Florida Studio Theatre's Visit to Israel

FST Educators Return From

Eye-Opening Visit to Tel Mond, Israel

As a part of a cultural exchange, FST recently took its WRITE A PLAY program to the children of Tel Mond, Israel. With the support of a grant from the State of Florida, Kate Alexander, Adam Ratner and Ashley West spent five days working with teachers and students, teaching them the art of playwriting. The cultural exchange will continue this May when two Israeli teachers travel to Sarasota for the Young Playwright Festival, held at Florida Studio Theatre.

The connection to Tel Mond was developed through the Sarasota Sister Cities Association (SSCA.) Students from Sarasota's sister cities – including Tel Mond – began submitting plays to FST's Young Playwrights Festival in 2001. That same year, four young, winning playwrights traveled to Sarasota to participate in the YPF Celebration Day. As more and more international students began submitting winning plays to the festival, "the next logical step was to send a group abroad to encourage them in their writing endeavors," says Alexander.

As Tel Mond is one of Sarasota's sister cities, the SSCA was invaluable in providing support for the team. Not only did SSCA partner on the grant that provided funds, they connected the team to the educators and people of Tel Mond, picked them up at the airport, provided meals and arranged for them to visit museums and other cultural centers. They also found host families for Alexander, Ratner and West.

"Staying with families who live and work in Tel Mond gave us an insider's experience of the country and cultures," says West. "Our host families were as diverse as the country itself: a religious family hailing originally from South Africa, a Greek couple whose families immigrated to Israel after WWII and a husband and wife who were brought up in Israel."

Upon arriving at their first stop, the Nitzanim Elementary School, the artistic team noticed an atmosphere different from American schools right away. The normal sounds of children laughing, playing and talking intermingled with the strains of Israeli folk music, which is piped into the teachers' lounge, hallways and playground. While security guards are not an uncommon sight in many American schools, the guards in Israel must carry guns to protect the children. Even so, the guards, teachers and students greeted their American visitors with open and welcoming arms.

"The teachers seemed to move and talk with an excited air. They were happy to be at the school," says Alexander. "Simi, the principal, told us, 'We do not make much money, but there is love here at our school; there is love all around.'"

From the start, the team enjoyed an incredible amount of hospitality from the teachers, the students and their host families. "Every day was an important day," says Alexander. "Everyday was marked by ritual and celebration. I never felt like a visitor. I felt like a family member."

"We were treated like superstars," echoes Ratner. Images on the nightly news have led many of us to assume that Israel is a country full of violence and sadness. As Ilan, the father of Ratner's host family, told him: "You don't know what it's like to send your 6-year old to school with a gas mask."

While there is certainly danger at times, the team found that this did not affect how the children approached the theatre exercises and games. They laughed and cried and freely expressed everything they felt. Ratner was impressed by the children's abilities to be so able and willing to connect to their emotions, given the environment in which they live. "They truly amazed me with their level of commitment to the workshop and the depth of their emotions," he says.

Alexander wondered if the children's ability to so easily connection with their emotions was due to the intensity of their lives. "Every family has its sorrow there. Everyone has lost someone. Death and life are intermingled so closely. And yet, they defy fear and live with joy instead," says Alexander.

Besides teaching workshops, the artistic team also has the opportunity to spend free time with their host families, do some sightseeing, celebrate Purim (a celebration of the book of Esther) and exchange slang with the children of Tel Mond.

"Sababa is Hebrew for 'very cool' or 'excellent,' explains Ratner. "We taught the students 'Wassup' which is shorthand for 'What's up?'"

For Alexander, Ratner and West, the trip to Tel Mond was rewarding and uplifting. But mostly, they found it passionate and intense. "There was an intensity in emotion, in the celebrations, in the everyday rituals, in the experiences, "say Alexander. "It was a life-changing, life-affirming trip."

And it was also Sababa.

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