Davina's Harp: World Premier in PDX!!!!

Lana Davita Chandal

JEWISH THEATER COLLABORATIVE 
presents an amazing world premier presentation of Chaim Potok's book, Davita's Harp at Milagro Theater. 
This is a page to stage production that is superbly acted, directed, and produced.

THIS IS MUST SEE THEATER!!!!
get your tickets while there are a few left!
jewishtheatrecollaborative.org


I've been talking about my journey on this blog for awhile. I've tried to share some of my process with you. 

I've been working hard to craft masks that honor the characters. I am incredibly humbled by this project and must say, I learned a lot in the process.

Gratitude goes to a number of people. Sacha Reich is the visionary and director behind Jewish Theater Collaborative (JTC.) Thank you Sacha for your generous invitation to participate !

My wonderful husband suffered through countless "What do you think?" questions, not to mention the messes I created in the process of making these.

Diane Fredgant is a dear friend and talented artist who gave up her precious free time to not only help me mount the show....but also reprinted and mounted my written descriptions of my work.

Last but not least....Chaim Potok (z"l) who wrote a fabulous book that addresses historical topics that were often taboo. He approaches Judaism from a feminist perspective...a daring endeavor in his time. 

New Masks on the Horizon

Davita's Harp by Chayim Potok

I'm just wrapping up the drawings for my next set of masks.
                        Oh what an honor this is! 

Sacha Reich is the director of the Stage-to-Page version of Potok's book Davita's Harp. This wonderful production will be staged by The Jewish Theater Collaborative (JTC) here in Portland, Oregon at Milagro Theater.

Sacha saw my masks at the A.R.T. lobby last spring and asked if I would be interested in creating masks featuring the main characters of this book.  I am grateful for such an invitation. Of course, I said yes!

I have to say, it is a bit like studying Torah. One must "turn it, and turn it, and turn it again" to discover the layers of meaning and glean from the white spaces between the words and the lines.

I confess to having fallen in love with these characters. I have read and re-read the book. I sat in on the first reading by the actors, attended a book talk, and then returned to re-read again.

It'll be another few days before I can cut the glass and get everything rolling. First I have to work on Davita's eyes, Annie's lips, and Jakob's nose. This is the challenge for me. DRAWING!

Once I can get past this phase, I am certain I will discover new challenges....but for now I'm just going to pretend that it will be smooth sailing from this point forward.

I'll post photos of my progress and will also share how I thought about each character as I construct the masks.

I'll speak more about JTC in future posts, but for now I'll just direct you to their link because you must get tickets to this production!
http://www.jewishtheatrecollaborative.org