Blending physical theatre with poetry and music, theatre dybbuk creates provocative new works that are exciting, and utterly singular live events. The company explores the rich world of Jewish history, building lyrical performances that illuminate the universal human experience for contemporary audiences.
theater dybbuk is based in Los Angeles and while in Portland will be offering a variety of performance events and workshops for community members and nonprofit leaders throughout the week. Jewish Federation of Greater Portland is proud to be the hub for theatre dybbuk’s residency in Portland.
With an in-depth development process that can range from a few months to three years, Artistic Director Aaron Henne builds each piece with a cast of dedicated professional actors, designers, musicians, and scholars, creating resulting work that is challenging and beautiful to behold.
theatre dybbuk performance of The Merchant of Venice (Annotated), or In Sooth I Know Not Why I Am So Sad
October 23 | 7:30pm (PT) | Lincoln Recital Hall, Portland State University | The show is currently fully booked, but it is likely that some seats will become available on the night of the performance. If you wish, you may come to Lincoln Recital Hall on October 23 at 7:00 and request to be added to the standby list.
What can a play from sixteenth-century England tell us about how antisemitism and other prejudicial beliefs operate in our world today? theatre dybbuk’s latest theatrical production brings together elements of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice with Elizabethan history and news from the 21st century to expose the underbelly of the classic play. The multidisciplinary work takes a kaleidoscopic view of the ways in which members of a society displace their fears on the “other” during times of upheaval.
The Merchant of Venice (Annotated), or In Sooth I Know Not Why I Am So Sad is presented in five acts and runs 2 hours and 45 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission. This performance is being presented as part of Shakespeare’s First Folio: 1623–2023, a city-wide celebration of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the first folio.
Performance Installation: The Villainy You Teach
October 26 | 12-2:30pm (PT) | OJMCHE Galleries | Free with admission, free for members
The character of Shylock in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice has long been a source of debate. Some have argued that he is an antisemitic portrait with long-lasting effects on the perception of Jews in our world, while others have stated that the character is a nuanced portrayal that, especially given the time and place of his creation, is empathetic to his plight. Often, at the center of this debate is found a speech in which Shylock proclaims his humanity while defending his vengeful desires.
In The Villainy You Teach, theatre dybbuk explodes this famous speech and, through the use of heightened theatricality and repetition, investigates the ways in which language can both take on a wide variety of meanings and lose all meaning through persistent examination and exposure.
Audience members are invited to witness an actor perform this brief speech repeatedly over the course of most of the length of the play, reciting it dozens, if not hundreds, of times. This action is accompanied by a simultaneous performed reading of Merchant in its entirety – its words acting as the container within which Shylock’s speech exists.
Audience members can stay in the space for the duration of the (approximately) 2.5 hour performance or they can come and go, engaging with the event in the manner that they choose. Please note, this performance will be recorded in OJMCHE’s galleries.
“Shakespeare in Performance” an illuminated lecture
October 26 | 7:30pm (PT) | Lincoln Recital Hall, Portland State University | Tickets are free. Reservations are strongly recommended.
In “Shakespeare in Performance,” Professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner takes up the question: “Why perform The Merchant of Venice?” The fraught history of this troubling play has morphed from performing it as a comedy, championing young lovers who outwit the murderous plot of Shylock, a Jewish money-lender, to staging it as a tragedy of social prejudices and institutional injustices that spur inhumane actions. As the play has been cut, amended, restaged, and reimagined, its focus has shifted to encompass questions of gender and sexuality, race, and economics, alongside the religious and ethnic dynamics that provide a shifting mirror for audiences’ fears and fantasies. This lecture will interweave research in Shakespeare production history with performances by actors from theatre dybbuk.
Dr. Pollack-Pelzner is a consulting scholar on theatre dybbuk’s production of The Merchant of Venice (Annotated), or In Sooth I Know Not Why I Am So Sad. This lecture is being presented as part of Shakespeare’s First Folio: 1623–2023, a city-wide celebration of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the first folio.
theatre dybbuk is in residency in Portland through a partnership that includes the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (OJMCHE), Mittleman Jewish Community Center (MJCC), Eastside Jewish Commons (EJC), and Portland State University (PSU), with the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland acting as the hub partner. This event is supported in part by a grant from The Covenant Foundation. You can find a complete list of the theatre dybbuk Portland performances and workshops here.
theatre dybbuk creates provocative new works that blend physical theatre with poetry and music for exciting, utterly singular live events. The company explores the rich world of Jewish history, building lyrical performances that illuminate the universal human experience for contemporary audiences. With an in-depth development process that can range from a few months to three years, Artistic Director Aaron Henne builds each piece with a cast of dedicated professional actors, designers, musicians, and scholars. The resulting works, from the dark and visceral dance theatre of cave… a dance for Lilith to the shadowy and immersive hell prepared: a ritual exorcism inspired by kabbalistic principles, performed within a dominant cultural context, are challenging and beautiful to behold.