First Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival will run Feb. 25–March 7 at the Sabes JCC
By ERIN ELLIOTT BRYAN /Â Community News Editor
Theatre Or at the Sabes JCC has announced the first ever Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival, a 10-day Fringe-like festival of one-act plays, one-person shows, music performance, stand-up comedy, improv, visual art, workshops, storytelling, film and events that will celebrate the Jewish contribution to the world of humor.
The festival will take place Feb. 25–March 7, and presenters and performers will include both local and national talent.
The festival will open on Thursday, Feb. 25 with “Joel Chasnoff: The Jewish Comedian Who’s Redefining Jewish Comedy.” Chasnoff, a stand-up comedian and author, will perform at 7:30 p.m. at the JCC; tickets are $15 and include a postshow book signing and opening night reception.
In a telephone interview with the AJW last week, Chasnoff said he is excited to open the festival.
Joel Chasnoff
Joel Chasnoff“I’ll do different parts of my act, but I hope to talk a little about Jewish humor in general because that’s the theme of the night,” Chasnoff said. “Humor is such a part of our history that an event specifically like this one is just vital. We remember our history at the Passover seder; well, a humor fest is just as vital for remembering this part of our history, too.”
Performing about 70 shows each year at a variety of venues around the world, Chasnoff’s act draws a lot on his own Jewish experience. And instead of relying on stereotypes, he finds humor in the intricacies and details of Judaism and Jewish life.
“That’s what Jews do, we pervert all of our wonderful holidays with the most disgusting foods ever invented,” Chasnoff says in a video clip on his Web site (www.joelchasnoff.com). “On Hanuka we celebrate the fact that the oil lasted for eight days. We commemorate that by eating the latke, a food which has eight times the amount of oil recommended by the Food and Drug Administration. It’s a miracle, have a heart attack.”
A native of Evanston, Ill., Chasnoff grew up in a Conservative Jewish family and was one of three brothers. In elementary school, he was the smallest kid in class and noticed that humor was a way for him to stand out.
He described his Jewish upbringing as “solid,” spending nine years in Jewish day school and attending summer camp.
“I really took to it, I enjoyed it from a very early age,” Chasnoff said. “I enjoyed reading Bible stories. They were kind of comic book adventures to me. I identified with those characters.”
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Chasnoff felt compelled to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces, where he served as a tank gunner in the 188th Armored Brigade in south Lebanon.
“After all those years of Jewish day school and summer camp and interactions with Israelis, to me it felt natural and the right thing to do, to go over and serve,” Chasnoff said.
Chasnoff’s experience in the IDF is chronicled in his new book, The 188th Crybaby Brigade: A Skinny Jewish Kid from Chicago Fights Hezbollah (Free Press).
“All my life, I kept hearing about how Pharaoh had enslaved us, Hitler had killed us, and the Arabs wanted to wipe us off the map,” Chasnoff writes in the book. “In these Israeli soldiers, I saw a new narrative: Jews who kicked ass.”
Chasnoff said the book is funny, written about a serious subject by “a guy with a sense of humor,” but the humor evolves — from a lighter, fish-out-of-water story to a darker account of his unit’s deployment.
“As a comedian, I have more of a comedic point of view toward a serious situation,” Chasnoff said. “Humor is vital to sustaining, to surviving an experience like the army for a year. The guys who did best in the army were the soldiers who had a sense of humor, and who could know when not to take things too seriously. It’s just such a stressful and strenuous life, you’d be crushed emotionally if you didn’t have a sense of humor.”
A portion of all proceeds from the book will be donated to Project Elijah, a foundation started by Chasnoff that distributes money to organizations promoting humanitarian causes.
(Although not part of the Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival, Chasnoff will speak at a book event 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23 at the St. Paul JCC, 1375 St. Paul Ave. Tickets are free for JCC patron members, $6 for JCC members and $9 for nonmembers. For information, call 651-255-0751 or visit: www.stpauljcc.org.)
Following Chasnoff’s performance, the festival will include a variety of entertainers (see sidebar below for complete schedule).
“Jewish culture is the way to get Jews involved and feeling good about Judaism,” Chasnoff said. “In the olden days, joining synagogues was the primary way of expressing your affiliation. For the younger generation, it’s through culture. The more we can provide really fun, positive Jewish cultural events, the more people feel good about being Jewish. It’s as simple as that.”
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For information about the Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival, contact Claire Avitabile at 952-381-3447 or: cavitabile@sabesjcc.org, or visit: www.sabesjcc.org or: www.theatreormpls.org.
For information about Joel Chasnoff, visit: www.joelchasnoff.com.
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Jewish Humor Festival schedule announced
Sabes JCC’s annual benefit on March 6 to feature comedienne Rain Pryor
AJW Staff Report
The Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival will take place Feb. 25–March 7.
As part of the festival, the Sabes JCC will host its annual benefit on March 6 at the Metropolitan Ballroom in Golden Valley. The event will begin with cocktails and hors d’oeuvre at 6:15 p.m., followed by dinner and a special performance of “Laugh Out Loud with Rain Pryor,” followed by a dessert reception (see details below).
Pryor, daughter of the late Richard Pryor, will perform “The Pryor Experience,” an edgy jazz and blues cabaret of singing and comedy. She will also incorporate some of her vignettes from her 2004 one-woman show, Fried Chicken and Latkes, and offer her unique perspective of growing up Jewish and African-American,
The benefit will honor Evan Maurer, director emeritus of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, for his vision, guidance and involvement in the creation of the Robert and Janet Sabes Center for Jewish Arts and Humanities, and his contribution to the Minneapolis arts community.
Proceeds from the event will support the Robert and Janet Sabes Center for Jewish Arts and Humanities.
Unless otherwise noted, all events will take place in the Dolly and Edward Fiterman Theater at the Sabes JCC, 4330 Cedar Lake Rd. S., St. Louis Park. The festival’s schedule is as follows:
• “Joel Chasnoff: The Jewish Comedian Who’s Redefining Jewish Comedy” — 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25 (see story above). Tickets are $15 and include a postshow book signing and opening night reception.
• The Mighty Mavens: Storytellers, featuring Carla Vogel, Joan Calof and Faith Oremland — 12:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26; and 7 p.m. Monday, March 1. Tickets are $5.
• Jason Neufeld Is Impotent, a multimedia one-woman show by Alix Sobler — 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27; and 9 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28. Tickets are $10.
• So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz!, a one-woman comedy by Minneapolis actor and writer Amy Salloway — 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27 and Monday, March 1. Tickets are $10.
• A Laughter Yoga Workshop with Molly Dworsky — 11 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 28 in the Tychman Shapiro Gallery at the Sabes JCC. Workshop fee is $15 and includes lunch.
• The film Next Time Dear God, Please Choose Someone Else: The Legend of Jewish Humor, a documentary by Rex Bloomstein — 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28. Tickets are $5.
• Hijab and Toast, two short plays by Monica Raymond — 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28 (with postshow discussion); 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 2; and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 7. Tickets are $10.
• The Rimon Artist Salon Series will feature “The Art of Shtick: Ari Hoptman Presents” 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28, in collaboration with Rimon: The Minnesota Jewish Arts Council, an initiative of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation. Tickets are $10 and include a light reception.
• Minneapolis theater artist Dylan Fresco will lead an introductory workshop to the Anton Kissbougel Technique, one of the newest new-age health disciplines — 7 p.m. Monday, March 1 in the Tychman Shapiro Gallery at the Sabes JCC. The workshop fee is $10.
• Dial “M” for Comedy, a one-man comedy show with Ari Hoptman — 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 2. Tickets are $10.
• Stevie Ray’s Improv Company: Old Farts Improv Workshop — 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 3 in the Tychman Shapiro Gallery at the Sabes JCC. The workshop fee is $5.
• “Satire in Song with Mark Bloom” — 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 3; and 1 p.m. Thursday, March 4. Bloom will perform with his alter ego, Dr. Kula Portnoy. Tickets are $5.
• A Photo-Humor Workshop with Flash Rosenberg, a New York-based cartoonist, photographer and performer — 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 3 in the Tychman Shapiro Gallery at the Sabes JCC. Workshop fee is $10.
• “Laughing at the Speed of Light,” written, imaged and performed by Flash Rosenberg — 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 3. Tickets are $15 and include a postshow reception. (The “Flash Duet” is $20 for Photo-Humor Workshop and Laughing at the Speed of Light.)
• “Star Wars… A Purim Spiel?” — 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 4 (subject to change); and 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 5; performed by seventh and eighth grade drama students from the Amos and Celia Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School. Tickets are $5.
• A free artist lecture with award-winning cartoonist and illustrator Andrey Feldshteyn — 6:15 p.m. Thursday, March 4 in the Tychman Shapiro Gallery at the Sabes JCC. Feldshteyn’s exhibit, WALK, TALK, CRY, LOVE, LIVE, will be on display in the JCC’s hallway and lobby exhibition areas throughout the festival.
• “Humor Across Cultures,” presented in collaboration with Stevie Ray’s Improv Company — 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 4. Tickets are $10 and include a light reception.
• “Laugh Out Loud with Rain Pryor,” a benefit for the Robert and Janet Sabes Center for Jewish Arts and Humanities — 8 p.m. Saturday, March 6 at the Metropolitan Ballroom, 5418 Wayzata Blvd., Golden Valley. Tickets to the performance only, including a dessert reception, are $36; tickets for the entire benefit, including a cocktail hour, dinner, performance and dessert reception, can be purchased through Corrie Patrick at: cpatrick@sabesjcc.org or 952-381-3514.
• “The History of Jewish Humor with Rabbi Sim Glaser” — 4 p.m. Sunday, March 7. The workshop fee is $5.
• The Closing Night Comedy Cabaret — 7 p.m. Sunday, March 7. The Cabaret will feature local Jewish improv stars, stand-up comics and musicians presented in the style of an open mic night.
For information about the Minneapolis Jewish Humor Festival, contact Claire Avitabile at 952-381-3447 or: cavitabile@sabesjcc.org, or visit: www.sabesjcc.org or: www.theatreormpls.org.
(American Jewish World, 2.19.10)
