Asher Lev X: Closing

And so another show comes to the end.  Our last two shows were sold out, we had wonderful reviews in the Jewish Tribune and the North York Mirror (reposted in my last entries), our cast, crew and director were happy with our work.

What does it feel like to have a show close?  It is always different.  There is a commonality though, a bitter sweet mix of joy and sorrow.  Joy that the show is coming to a close and that it is time to move on to another project, another challenge.  Sorrow that it is coming to a close and it will not be done again; that this run is finished and so the story and characters lie to rest.

This show in particular for me is a strong mix of those emotions. As the run progressed, as is always the case, I understood Asher more and more.  His story rang true with me, or was more engrained in my psyche.  The words that flowed through me had that much more power, it was that much easier to convey the message to those watching.  This message, this story, for me personally, is a universal truth that I loved telling.  In addition to that, the role was phenomenal.  I was supported by a fabulous cast including Mark Albert and Tracey Beltrano and I could not have done the show without their great talent.  With that said the piece is written to highlight and put weight on Asher, or the actor playing him.  It was fabulous to have a role of this depth and meat.  Long powerful monologues, in which I visibly brought audience members to tears, moved and challenged thought processes, and overall got to shine as an actor.  It is one of my quintessential roles.  I will miss it.

This role also has value as it is a mile stone for me.  I joked with cast and friends "Ten years ago I was hired to hold a spear on a stage, because I wasn't good enough for dialogue!"  So true.  This piece tangibly marks my growth and hilights all the training, work and dedication I put forward as an actor.  Thank you universe for this gift.  

On to the next project.  Stay tuned.

Asher Lev IX: Another Review

 The North York Mirror / InsideToronto.com
Nov 15, 2012  |   

FRONT ROW CENTRE: Teatron brings ‘Asher Lev’ to North York stage

MARK ANDREW LAWRENCE
 

    

The struggles faced by all artists have inspired many books, films and plays.

In My Name is Asher Lev, the title character is a young man whose passion for drawing arouses the ire of his traditional Hasidic parents. They are particularly aghast when after a visit to a museum the boy becomes fascinated with drawing nudes and images of the crucifixion.

Adapted from Chaim Potok’s 1972 novel, playwright Aaron Posner has Asher narrating his own story, thereby allowing Geoff Kolomayz to portray Asher as an adult as well as a teenaged boy. Kolomayz is terrific in bringing the teenaged angst to the forefront. His delivery is natural and heartfelt, and whether talking directly to the audience or addressing other characters, he gives a charismatic performance that sweeps the viewer into his world.

We are on his side from the beginning and this makes his ultimate success a particularly moving development.

Posner’s script is designed for three performers. So Mark Albert must create four distinct characters of contrasting views that help underscore Asher’s internal conflict. He is Asher’s stern father – a man who is unable to understand art, and therefore not accepting of his son’s artistic leanings.

He also portrays Asher’s uncle and the Rebbe who encourages Asher to study with an established artist, Jacob Kahn. As Jacob, Albert instructs the young man: “As an artist you are responsible to no one and to nothing, except to yourself and to the truth as you see it.”

In the triple roles of Asher’s mother, benefactor and model, Tracey Beltrano displays her multi-faceted talents. She brings a touchingly forlorn look to the role of the mother who spends hours staring out the window waiting for her husband to return from travels across Europe building Yeshivas and saving Jews from Russian persecution. She is effective in showing her tough side as she commands Asher to have respect for his father: “Kibbud Ov.”

Ari Weisberg has designed and directed the show to play on an open stage that serves the multiple locations effectively. He has also worked with his trio of performers to create affecting performances, and the production is enhanced by Noam Bergman’s incidental music and Poe Limkul’s evocative lighting.

Weisberg can also claim credit for allowing Toronto audiences a chance to see this play so soon. Earlier this year it was presented at the Long Warf Theatre in New Haven and as Teatron’s production was opening, another production was starting previews in New York with an official off-Broadway opening set for later this month.

Teatron’s production of My Name Is Asher Lev plays in the Studio theatre at the Toronto Centre for the Arts through Sunday, Nov. 18. For tickets, visit www.teatrtontheatre.com or call the box-office at 416-733-0545.

Asher Lev VIII: Review

A scene from the Teatron Theatre play My Name is Asher Lev. (Photo: Suri Epstein)

The Jewish experience in 20th century North America was often a battleground between the forces of tradition and modernity. My Name is Asher Lev, the 1972 novel by Chaim Potok, examined this conflict through the story of a young gifted artist whose creative drive leads to heartbreaking conflict with his strict Chassidic family.

The Teatron Theatre’s latest offering is Aaron Posner’s stage adaptation of Potok’s landmark novel. With its outstanding acting, stark set and realistic wardrobe, My Name is Asher Lev is a gripping production that hooks the audience with its pathos and tension until its wrenching climax.

Set in 1950’s Brooklyn, the play follows the internal and familial conflict experienced by Asher Lev starting from his early childhood. Young Asher sneaks visits to the art museum, where he secretly sketches Christian-themed paintings. His father’s discovery of his sketchbook threatens to completely destroy the delicate equilibrium of this fragile family.

The talented Geoff Kolomayz as Asher Lev, intersperses scenes and monologues, which relate this painful struggle between his deep attachment to his traditional family and his artistic calling. Kolomayz deftly slips back and forth into scenes of Asher Lev’s family and professional life as we watch his struggles grow and poison the relationships in his family. Kolomayz’s portrayal is riveting as it seamlessly incorporates expressions of innocence, passion and confusion.

Asher Lev’s father Aryeh is played by Mark Albert, an accomplished actor with three other roles in the play. As Asher’s father, he travels the world in service of his rebbe, and is incapable of understanding his son’s burning artistic passion.

“There are similarities to the Fiddler on the Roof theme,” Albert told the Jewish Tribune. “The challenge is where can you depart from religion and remain and keep your faith.”

Asher’s mother Rivkeh, played by the talented Tracey Beltrano, tries to support her son, but is ultimately limited by the fact that she belongs to a community that is completely removed from the individualist ethic of the 20th century artist.

The anguished Asher Lev, meanwhile, is torn between love for his family and the demand of his artistic genius. He describes his gift as ‘demonic but divine.’ Explaining his inability to communicate with his father, the tortured young man cries out to his mother, “it’s like explaining colours to a blind man.”

“This particular play fits right into our mandate,” said Ari Weisberg, Teatron’s artistic director. “We are the only theatre in Canada that not only focuses on Jewish themes but also does that while preserving Jewish values.”

My Name is Asher Lev will be at the Toronto Centre for the Arts from Nov. 7 through Nov. 18.

Article Title: Play Tackles Forces of Tradition and Modernity

Taken from the Jewish Tribune, Nov 6 2012.  Suri Epstein, Correspondent

Asher Lev VII: Opening Night

Sitting in the dressing room after the matinee preview show; doing some work, typing this blog and waiting on opening night.  Yes, tonight is opening.  All the work, all the time, all the studying, practicing everything comes down to one performance, the opening tonight.  It is no different from any other time I perform, or rehearse.  I give it my all, dig for the deepest me that I can give and I go on stage. So I wonder why are there nerves associated to it.

I have pondered this and I finally came to this realization: I fear messing up because I feel judged by the crowd. I know it is not their intention, it is my feeling.  In realizing this, I can now let it go.  I give myself permission to screw up, knowing the audience only wants me to do well so that they may enjoy.  They are judging but they are forgiving if I forge ahead and allow both of us to forget it.  With that said my nerves sit less on edge.

I look forward to entertaining and playing for a crowd tonight.  Thank you audience for your support as there would be nothing without you.

Asher Lev VI: Interview

Art and religion conflict in Teatron season opener

Kathryn Kates, Special to The CJN, Monday, October 29, 2012

Tags: Arts

0 Comments

Geoff Kolomayz, in the role of Asher Lev, paints Rachel, played by Tracey Beltrano, as Mark Albert, who plays Lev’s father and the rebbe, looks over.

My Name Is Asher Lev, a play about a young Jewish man torn between his chassidic roots and his desperate need to fulfil his artistic promise, marks the opening of Teatron’s 10th season of Jewish-themed plays.

Adapted by Aaron Posner from the Chaim Potok novel of the same name, the show is directed by Teatron Toronto Jewish Theatre founder Ari Weisberg. It runs at the Toronto Centre for the Arts Studio Theatre from Nov. 7 to 18.

The play stars Toronto actor Geoff Kolomayz in the title role. Kolomayz, who previously appeared in Teatron’s A Tiny Piece of Land, shares the stage with actors Mark Albert and Tracey Beltrano.

Kolomayz says one of the reasons he was drawn to the play was that although it is about the artist figuring out what he needs to do about himself in respects to family and tradition and the community where he fits, it’s a struggle that is truly universal.

“It is not unique to the artist. Whether you are going to grow up and be a lawyer or grow up and be a factory worker… you need to figure out where you are going for yourself and that challenge sits in respect to your exterior influences,” Kolomayz says.

“Your parents may want you to be a lawyer, but if you want to be a doctor, you may have to struggle to face those challenges of not being a lawyer in their eyes. In this story, it is depicted through the very high stakes of a genius of an artist who is in a community that doesn’t support his art to the level where it is actually against his religion.

“The greatest thing audiences should get out of this is story, first and foremost, is that they should enjoy themselves,” says Kolomayz. “The bigger picture that I would like an audience to receive is the ability to discuss, to reflect back and hopefully make strong choices for themselves and feel satisfied about their choices.”

Kolomayz says he can relate to Asher since as an actor he faced struggles that every artist faces in general. But, Kolomayz adds, he was fortunate in that although his family sometimes questioned his career choice, they were supportive of him.

Kolomayz says playing Asher is challenging since much of the play is a monologue. “This role is so demanding of me. I’ve done one-man shows before where you are on stage for about 45 minutes. This is a different beast. It is a two-hour show that I don’t leave the stage for, and much of it is presented in a monologue format, so it is a challenge to keep all this in my head and follow the story through, and in the end, as an actor, hopefully be able to present this to an audience who will understand the story that we’re putting up on the stage.”

Kolomayz, a graduate of University of Waterloo’s drama and theatre program, is recognized for his character work, including in the role of Templeton Rat in Charlotte’s Web, all five roles in The Adventures of Mazel and Schlimazel, the barkeep in Six Reasons Why and Jesse in Sundance. He’s also the co-artistic director for Mirador Theatre and the co-director of films for the Mississauga Independent Film Festival.

For more information about Teatron Theatre’s production of My Name Is Asher Lev, visitwww.teatrontheatre.com.