theatrical presentations
currently touring
The Merchant of Venice (Annotated), or
In Sooth I Know Not Why I Am So Sad
premiered in Los Angeles May 12, 2023
What can a play from sixteenth century England tell us about how antisemitism and other prejudicial beliefs operate in our world today? Investigating William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, we weave in our unique blend of deep historical investigation and heightened theatricality to create a new work from the core of the classic play which explores issues of identity, marginalization, assimilation, and power throughout history and in our modern world.
hell prepared: a ritual exorcism inspired by kabbalistic principles, performed within a dominant cultural context
premiered July 26, 2019
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. In 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.
lost tribes
premiered February 24, 2018
Inspired by the stories of the lost tribes of Israel, theatre dybbuk presents a full-length theatrical work, rich in movement, original music, and lyrical language that relates ancient mythological and tribal narratives to contemporary questions of integration, appropriation, and belonging.
exagoge
premiered June 18, 2016
exagoge, by Ezekiel the Poet, is the first recorded Jewish play, written during the 2nd Century B.C.E. It serves as a jumping off point for a piece that is both a play and a theatrical ritual.
assemble: modern spin | ancient celebration
premiered October 4, 2015
Conceived by the Center for Jewish Culture and Leichtag Foundation, and created by theatre dybbuk, this exciting original work features ritualized movement and physical theatre, as well as dance, music and more.
cave... a dance for lilith
premiered November 9, 2012
Lilith, the primary demon figure in Jewish folklore, inspired this multidisciplinary dance/theatre piece, co-produced with Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company.
concerts and performance art
The Villainy You Teach
premiered March 2, 2023
The performance art piece The Villainy You Teach was created in the winter of 2023 as a companion piece to The Merchant of Venice (Annotated), or In Sooth I Know Not Why I Am So Sad. Villainy also explores The Merchant of Venice through the durational performance of a Shylock monologue repeated throughout a stylized reading of the play.
Rise and Fall
Spring and Summer, 2022
A concert collaboration with the HEX vocal ensemble.
We selected monologues and scenes from the last 10 years of our theatrical works and invited artists from HEX to use them as inspiration for vocal and electronic musical compositions. In the resulting performance, readings of these selections by theatre dybbuk actors are entwined with music sung and manipulated by the musicians of HEX.
Rise and Fall was presented by East Side Jews at SIJCC on April 23 and 24, 2022 and at the N.E.O. Voice Festival on June 29, 2022.
Watch the Rise and Fall trailer here!
photos by Taso Papadakis from Rise and Fall
collaborations with sacred spaces
tefillah or prayer: a translation
premiered June 22, 2014
tefillah unpacks the vivid drama and moving humanity inherent in prayer services, by investigating their histories, legacies, and structures.
kippur
premiered August 31, 2013
Originally performed as a play that also served as a Selichot service, the seven days of sitting Shiva serve as a framework for this exploration of atonement and loss.
vessels
premiered April 19, 2013
A short work designed to illuminate the Passover holiday, vessels creates a ritualistic performance experience that focuses on events surrounding the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
readings and events
In Defense of Women
May 20, 2021
Presented by San Diego Repertory Theatre as part of JFEST and formatted as a live version of our podcast, The Dybbukast, this original work combined scholarship and performed readings surrounding the 16th century Italian poem "In Defense of Women" by Jewish dramatist Leone De' Sommi Portaleone. The event (and festival) was presented online due to the ongoing pandemic.
Remembering for the Future: A Community-wide Yom HaShoah Commemoration
April 28, 2019
We're proud to have served as the event designer for Remembering for the Future: A Community-wide Yom HaShoah Commemoration – organized by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles with a wide variety of partners from throughout the city.
God of Vengeance by Sholem Asch
April 7, 2019
California Institute for Yiddish Culture and Language and Wilshire Boulevard Temple presented theatre dybbuk's staged reading of God of Vengeance.
Bronx Express by Osip Dymov translated by Nahma Sandrow
February 26, 2017
Presented at UCLA by the California Institute for Yiddish Culture and Language
A Dybbuk by Tony Kushner
February 8, 2015
Presented at UCLA by the California Institute for Yiddish Culture and Language
A Dybbuk by Tony Kushner
December 15, 2013
Presented by the Santa Monica Public Library
Performers Rachel Leah Cohen, Julie A. Lockhart, Rebecca Rasmussen, Jonathan C.K. Williams, and Jon Weinberg
Performers Jon Weinberg, Julie A. Lockhart, Jonathan CK Williams, and Rebecca Rasmussen
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti with performers Julie A. Lockhart and Adam Jacobsen
Performers Rachel Leah Cohen, Julie A. Lockhart, Rebecca Rasmussen, Jonathan C.K. Williams, and Jon Weinberg