ZviSahar Arena HaZiraPerformance Art Cinema/ Salt of the Earth #SALTOFTHEEARTH LOCATION: DATES: RUN TIME: Oct 28—Nov1at7:30pm 1hr 20min(nointermission) BAM Fisher (Fishman Space)

Time Warner Inc.istheBAM2014 Season Sponsor Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo, President Karen BrooksHopkins, Vice ChairmanoftheBoard Adam E.Max, Vice ChairmanoftheBoard William I.Campbell, Chairman oftheBoard Alan H. Fishman, Brooklyn AcademyofMusic The Shubert Foundation,The Shubert Inc. The SHSFoundation The Morris andAlma SchapiroFund Donald R. Mullen Jr. Stephanie &Timothy Ingrassia Foundation Trust The Francena T. Harrison fortheateratBAMprovidedby Major support Henson andCheryl The JimHensonFoundation providedby Support NashFamily Foundation providedby Leadership support NextWave Festival Sponsor BAM Fisher Salt of the Earth Director ZVI SAHAR

Dramaturg ODED LITTMAN

Design & Cinematography AYA ZAIGER

Music GAI SHERF & RONA KENAN

Lighting designer ADI SHIMRONY

Performer-Collaborators ZVI SAHAR, AYA ZAIGER, MICHAL VAKNIN, YUVAL FINGERMAN, SHAI EGOZI & GAI SHERF

Artistic Director of HaZira Performance Art Arena GUY BIRAN

US Producer, International Company Manager, PuppetCinema LESLIE STRONGWATER

—Based on the novel The Road to Ein Harod by Amos Kenan

Support for Salt of the Earth provided by Cheryl Henson & The Foundation, Puppet Blok (at Dixon Place), Israel’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Consulate General of Israel in NY, and LABA, a laboratory for Jewish culture at the 14th Street Y—a program of the Educational Alliance. Photo: Yair Meyuhas Washington Post editors’ pick. Planet Egg continues to tour internationally Who’s and has been featured in the Drak & Chrudim Theater Festivals (Czech Re- public), Asteroiden Festival (Copenha- gen), and will travel to the Hong Kong Who Arts Festival in March 2015.

ZVI SAHAR Director, Performer, Adaptation ODED LITTMAN Dramaturg, Adaptation, Development Zvi Sahar is an actor, director, and Crew puppeteer based in Tel Aviv. Sahar holds a degree in acting from the SELA Oded Littman is a theater director, dra- performing school in Tel-Aviv and a BA maturg, and teacher living and working (summa cum laude) in theater studies in Bern, Switzerland. Originally from from Haifa University. As an actor, Sa- Israel, he graduated in 2006 with a BA har has worked with several prominent in directing from Tel-Aviv’s Kibbutzim theater groups in Israel including Itim College. He has directed several theater Ensemble with director Rina Yerush- pieces in Tel Aviv’s experimental scene almi, an Israel Prize for Arts recipient focusing on modern interpretations of at the Cameri Theater of Tel Aviv and classical texts. In 2010, he moved to the Be’er Sheva Theater company. With Switzerland to take up master stud- his colleague, Oded Littman, Sahar co- ies in theater and performance at the directed and starred in the critically-ac- HKB (Die Hochschule der Künste), claimed Richard III at Tmu-na Theater Bern, and began work as a dramaturg, and Oedipus Rex at Hasimta Theater. director, and member of the theater Sahar’s work has been supported by collective Milch/Gänse. The (2013 project grant for Salt of the Earth), the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, the Yehoshua Rabinovich Foundation, AYA ZAIGER Collaborator, Cinematographer, Scenic the Consulate Generals of Israel in NY, Designer, Development Crew DC, LA, and others. Over the past few years, Sahar has explored Aya Zaiger specializes in developing and established his Israeli/American visual concepts, art direction, and company PuppetCinema, workshop- scenic and costume design in film ping its first showPlanet Egg at the and television. She has worked with Puppet Lab at St. Ann’s Warehouse. several leading theaters and companies The show was later presented in full at in Israel including Kamery, Tmu-na, the International Puppet Theater & Film Be’er-Sheva, and Hasimta. Some of Festival in Israel, Dixon Place’s Puppet her work includes Salt and Water, BloK, HERE Arts Center, Rockefeller the award-winning show at the Aco University, Hawaii Fringe Festival, and Festival, Sigalit the Ticher, Rikki’s the DC Capital Fringe where it was a Kinder Garden, Tonight Oedipus, and own choreography at the Creative the film,The Cutoff Man, named one Space Festival in Jerusalem and at of 2012’s five best movies byItalian Intimadance Festival in Tmu-na The- Film magazine. ater, Tel Aviv. Touring nationally and internationally, he has performed as a puppeteer and actor in Eshet by Alit MICHAL VAKNIN Weber, which received honorable men- tion at the Akko Fringe Festival, and as Collaborator, Performer, Development a dancer in One Dimensional Man and Crew Reside 1.1. Michal Vaknin is a Jerusalem-born co-founder and member of PuppetCin- ema. She is a director, actress, and SHAI EGOZI puppeteer with a BA in theater from Performer, Puppeteer Haifa University. Performance and directing credits include: I Think This Is Shai Egozi graduated with distinction the Closest to How the Footage Looked from Beit Zvi High School of Perform- (Cannes, San Sebastián, Sundance, ing Arts and was also awarded a schol- Hot Docs Canada); He Who Says Yes / arship from the America-Israel Cultural He Who Says No (Talui Bamakom Site Foundation. His performance work Specific Festival, Tel Aviv);The House includes roles at the Cameri Theatre: by the Lake (Charleville, Berlin, Silk- Romeo & Juliet (Prince of Verona), eborg International Puppet Festivals); From Crystal to Dust (Yosef Goebbels), The Opposite of Alive (Natural History The Feast (Kim), and Zohar (Amnon Museum, Jerusalem; Jerusalem Sea- Argov); Belt Lessin Theatre: The Real son of Culture, HaZira Performing Art Thing (Brodie), Thrill (Eddie) and As Arena); and Dum Dum Baby: Puppet You Like It (Oliver); Library Theater: Theater for Grown-ups and Naughty Closer (Larry), Richard II (Sr. John Children (International Festival of Bushy), Richard III (Sr. Buckingham), Puppet Theater, Jerusalem; Richard The 24th Day (Tom), Bent (Officer), Schechner & Performance Studies and Harold & Maude (Dr. Harley). International Conference, Honoring Egozi also participated in the BBC Richard Schechner, Haifa). drama The Promise (Peter Kosminsky) and in the filmsYear Zero and Candies (Yosef Pichhadze). YUVAL FINGERMAN

Performer, Puppeteer GAI SHERF Yuval Fingerman was born in Haifa. Sound Performer, Music, Sound Effects He has performed with various dance ensembles and companies in Israel, Gai Sherf is a musician and gradu- notably with Liat Dror and Nir Ben Gal ate of the School of Visual Theatre in Dance Company, where he danced Israel. He also plays in various en- for six years. He has presented his sembles and arranges and writes music for theater, film, and video. He collects NYC artists, including Mac Wellman musical instruments from all over the (3 2’s: or AFAR, world premiere), world and plays them non-traditionally. OBIE-award-winning Peculiar Works He has created and directed several Project (East Village Fragments, world stage works, among them Schmetter- premiere), Sibyl Kempson (The Secret ling, based on unique musical instru- Death of , world premiere), ments of his own invention. He won an and Suzan-Lori Parks (365 Days, award at the Acre Festival of Alternative NY premiere) at the Public Theater. Theatre. She has worked at The Jim Henson Foundation under Cheryl Henson and is currently a professor of theater and puppetry at Gettysburg College. GUY BIRAN Artistic Director of HaZira Performance ADDITIONAL CREATIVE CREDITS Art Arena Puppetry Consultation Guy Biran has directed more than 20 JESSICA SCOTT plays throughout Israel and abroad. He has taught theater at the Visual Theater US Director of Photography, School (Jerusalem), National School of PuppetCinema Drama (New Delhi), and Amsterdamse BOAZ FREUND Theater School specializing in site- specific and documentary theater. Production Coordinator, PuppetCinema ERIC BERNINGHAUSEN

LESLIE Additional Music & Main Theme Song STRONGWATER RONA KENAN US Producer, International Company Puppetry Design Manager, PuppetCinema ETI SAHAR, ZVI SAHAR, AYA ZAIGER, ROBIN FROHARDT Leslie Strongwater received her BA in theater studies and art history from Translation (1988) Hampshire College and her MA from ANSELM HOLLO NYU in puppetry and education. She is the founder and curator of Puppet BloK Publisher and the recipient of six Jim Henson GROVE PRESS Foundation Presenter’s Grants for her puppetry series at Dixon Place (NYC), where she served as co-artistic director PRODUCTION for over five years. Named Best Curator by Paper magazine, she was also given Salt of the Earth is produced by the BAX10 Arts Management Award Hazira Performance Art Arena and was from Brooklyn Arts Exchange. She developed by PuppetCinema through has directed and produced for many the LABA residency of the 14th Street Y (2012) and Puppet BloK at Dixon and established artists in and around Place (2013). Salt of the Earth re- NYC, Puppet BloK was founded in ceived its world premiere in Jerusalem 2006 and is curated by Leslie Strong- at HaZira Performance Art Arena in water at Dixon Place. dixonplace.org May of 2014. PUPPETCINEMA HAZIRA PERFORMANCE ART ARENA PuppetCinema began in 2009 as a HaZira Performance Art Arena is an ex- theatrical experiment in Israel and is ceptional interdisciplinary theater plat- now an internationally touring compa- form in the Israeli cultural scene. Being ny with two shows in rep, Planet Egg, fully responsive to the multilayered a sci fi epic adventure told in minia- reality in Jerusalem, HaZira initiates, ture, and Salt of the Earth. produces, and runs new experimental puppetcinema.com productions of theater, dance, video art, and multimedia. Its mission is to nurture high quality alternative theater, SPECIAL THANKS to strengthen and promote original cross-cultural dialogue through Joe Melillo for taking a chance on us— creative original projects, and to we are forever in your debt. support fresh artists, boldly crossing boundaries and daring to define new Cheryl Henson for believing in the stage language. hazira.org.il show and introducing us to Joe, and for continued support of the heart, HaZira Performance Art Arena Staff mind, and spirit. Guy Biran: Artistic Director Sagit Zur: Project Manager To HaZira & Staff: Thank you for your Daniella Shenhav: Production Manager hard work! Guy Biran—for making this Idan Stern: Technical Manager happen and being a sharp, supportive, Yali Reichert: Marketing and 24/7 accessible artistic director. Ronit Ben Shushan: Office Manager To Sagit Zur, Idan Stern, Yali Reichert, Ronit Ben Shushan, and to our lovely LABA is a laboratory for Jewish culture secret D.S. :-) in which classic Jewish texts inspire the creation of new art. Developed Our dear friends at the Consulate Gen- by the 14th Street Y (NYC) in 2007, eral of Israel in NY­, Anat Gilead, and LABA programming includes original Renée Schreiber, for supporting the theater productions, live events, gallery show and seeing the potential from the shows, salons, and performances for very beginning. israelfm.org/culture children and adults. 14streety.org Our special friends at the 14th St Puppet BloK is a six-time recipient of Y—Wendy Seligson, Shayna Kreisler, presenters grants from The Jim Henson Ronit Muzkatblit—you are our cham- Foundation. Promoting innovative pions. Thanks also to Ruby Nambar, storytelling and featuring new works Basmat Hazan, Steven Hazan Arnof, of puppetry-in-progress from emerging and all the 2012 LABA artists! And David Winitsky and the JPP. And to Chris Kauffman, Susan Russell, Eric LABA for supporting Zvi as artist in Berninghausen (on double duty!), Carol residence. Coon, and Leslie Strongwater.

Special thanks to everyone at BAM. Special Thanks to our EPACC Co- Your professionalism and support Sponsors: Kim Davidson & Hillel through this dreamy process have been House, Stephen Stern, Jim Udden, extraordinary and inspiring. and Steve Gimbel.

To the many artists and collaborators To St. Ann’s Warehouse and Puppet who helped develop Salt of the Earth Lab, for being PuppetCinema’s first in the US at LABA and Puppet BloK: greenhouse with special thanks to Tom Tom McDonagh (for your continued Lee, Matt Acheson, Krissy Smith, and support and visits!), Jessica Scott, Susan Feldman. stannswarehouse.org Erica Livingston, Daniel Burnam, Heather Sparling, Shlomi Mantsur, To our new friends in the puppetry Robin Frohardt, Joe Silovsky, Ien community—Gloria Sun, Katy Einer- Denio, Justin Perkins, Ali Skye Bennet, son (of Dixon Place), Laine Barton, Jesse Garrison, Leslie Strongwater, Jacqueline Lalor, Leila Ghaznavi, Erin Adam Ende, Ayuma Poe Saegusa, Gina Orr, Chris Green for your extraordi- Bonati, Lindsay Abromaitis-Smith, nary generosity and hospitality, and Kobe Shmueli, Gil Levanon, Ronit the sweetest sisters—Sneha & Suniti Muszkatblit, and Giorah Aharoni. Extra Mehta. special thanks to Ellie Covan, Katy Einerson, and everyone at Dixon Place Lindsay Abromaitis-Smith—we dedi- for continuing to support puppets so cate this show to you, who inspired beautifully. Salt of the Earth from the mounds of earth in Epyllion, your brilliant show. And of course, thanks to Daphna Yizrael, who came home one night Thanks to Amos Kenan. Born in Tel with a little blue book and said, “you’ve Aviv in 1927, Kenan fought in the got to read this!” To Eti & Uri Sahar— 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Soon after, he Master Puppeteers, and Ayah Yolan— became a peace activist and wrote sa- Master Puppet, the littlest puppet baby tirical articles about organized religion Vivian Wolf Berningwater, Marcia & and the newly created state of Israel. Bruce Strongwater—for everything un- He was best known for the 1984 novel der the sun, Yakir Paz, Ati Citron, Yoni The Road to Ein Harod, which was Lucas, Inbal Austern, Ariel “English An- heavily criticized at the time for its view gel” Aberg-Riger, and Marge Goldwater. of Israel’s future. “If you think this is Love & Thanks to “Z” Briggs at The Jim science fiction,” Kenan told the Associ- Henson Foundation, Ronit Muzkatblit ated Press in 1984, “you’re mad. It’s and Yonatan Israel for their friendship virtually a documentary.” He died in and endless generosity, Yaron Bluevise 2009. And to the Kenan Family—Rona and USonestop, Eric Jensen, Gettys- Kenan, Shlomzion Kenan, and Nurit burg College Theater Arts Department: Gretz. Support for Salt of the Earth provided by Cheryl Henson and The Jim Henson Foundation, HaZira Performing Art Arena, Puppet BloK (at Dixon Place), Israel’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Consulate General of Israel in NY, and LABA, a laboratory for Jewish culture at the 14th Street Y—a program of the Educational Alliance—which Pup- petCinema gratefully acknowledges as our fiscal sponsor.

CONTACT US: For Salt of the Earth booking, please email: [email protected] For company info, please contact US producer Leslie Strongwater: [email protected]

UPCOMING: Nov 5, 2014: Salt of the Earth, Gettysburg College Mar 9—16, 2015: Planet Egg, Hong Kong Arts Festival BAM Fisher