David Ben Gurion at the Helm: Creative Workshops

Drama

Prepare creative, exciting presentations on Ben Gurion/Zionism/Israel which focus on issues of the group's choice

OR

Create trigger activities.

Note:

You will need a drama specialist or amateur dramatist who will help decide time, age-group, etc. The process will include brainstorming, warm-up exercises (basic techniques) and idea-building.

Some possibilities for formats:

• a choreographic progression on the subject of Zionism/Israel: vision, reality, and resolution;

• the use of parallel "stages" and freezing the action to present different angles of an issue.

We outline a few options, but all need enriching and should come from the group itself once they have done warm-up exercises on some of the techniques.

Option No. 1

Scenarios built up from walking "traffic" or "curtain up-curtain down technique, using repeats, choruses, volume, body movement, to build up tension.

Basically, the cast walk past and across each other's paths on stage and when someone reaches the front of the stage he /r she slows, stops, raises their head, says their line and continues across the stage, turns, recedes into background of the stage, still walking. Someone can represent David Ben Gurion more or less permanently at the center stage, moving slightly, thinking, reacting to each statement in terms of expression and movement.

We give you five scenes that could be built on this technique,but more than two in any one play would be too much. Any one scene would stand by itself as a trigger for discussion.

Scene 1: B.G. leaves Poland

a. Antisemitism is the Jewish lot
b. Jews should be free, Jews should be equal
c. We must get out of Poland
d. (motherly type) Leave the family? Go far away?
e. Never see us again?
f. Jews were meant to live in Zion, not in America
g. Zion will come with the Mashiach (Messiah)
h. Jews can create their own national destiny
i. Zion's a swamp and a desert
j. No-one lives there
k. Zion's our Jewish destiny
l. (Ben Gurion) We shall create our own destiny in Zion


Scene 2: Jewish labour, socialism

Use issue of Petah Tikva, B.G. getting fired as agricultural labourer, group moving to Sejera to farm


Scene 3: Whose land?

Use Balfour Declaration, Lawrence of Arabia, White Paper, Ben Gurion's decision on what should be done ("We will fight")


Scene 4: Independence now and its consequences

Use people to represent what the Yishuv leaders wanted and said, and to raise the issue of national unity.


Scene 5: Aliya and Nationhood

Why people came, the happy, the dissatisfied, seen from today's perspective.

Option No. 2

Mimed and choreographed on stage or throughout the hall by using stations with each working consecutively. Needs lots of actors unless station no. 1 cast then move to station no. 4.

Good for presenting visions of different leaders or doing vision/reality/resolution towards future.

Allows you to use techniques like people/machine for industry, Chinese shadows (see "This is Your Life"), for agriculture, walking (society) malfunctions and stage fighting (reality) change of cast between stops and slower pace (possible future).

Option No. 3

Take one issue, e.g., aliya, and develop it, using parallel stages, shadows, freezes, lighting effects.

Scene 1:

Aliya scene as in option no. 1


Scene 2:

B.G. as oleh interacts with other young pioneers of Poalei Zion on why they came to Israel


Scene 3:

Modern Israeli family discusses aliya, tax exemptions for olim hadashim, etc, rather than ideals (conflict)


Scene 4:

Yemenite family reflect on how they came with nothing (conflict between dis/contented).


Scene 5:

Potential olim discuss pros and cons of aliya - who comes, motivations, difficulties, advantages

All these options can allow for audience participation, e.g., introducing a talking postcard scene where the audience has to make "postcards" of different opinions in option 1 or 3, scene 5.

or

by opening an issue to a vote, e.g., Option 1 after scene 4 or option 3 after scene 5;

or

by doing freeze-improvizations (continuous) with the audience on option 2, part 3.