San Diego Playbill - Theatre News

6^th @ Penn Theatre Presents

The world premiere of THE GOLEM: Man of Earth

San Diego, CA - 6th@Penn theatre, teams with playwright Howard Rubenstein to present a new adaptation of an old legend. THE GOLEM: Man of Earth is an adaptation of the medieval Jewish legend and the 20th century Yiddish play, The Golem, by H. Leivick. The legend said that a righteous man by magic can create a Golem--a man-made man of earth--to protect the Jewish community from pogroms (organized attacks), massacres, and murders. But will the Golem be a good protector?

With THE GOLEM, 6th@Penn continues its mission of giving new artists a place to create and collaborate. Playwright Howard Rubenstein has created his play in two acts, keeping true to the timeless legend, while updating the style and language used by the Yiddish poet Leivick. The play will be directed by Zoe Paulin, who recently completed a Master’s degree at San Diego State University.

The cast includes, Bonnie Alexander, Alberto Alvarado, S. Michael Barron, Terence J. Burke, Renee Gandola, James Steinberg, Mikel Taxer, and Michael Tower.

The support team includes assistant director Tiffiny Davison, and set designer Vince Sneddon.

THE GOLEM: Man of Earth is a play based on a Jewish legend that has been attached to the famous Rabbi, Judah Bezalel Loew (born ca. 1525) who became Chief Rabbi of Prague in the late 1590‘s. Rabbi Loew became known as The Maharal, meaning “Our Master,” and was a scholar revered throughout Central Europe as one of the greatest teachers of his age. The Maharal’s controversial interest in Kabbalah and his fascination with the Zohar, the central work of Jewish mysticism, may explain why he became the leading character in legends involving the creation of a powerful Golem. Rubenstein's play is set in 16th century Prague, a time throughout Eastern Europe, when religious and secular authorities encouraged the persecution of Jews. To incite the populace, the authorities told a malicious lie that at Easter time, Jews murdered Christian children to obtain blood for their Passover celebration. This lie, known as the "Blood Libel", encouraged pogroms, the organized massacre and looting of helpless people. So much is fact. According to legend, in order to protect the Jewish community against these pogroms, Rabbi Judah Loew creates the Golem. In 1559, all Hebrew books in Prague were seized to be examined for possible anti-Christian reference. A man credited with the incitement of Prague, a Priest who lived at the time of Judah Loew appears in Rubenstein’s version of the play, as well as in the Leivick original.

Although the Priest is portrayed as a villain, the Golem story has never been accused of being anti-Christian or anti-Catholic. It is rather a universal story of the human need for hope, for something to believe in when confronted with terror. Given the increasingly violent and threatening nature of our own era, and the recent upsurge of anti-Semitism in Europe, THE GOLEM re-emerges as the relevant and powerfully evocative drama.

ARTISTS PROFILES

THE GOLEM CAST & CREW

Bonnie Alexander (Deborah/blonde)

This is Bonnie’s debut at 6@Penn Theatre. Most recently she appeared as Betty Parris in Onstage Playhouse’s The Crucible. Other favorite roles include Mammy Yokum in Peter Pan Junior Theatre’s Lil Abner, as well as roles in My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Once Upon A Mattress, and Oliver!. Bonnie is a sophomore at Grossmont High School and hopes to continue to be heavily involved with theater in the future.

Alberto Alvarado (young priest/wanderer)

Alberto got his start on stage performing in church guerilla theatre productions in the Imperial Valley at an early age. There he performed in had the opportunity of performing in the church’s touring production of Eighteen with a Bullet, a production that toured throughout churches and various locations in Southern California. Alberto later expanded his passion for acting upon his arrival to San Diego three years ago as a San Diego State University student. The proclaimed kinesiology major followed his heart, changed his major to Theatre Arts, and did not look back. He since has done several student short and independent films of which include: Vitality, The Hour Glass, Simple and Bem Vindo Ao Paraiso. He has also toured with the Teatro ALTO (A Liberated Theatre Organization) children’s production of Onionskins and Angels. Alberto currently serves as President of ALTO and is excited about making his stage debut at the Sixth at Penn Theatre.

Alberto would like to thank his family who friends who have motivated and inspired him to enter the wonderful world of Theatre Arts. He especially would like to thank his ever supporting siblings whom he holds dearly, Priscilla Coronado and Isaac Alvarado.

Terrence j. Burke (tankum/sick man)
Terence J. Burke) has the pleasure of being again in Dale Morris' Palace of the Arts, where he acted in dramatist Howard Rubenstein's "Brothers All" earlier this year. Also at 6th@Penn: "The Ally Way," "Hippolytos," all three of last year's Instant Theatre (as dramatist), and hundreds of pages of staged readings (O, them Grecian turns). Elsewhere: Wrestling with Bo Derek in "Fashion House."

Renée Gándola (Miriam/redhead)
Renée is thrilled to make The Golem her debut Appearance at 6th @ Penn Theatre. Locally, Renée has Appeared onstage in many productions including The Man Who Came to Dinner, Wait until Dark, The Merchant of Venice, The Laramie Project, The Mousetrap, Picnic, Twelfth Night and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Other Credits include performances with The American Repertory Theatre in Europe. Although acting is her First love, Renée enjoys directing plays and musicals. She has also mentored first-time performers at Several San Diego schools. Renée has a Performance Degree from BYU. She is grateful for the wonderful Support from family, friends, the cast, the crew, and Zoe.

James E Steinberg (Bassevi, Blind Man)

James has performed in more than thirty local productions since 1999. He holds a BA in Theatre Arts from SDSU, where his credits include main stage productions of Much Ado about Nothing, Arcadia, How I learned to drive and Romeo and Juliet. Other favorites include The Shawl for the 2004 Actors Alliance Festival, Bloody Poetry at 6th @ Penn, A View from the Bridge at Lamplighters (Aubrey award) and The Foreigner at Onstage Playhouse (Aubrey award). James’ on-camera work includes Breaking Vegas on the History Channel, a promo for KGTV-10 and corporate video for Jack-in-the-Box, and independent film. He is also a playwright, he penned The Secret Lives of Judy Moon for Instant Theatre at 6th @ Penn.

Mikel Taxer: (the Maharal)
Mikel Taxer Favorite roles include Stage Manager in Our Town, Sakini in Teahouse of the August Moon, Sidney in God's Favorite, Mr. Frank in Diary of Ann Frank, Elwood in Harvery, Atahualpa in Royal Hunt of the Sun. Retired from the Ministry at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Pt. Loma, after forty years of service. He created Vanguard, a ministry to and through the arts. Recently, he played Deitrich Bonheffer in a dramatic reading of Awaiting Judgment and Lucien in The Boys Next Door. It is a joy to be playing in the Golem.

Tiffiny Davison: (assistant director)
Tiffiny Davison is a Western Illinois University alumi with a BA in Psychology. She has studied at Second City in Chicago and has performed for The Collective's 2006 production of Personal Space: A Woman's Body Writes. This is her second time working with Director Zoe Paulin and is glad that she can join her once again for this production of The Golem.

Zoe Paulin (director)
Zoe Paulin is a graduate of SDSU with a Masters in Theatre, with an
Emphasis in theatre for young audiences. She has directed The Weevil by Plautus at SDSU, she has acted in and directed various plays with The Collective theatre company of which she is also a co-founder, as well as a variety of one acts with The Faultline Theatre, and a community project for The Salvation Army. She has assistant directed main stage shows at SDSU including SKIN by Naomi Isuka, and Shakespeare's Othello. Currently Zoe is working as a special education teacher, while working with THE COLLECTIVE theatre company.

Vincent Sneddon: (Scenic Designer)

Vincent is delighted to return to 6th @ PENN Theatre. He worked on Marianne McDonald translation of “Iphigenia at Aulis” earlier this year. He debuted in 2005 with “The Sum of US”. He was previously resident scenic designer with Iris Theatre in 2003. His design credits include The Hamletmachine; Endgame; Birdbath and Relative strangers at the academy of performing arts.

Ralph Elias (Dramaturge)
In over 30 years as a theatre professional, Ralph Elias has directed across the U. S. and in Russia, performed in leading regional theatres such as the Old Globe and Washington DCâ€™s Arena Stage, and taught in the theatre departments of several major universities. From 1988 to 1995 he was artistic director of San Diegoâ€™s Blackfriars Theatre, where he staged numerous award-winning productions including I. B. Singerâ€™s Teibele and Her Demon and the west coast premiere of Gilles SĂ©galâ€™s The Puppetmaster of Lodz. His production of Beth Henleyâ€™s Abundance, described by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright as â€śbeautifully and bravely directed,â€ť toured Far-Eastern Russia in 1993, the first American production ever to do so. Ralph returned to San Diego in 2003, directing an acclaimed production of Donald Marguliesâ€™ Sight Unseen at North Coast Repertory Theatre. He spent the summer of 2005 at the internationally acclaimed Maxim Gorky Theatre of Vladivostok, staging Shakespeareâ€™s Romeo and Juliet - the fourth production he has directed with the theatreâ€™s superb acting company. In working with Zoe Caslin on The Golem, Ralph drew upon a knowledge of European Jewish history and familiarity with the performance styles and politics popular in the Yiddish Theatre of the early 20th century.

Zoe Paulin (Director) is a graduate of SDSU with a Masters in Theatre, with an emphasis in theatre for young audiences. She has directed The Weevil by Plautus at SDSU, she has acted in and directed various plays with The Collective Theatre Company of which she is also a co-founder, as well as a variety of one acts with The Faultline Theatre, and a community project for The Salvation Army. She has assistant directed main stage shows at SDSU including SKIN by Naomi Isuka, and Shakespeare's Othello. Currently Zoe is working as a special education teacher, while working with THE COLLECTIVE Theatre Company.

Howard Ruben stein (Author) is a physician-playwright. He graduated from the Harvard Medical School in 1957. His translation of Aeschylus' Agamemnon is acclaimed, and a videotaped performance by the Granite Hills Acting Workshop (GHAW) in 1957 was requested by Oxford University, England, where it has been placed in the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama. His translation/adaptation of Euripides' The Trojan Women also by the GHAW was the most decorated show of the 2000-2001 San Diego theater season (San Diego Playbill). His play "Brothers All" based on Dostoyevsky's novel "The Brothers Karamazov" premiered in early 2006 also at 6th@Penn. Rubenstein lives with his wife Judy in San Diego and Ft. Lauderdale. They have four grown children.