This year, we were both honoured to serve as producers for What Do I Do with All This Heritage?, the first theatre show to explore the true stories of Asian American Jews through a series of monologues. Audiences of all heritages experienced the stories of a Vietnamese teenager balancing her Orthodox rules with a secret love of Korean pop music, a Chinese man converting to Judaism encountering hilarity while scheduling his own circumcision, a young Indian-American girl discovering her truest self through having a dual Jewish and a Muslim coming-of-age ceremony, and a Jewish adoptee from Korea returning to discover his birth-family in a surprising and unforgettable tale. Plus many more stories and a rollicking song!
This show was the latest production from The Braid, a Jewish story company that has pioneered the art of salon theatre. In that genre, a selection of autobiographical stories are curated around a theme and performed by a cast of actors dressed in black. With no sets or props, the word is what comes alive, firing the imagination and inviting audiences into the same enchantment that our prehistoric ancestors felt as they heard stories around the campfire.
What Do I Do with All This Heritage? touched hearts around the country, and included performances at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles and at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center, plus many other venues as well as two virtual shows for global audiences. It became the highest grossing initial box office run in The Braid’s 17-year history, and an East Coast tour is currently in the works.
But most importantly, like all of The Braid’s shows, it brought people together. “I cried and laughed so much and felt deeply seen,” raved Patricia Yu, an Asian Jewish patron. Asian American Star Wars actress Kelly Marie Tran raved about the “beautiful” music featured in the show, admitting she “fully sobbed.” Rachel Bernstein, an Ashkenazi Jew with Sephardi family, wrote in her opening night review for Hey Alma, “There is absolutely no question in my mind that this play will be meaningful for Asian Jews, but it will also be impactful for Jews of all backgrounds and those that are not Jewish.”
It’s because of this transformative power that we’re very excited that The Braid will be able to embody future works in a new physical space. Previously, our shows were hosted as pop-ups around the country (often in synagogues and JCCs, but also in museums, private homes, and even prisons). Located in Santa Monica, CA, but with live-streaming capabilities it will be both a local and a global home for Jewish stories. Living up to its motto of “leave no Jewish story untold,” we’ve both watched The Braid give stage to groundbreaking shows about LGBTQIA+ Jews, Latin Jews, Iranian Jews, Jews of Colour, Soviet Jews, Jews and Muslims, Israeli-Americans, and women rabbis. We’ve also seen it explore universal themes like food, forgiveness, and family. And in addition to our work on What Do I Do with All This Heritage?, we’ve both begun our respective journeys with The Braid through writing our own stories and via its NEXT Emerging Artists program. Even though The Braid is an almost two-decade old Jewish institution, it is constantly offering opportunities for fresh talent to share their creativity.
That’s why we’re so excited about the opening of this new physical space. The Braid will still keep its stories and shows travelling, but having an in-person home base means it can take even more chances on underserved voices and unique talents. Already there are plans for one-person shows about fatherhood from a Black Jewish comedian and another from a Uruguayan Jewish musician. And the new space will have its grand opening with a reprise of the Off Broadway hit Not That Jewish, first developed by The Braid, in which comedy legend Monica Piper offers hilarious and heartwarming true tales from her own remarkable life.
What all of these exciting shows have in common is the power of storytelling. “I love stories,” says Ronda Spinak, The Braid’s founder and artistic director. “They entertain, educate, inspire, and move us to action. They’re a portal to human connection. And right now, we need Jewish stories more than ever.”
We hope you’ll stop by the-braid.org and check out this warm and loving home for stories that’s helped each of us find our authentic voice. In fact, we hope you’ll not just consider checking out some of its theatrical offerings, but consider submitting a story of your own to The Braid for consideration for one of its shows. We each still remember the moment of seeing an actor give life to words we’d written about private and personal experiences we never thought we’d share, and the power of seeing the world embrace them. In a time that is so deeply divided, our stories brought people together. And that didn’t just make us feel good, it gave us hope. A hope we’d love to share with you all.
This year, we were both honoured to serve as producers for What Do I Do with All This Heritage?, the first theatre show to explore the true stories of Asian American Jews through a series of monologues. Audiences of all heritages experienced the stories of a Vietnamese teenager balancing her Orthodox rules with a secret love of Korean pop music, a Chinese man converting to Judaism encountering hilarity while scheduling his own circumcision, a young Indian-American girl discovering her truest self through having a dual Jewish and a Muslim coming-of-age ceremony, and a Jewish adoptee from Korea returning to discover his birth-family in a surprising and unforgettable tale. Plus many more stories and a rollicking song!
This show was the latest production from The Braid, a Jewish story company that has pioneered the art of salon theatre. In that genre, a selection of autobiographical stories are curated around a theme and performed by a cast of actors dressed in black. With no sets or props, the word is what comes alive, firing the imagination and inviting audiences into the same enchantment that our prehistoric ancestors felt as they heard stories around the campfire.
What Do I Do with All This Heritage? touched hearts around the country, and included performances at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles and at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center, plus many other venues as well as two virtual shows for global audiences. It became the highest grossing initial box office run in The Braid’s 17-year history, and an East Coast tour is currently in the works.
But most importantly, like all of The Braid’s shows, it brought people together. “I cried and laughed so much and felt deeply seen,” raved Patricia Yu, an Asian Jewish patron. Asian American Star Wars actress Kelly Marie Tran raved about the “beautiful” music featured in the show, admitting she “fully sobbed.” Rachel Bernstein, an Ashkenazi Jew with Sephardi family, wrote in her opening night review for Hey Alma, “There is absolutely no question in my mind that this play will be meaningful for Asian Jews, but it will also be impactful for Jews of all backgrounds and those that are not Jewish.”
It’s because of this transformative power that we’re very excited that The Braid will be able to embody future works in a new physical space. Previously, our shows were hosted as pop-ups around the country (often in synagogues and JCCs, but also in museums, private homes, and even prisons). Located in Santa Monica, CA, but with live-streaming capabilities it will be both a local and a global home for Jewish stories. Living up to its motto of “leave no Jewish story untold,” we’ve both watched The Braid give stage to groundbreaking shows about LGBTQIA+ Jews, Latin Jews, Iranian Jews, Jews of Colour, Soviet Jews, Jews and Muslims, Israeli-Americans, and women rabbis. We’ve also seen it explore universal themes like food, forgiveness, and family. And in addition to our work on What Do I Do with All This Heritage?, we’ve both begun our respective journeys with The Braid through writing our own stories and via its NEXT Emerging Artists program. Even though The Braid is an almost two-decade old Jewish institution, it is constantly offering opportunities for fresh talent to share their creativity.
That’s why we’re so excited about the opening of this new physical space. The Braid will still keep its stories and shows travelling, but having an in-person home base means it can take even more chances on underserved voices and unique talents. Already there are plans for one-person shows about fatherhood from a Black Jewish comedian and another from a Uruguayan Jewish musician. And the new space will have its grand opening with a reprise of the Off Broadway hit Not That Jewish, first developed by The Braid, in which comedy legend Monica Piper offers hilarious and heartwarming true tales from her own remarkable life.
What all of these exciting shows have in common is the power of storytelling. “I love stories,” says Ronda Spinak, The Braid’s founder and artistic director. “They entertain, educate, inspire, and move us to action. They’re a portal to human connection. And right now, we need Jewish stories more than ever.”
We hope you’ll stop by the-braid.org and check out this warm and loving home for stories that’s helped each of us find our authentic voice. In fact, we hope you’ll not just consider checking out some of its theatrical offerings, but consider submitting a story of your own to The Braid for consideration for one of its shows. We each still remember the moment of seeing an actor give life to words we’d written about private and personal experiences we never thought we’d share, and the power of seeing the world embrace them. In a time that is so deeply divided, our stories brought people together. And that didn’t just make us feel good, it gave us hope. A hope we’d love to share with you all.