LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture to Bring 'DRUNK' to the 14th Street Y

LABA, the international incubator of Jewish art and culture, presents DRUNK, its annual wine-soaked celebration of new art inspired by ancient texts. The evening will feature readings and performances by LABA fellows and a five-course wine tasting. DRUNK is a unique way to experience Jewish culture - and did we mention wine? - in a cabaret setting.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of LABA, and its organizers have lined up an extra-special event. The selections of Jewish texts have been curated by LABA Lead Teacher Liel Leibovitz of Tablet Magazine; Resident Scholar Ruby Namdar, author of the Sapir Prize-winning novel The Ruined House, provides riveting commentary. The wines have been carefully paired by renowned sommelier Ronald Jordan of VOS Selections.

"The ancient rabbis knew what they were talking about when they compared the Torah to fine wine," said Leibovitz. "And there's no better way to ponder its eternal wisdom than with a glass at hand, the heart opening a little more with each sip."

The evening will include works that range from wine-inspired video installations, monologues, and dance, as well as a few drunken songs. Examples include: Carnal Regrets of the Patriarchs: A Triptych by Jon Adam Ross, in which three men of Genesis emerge from their beds with hangovers and carnal regrets; and Confessions of a Wine Lover by writer Amy Handelsman, who will read a new fiction piece on sobriety.

So we invite you to feast, sip, study, and celebrate as LABA kicks off its tenth-anniversary celebration with DRUNK on Saturday, November 18, 2017 at 7:30pm at The Theater at the 14th Street Y, 344 E. 14th Street, New York, NY 10003. Tickets are $25 in advance ($30 at the door) and are available at 14streety.org/drunk.

Each year, The Theater at the 14th Street Y presents the residency program LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture. The goal is to support Jewish art and culture by providing the space, time, and resources needed to create new work. At the core of LABA's mission is the belief that classical Jewish text study can and should be a source of inspiration and creativity for contemporary culture-makers and thinkers. All of the public art created through LABA aims to transcend cultural and social borders by bringing to light the universal themes and questions that our artists encounter through their engagement with Jewish thought.

LABA brings together ten fellows to study classic Jewish texts in a non-religious, open-minded setting centered on a chosen theme - this year's theme, chosen by Lead Teacher Liel Leibovitz , is WAR+PEACE. Commentary and elucidation is provided by Resident Scholar Ruby Namdar.

Inspired by the fourteen study sessions of the fellowship, the Fellows share their new works with the public with DRUNK and in the LABAlive Series at the 14th Street Y.

This year's fellows include:

- Artist Tal Beery (co-founder of Arts and Ecology, a multidisciplinary institute committed to research, art, and education on radical environmental themes) whose personal and collaborative works have been exhibited in museums and galleries in the US and Europe, including the Whitney Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, El Museo Del Barrio, and Momenta Art.

- Amy Handelsman, producer, writer and story executive who works in theater, film and television in Los Angeles and New York. She has developed and produced plays, movies, and cable and network films and series for Center Theatre Group, Showtime, Warner Bros., ABC, CBS, PBS, and Tri-Star and has worked with such diverse artists as August Wilson, Culture Clash, Don Cheadle, Patricia Marx, Erin Cressida Wilson, and Danny Hoch.

- Writer and Army veteran Jacob Siegel, who co-edited Fire and Forget: Short Stories from the Long War, published by Da Capo in 2012, a critically praised anthology of fiction by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans for which he contributed the lead story. After returning from Afghanistan in 2012 he joined The Daily Beast as a reporter covering war, national security, and digital culture. In 2015 he left The Beast to work as a freelancer and has since published widely read essays in Tablet magazine, Politico, and elsewhere.

- Playwright Zohar Tirosh-Polk's plays: Pieces, Land/Holy, Home/Front, The Zionists, Theo's Dream, Waltz, and Six have been produced and developed at the The New Group, Magic Theatre, The Lincoln Center Theater's Director's Lab, New Repertory Theatre, The Cape Cod Theatre Project, The Jewish Plays Project, Rising Phoenix Rep, Silk Road Rising, the Lark Play Development Center, The Brick and HERE.

About VOS Selections

For almost 30 years, VOS Selections has brought handcrafted, artisanal wines to the New York/New Jersey market. Working with the philosophy that great wine can only be made on a human scale by human hands and minds, all wines in the portfolio are carefully selected for their quality, spirit and pure expression. VOS Selections is also dedicated to the ecological health of the vineyards and most wines in the portfolio follow sustainable, organic or biodynamic practices. While VOS Selections does not sell directly to consumers, the wines can be found in many retail shops, as well as drinking and dining establishments around New York and New Jersey.

LABAlive Series

January 18, 2018; March 22, 2018; May 31, 2018

Every LABAlive event will present three new works in process reflecting on the theme WAR + PEACE.

Each artist's unique contemplation presented on stage weaves into a multidisciplinary evening shared with the public. LABA encourages artists to test boundaries, take risks, and discover ways in which Classical Jewish text can inspire new, deep and meaningful works, which are then coupled with a theatrical teaching of text to enhance and widen the context of each piece. At each LABAlive, Fellows intrigue and inspire, leaving audiences with a curiosity to see more. Many of the Fellow's works go on to Second Stage productions, with many premiering at the 14th Street Y the following year.

For tickets, visit www.14streety.org/tickets or call 646-395-4310. For details, visit www.labajournal.com.

About The Theater at the 14th Street Y

The Theater at the 14th Street Y focuses on social awareness and change through big picture narrative. Inspired by works that welcome artists of all backgrounds, we place artists at the heart of our community and seek to create an inclusive and open cultural experience for all. Art is incubated here.

About the 14th Street Y

The 14th Street Y's philosophy is grounded in the belief that contemporary Jewish sensibilities can be a source of inspiration, connection and learning. No matter what your background, we aim to inspire you to live your best life. We're committed to the development of the whole person, to strengthening family connections and to building inclusive and sustainable communities. The 14th Street Y serves more than 20,000 people annually with a variety of community programs and is proud to be a part of Educational Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a 128-year history of serving New Yorkers downtown.

Full season tickets and detailed information on shows available at: www.14streety.org/tickets.