The Jewish Arts Institute
A two-year training program for Jewish artists and Jewish arts educators
Join a community of artists and Jewish professionals dedicated to advancing the evolution of Jewish arts education in this country and abroad. The Jewish Arts Institute (JAI), a series of weeklong retreats conducted over the course of two years, offers instruction in effective, integrated teaching methodologies that utilize the arts as a way to make Jewish learning more compelling, relevant and fun. Designed to give artists, teaching professionals and novice practitioners the tools to successfully integrate their art with their Jewish identities and spiritual journeys, the interdisciplinary curriculum includes music, theater, visual arts and creative writing.
JAI’s participant cohort will form a national network of leaders in the arts and arts education within the Jewish Community. A list-serve, blog and other virtual community building technologies will support participant collaboration and connection between retreats and after the institute is completed. Unlike other ECCJS institutes, participants of JAI only have to commit to one retreat at a time. The program fee for each week is $500 and does not include the cost of Room and Board (see below.)
Week 3: Jewish Identity and Ensemble Theatre-Making
June 16 - 22, 2008
The third week of JAI, which is open to new participants, focuses on Jewish identity as it is lived within story. Using found and generated texts, participants will explore the theatrical vocabulary of ensemble storytelling. Movement and vocal improvisation will support the work. Sense of play, poetry of the body and spontaneity all are important elements in ensemble theatre-making. Text will be a point of departure, and then we’ll move beyond intellectual interpretation to discover what meaning may lie beneath it and how the dynamics of the group can bring forward the unexpected. Great theatre is meaningful and is made up of surprises! The workshop will be a working environment where meaning and surprises can flourish. The exploration will be challenging, fun and rooted in the community that we will build throughout the week.
Register now:
Who should apply?
The institute
is designed for all Jewish artists — teaching professionals and novice practitioners
alike. The institute will include Music, Theater, Visual Arts and Creative
writing. It will offer a methodology, a coherent integrative philosophy by
which to approach the arts as a key to unlock Jewish learning in a relevant,
passionate, intellectually stimulating and emotionally fulfilling way.
What's the commitment?
The institute is four one-week sessions spread out over two years — one summer and one winter, each year. Unlike other ECCJS institutes participants of JAI only have to commit to one retreat at a time.
DANNY MASENG, INSTITUTE DIRECTOR
Danny
Maseng is the director and lead teacher of the Jewish Arts Institute. A playwright, actor, singer and composer, he has served as evaluator of New American Plays/Opera-Musical Theater for the National Endowment for the Arts and has been the director of the Spielberg Fellowship for the Foundation for Jewish Camping. Danny was also artistic director of the Brandeis-Bardin Institute in California, a center for Jewish culture and learning.
A much sought-after Scholar-in-Resident, Danny is a frequent faculty member of programs run by the Wexner Foundation, Synagogue 2000, Limmud, CAJE, and appears regularly at synagogues and conferences around the world. Danny is also one of the most popular and respected composers of contemporary liturgical and synagogue music.
GUEST FACULTY
Each week features different guest artists who will co-lead with Danny Maseng, sharing wisdom and expertise from their own unique disciplines.
- Ohad Shaltiel is the director of special programming for the Tel-Aviv Museum’s Meyerhoff Art Education Center. For the past fifteen years, he has also directed the Visual Arts program for the URJ’s Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute.
- Dr. Richard Chess, author of three volumes of poetry, is the director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, and head of the UNCA Center for Jewish Studies.
- Aaron Davidman is the director of the critically acclaimed Traveling Jewish Theatre, based in San Francisco. His work integrates creative movement with midrashic text creation.
- Josefa Briant teaches an innovative form of movement that helps people connect to their soul and express their divine spirit in a Jewish context. Josefa has danced with Merce Cunningham, Maggie Black and Israel’s renowned Bat Sheva Dance Company. Josefa teaches at University of North Carolina and Brandeis-Bardin Institute.
By integrating Judaism and art in four seminars led by passionate Jewish artists, the Jewish Arts Institute promises to engage its participants in intellectually stimulating and emotionally fulfilling ways.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER THE INSTITUTE?
The Jewish Arts Institute participant cohort will form a national network of Jewish leaders in arts and arts education. A list-serve, blog and other virtual community building technologies will support participant collaboration and connection during the two year period, and will continue to be a resource after the institute has been completed.
To apply
To apply, please complete the following form. Space is limited and applicants must demonstrate a commitment to Jewish arts and/or Jewish arts education.
This
program is made possible through a grant from the Mazer Family Fund of the
UJA-Federation of New York.
Registration Information
Program Fees
The tuition for this institute is $500 per week and does not include the cost of Room and Board. We strive to make our programs affordable to everyone. For information about Financial Assistance, please see below.
Room and Board
Room and board includes housing, meals, evening activities, hot tub, yoga, meditation, and full use of our facility. All rooms are air-conditioned in the summer and heated in the winter. Adults fees apply to ages 18 and higher. Rates are per person, and include all meals. For double or triple occupancy, you may either request a roommate, or be matched with one by our staff.
Deluxe rooms
Deluxe rooms have private bathrooms. Single and double occupancy are provided with queen-sized beds, triple occupancy has twin beds. Handicap accessibility available, please call (800) 398-2630 x307.
| Deluxe Rooms |
Training
Institute |
| Single Occupancy |
1,875 |
| Double Occupancy |
1,015 |
| Triple Occupancy |
715 |
Plus rooms
Plus rooms have private bathrooms. A limited number of queen-sized beds are available for a $15/night surcharge, please call for availability.
| Plus Rooms |
Training
Institute |
| Single Occupancy |
1,540 |
| Double Occupancy |
940 |
| Triple Occupancy |
640 |
Standard rooms
Standard rooms share a bathroom with one other room. A limited number of queen-sized beds are available for a $15/night surcharge, please call for availability.
| Standard Rooms |
Training
Institute |
| Single Occupancy |
1,275 |
| Double Occupancy |
790 |
Economy rooms
Economy rooms have twin beds with the bathroom in the hall.
| Standard Rooms |
Training
Institute |
| Single Occupancy |
975 |
| Double Occupancy |
600 |
Dormitory rooms
Dormitory rooms are either triple or quadruple occupancy with bunk beds and bathrooms on the hall. Campers supply their own tents and equipment. The commuter fee includes all meals and snacks, use of the facility and its amenities, and participation in any open programming provided, such as prayer, meditation, or yoga.
| Dormitory Rooms |
Training
Institute |
| Dormitory |
525 |
| Camper |
450 |
| Commuter |
340 |
Financial Assistance
Financial Aid for Room and Board
We provide limited scholarship funding to reduce room and board fees for those in extreme financial need. Financial aid is only available for dormitory rooms with hall baths for single adults and economy rooms for couples and families. If you would like to request financial aid, please complete the financial aid form. Please note financial aid requests must be received at least three weeks prior to the retreat.
Student Aid Provided by The Lasko Foundations
Up to 50% scholarship is available for graduate students in rabbinical school, cantorial school or in Master’s degree programs in Jewish Studies. To apply for this scholarship, please complete the Lasko Scholarship form. Lasko awards may not be combined with any other financial aid provided through Isabella Freedman.
Financial Aid for the Jewish Arts Institute
A grant from the Mazer Family Fund of UJA-New York covers up to 50% of the program fee for the Jewish Arts Institute. To apply for this grant, please complete the financial aid form.
The Harold Grinspoon Foundation's
Jewish Experience Fund for Adults
Thanks to a generous grant from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, adults 21 years of age or older who are residents of Western Massachusetts and want to participate in a program at Isabella Freedman are eligible to apply for up to a 50% subsidy of the total cost of the program to a maximum of $500 per program. This funding can be applied to Program Fees and Room and Board Fees. To apply for this grant, please contact The Harold Grinspoon Foundation directly.
Cancellation Policy
Payments made will be refunded in full (less a $75 processing fee) if you cancel more than 10 days prior to a retreat for which you are registered. If you cancel within 10 days or less, a non-refundable credit (less a $75 processing fee) will be held for one year from the date of issue. This credit is non-transferable. No credit or refund is available if you cancel less than 24 hours prior to or on the workshop’s arrival day, if you do not show up, or if you leave a retreat early for any reason.
Isabella Freedman reserves the right to cancel any program at any time. In the event of such cancellation, you will be given a complete refund. A full transportation refund is available if you cancel at least 3 days (72 hours) in advance. No transportation refund is available with less than 3 days notice.
If you are participating in a Training Institute and you miss or cancel one retreat session, your Room and Board Fee will be refunded according to the policy above, but the program fee for a missed or cancelled retreat session is still due. Withdrawal is permitted only after the first retreat session. If you withdraw from a Training Institute after the first retreat session, or if you are asked by faculty to leave the institute, you will receive a full Program Fee refund for any remaining pre-paid retreats.
