Theatre Ariel Gives a Voice to Jewish Theatre

When Deborah Baer Mozes lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from 1973 to 1981, she helped develop the Prairie Theatre Exchange. There, she explored with theatre artists their personal stories and stories that helped shape and define Canadian theatre.

“I started wondering, what were my stories,” said Baer Mozes. Being Jewish, her stories were tied to Jewish life, Jewish values, and Jewish theatre. As a result, she hoped to someday develop a Jewish theatre company.

Her desire increased after she returned to the United States in 1981. She immediately began to work with a small South Jersey theatre Company, Stageworks, where the company explored New Jersey’s history and identity. This sparked a bigger flame inside herself to launch a Jewish theatre company, but she kept her dream to herself, due to her uncertainty if people would like her idea. In addition, she was also busy directing shows at Stageworks and at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. Some day she would state her dream out loud, but did not know when that would happen.

Suddenly, she let it slip out at a 1990 Hanukkah party.

The couple hosting the party lit a number of Hanukkah Menorot (Hebrew plural for Menorah/Hanukkah candles) and asked their guests to share something important in their lives that they wanted to light up.

“I finally verbalized out loud, ‘I want to give light to and create a Jewish theatre.’”

The party’s host and hostess and the other guests’ reaction surprised Baer Mozes.

“The couple hosting the party said, ‘let’s start a board.’”

Everyone there loved her idea and were determined to help her make her dream an actuality. Nearly one year later, Theatre Ariel was born. From day one up to the present Baer Mozes has been Theatre Ariel’s Founder and Artistic Director.

Baer Mozes chose the name Theatre Ariel.

“I wanted a name that had Hebrew in it, and Ariel was easy to run off the tongue,” said Baer Mozes who now lives in Merion. She elaborated that She liked Ariel because one of its meanings was G-d’s lion.

“The lion is a symbol of so much in Jewish artwork,” said Baer Mozes.

In the early days of Theatre Ariel, Baer Mozes rented space at the Walnut Street Theatre.

She was not happy there. Theatre Ariel developed and performed new plays. At Walnut, rehearsals usually lasted about a month and then the show would run for nearly two weeks and then die.

“We would put the play up before it was ready simply because we said we would, but that did not allow the play to marinate the way it would have done,” said Baer Mozes.

Meanwhile, synagogues and Jewish community centers requested that Theatre Ariel perform these shows at their facilities. She found that more appealing.

From 1996 to 2008, Theatre Ariel was an exclusive touring company. They performed shows in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Long Island, and Boston.

“In 2008, the economy went south,” said Baer Mozes. It was harder to get funding, therefore, they toured a lot less.

“I was also getting tired of schlepping all over the place,” said Baer Mozes.

Eventually, Theatre Ariel performed in peoples’ homes. (Performing in small intimate spaces is known at salon theatre.) Baer Mozes liked salon theatre because it created intimacy between the actors and the audiences. She also liked how salon theatre was part of Jewish history. According to Baer Mozes, in the mid and late 1800s in Budapest, Prague, Vienna, and Berlin, upper middle class Jewish women hosted salons. This gave playwrights opportunities to see how audiences liked their new works.

Theatre Ariel is not limited to salon theatre. This Monday at the Merion Tribute House, located at 625 Hazelhurst Avenue, Merion Station, Theatre Ariel will present a cabaret that draws songs from the American Musical canon by Jewish composers and lyricists.

The dinner reception begins 5:30 PM and the cabaret and desert starts 7:30 PM.

For more information about this event and other upcoming Theatre Ariel performances, log onto www.theatreariel.org.