. “He is much
closer to the kind of kid I was;
bright, kind of nerdy and an intro
vert.” While Robinson believes
many students may relate well to
his character, he also hopes the
audience will see the depth of all
the characters as expressed in their
documented experiences.
“In respect to portraying a 13-
year-old, it’s difficult because you
must not be too .young or too old,”
said Lisa Dames who plays Eva
Heyman in the drama. She
describes her character as opti
mistic. As for reaching young peo
ple today with this story, Dames
sees both its timeliness and time
lessness.
“I believe a heightened aware
ness of the Holocaust and what it
did to these people is something
the world cannot afford to forget.
The more we teach about history
the better able we can make con
nections to events of our day and
the better decisions we can make
politically so history does not
repeat itself.”
Ulrich Schweizer plays the
Hungarian gypsy Karl Stojka. An
accomplished violinist, Schweizer
brings the music as well as the
words of his character alive.
Wayne Seymour wrote the haunt
ing melodies played by Schweizer
throughout the play.
“Karl is part of close-knit fami
ly that-has always enjoyed the
freedom of moving from place to
place,” said Schweizer. “Although
Karl is a sensitive musician, he
has grown up with his share of
fighting and pride. No one can tell
him what to do.”
That is until the Nazis round up
Karl and the other gypsies and put
them in interment camps. Karl
may not have survived the ordeal
if not for his music. “Even in the
concentration camps musicians
were often allowed to keep their
instruments, often to entertain the
Nazis,” explained Schweizer.
Until he took this role,
Schweizer admitted to a limited
knowledge of the Holocaust.
“What I knew of it before was an
academic thing I studied in junior
high school. But now I have
learned that these people would do
anything to survive. Karl got
through it because he was sneaky
and had a fighting spirit. He had a
large appreciation for life and did
not tolerate the thought it could be
taken from him. I believe he sur
vived because he knew how to
stay fearless, even in the face of
death.”
For Melanie Duncan the
biggest challenge is playing some
one who actually existed. “I am
(Continued on page 8)
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