The Theater department at Sinclair Community College is set to present “A Shayna Maidel” — a play by Barbara Lebow that focuses on two newly reunited sisters and the experiences that one of them had during the Holocaust.
The play, directed by Kimberly Borst, will be Sinclair’s second ever to premier in the new Black Box Theater on the fourth floor of Building 2. Sinclair will also host three Holocaust exhibits during the production, two of which are traveling exhibits that come from the Cincinnati-based Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education.
“We’re very excited about this production, especially with all the cooperation from other departments on and off campus,” Patti Celek, marketing specialist for the Theater and Dance department said.
The first exhibit that will accompany the show is titled “Her Story Must be Told: Women’s Voices from the Holocaust,” and will take place in the green room in Building 2, Room 334 during production dates. The exhibit will highlight the memories, photos and stories of 15 Jewish women from a dozen different countries who survived the Holocaust.
Also in the green room will be a digital photo presentation developed by Sinclair Faculty Member Amanda Hayden which will display “then and now” photographs, highlighting concentration camps and how their locations appear today.
The third exhibit is titled “Bystander, Upstander” and will be located in the hallway directly outside the green room.
“Bystander Upstander asks what would you have done during the Holocaust — would you have stood by and watched, or would you have stood up against it,” Borst said. “The reason it happened at all is because people stood by and let it.”
Borst and a portion of the cast visited one of the Holocaust exhibits held at the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education in mid-December, where cast members had the opportunity to meet an actual survivor of the Holocaust.
“It was so much worse than what you learn in school,” Leah Mikesell, who will be playing one of the two sisters said. “Meeting actual survivors and hearing their stories brought a whole new meaning to my character and to the script.”
Jennifer Smith, who will be playing the second sister, was also moved by the experience.
“It was really sobering,” she said. “Being immersed in so much info really added a deeper layer to my understanding of the Holocaust.”
According to Borst, the Theater department tries to maintain a balance in their shows’ themes throughout the season.
“We do musicals, we do comedies, but this time we wanted something powerful,” she said. “It’s an important topic that we wanted to address; it’s not a subject you ever get desensitized about. We loved the script and its message.”
Mikesell said she hopes the show along with the exhibits will make for an experience the audience long remembers.
“I would like for people to not just come see the play and go home and forget about it,” she said. “Atrocities are still happening all over the world today and we shouldn’t forget that.”
On Jan. 30 at 12:30 p.m. the cast will present a scene from “A Shayna Maidel” (which means “a pretty girl” in Yiddish) followed by a panel discussion of the play and how research for the story has affected the actor’s character development. The discussion is open to all Sinclair students and faculty.
“We tend to focus on what’s different between people instead of what makes them the same. This story is about the similarities between the sisters and how it brings them together,” Smith said.
Performances will take place Feb. 7 through Feb. 15 Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with a Sunday show at 2 p.m., and a Thursday performance on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. There will also be an early matinee aimed at high school and middle school students on Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 10 a.m.
Seating will be general admission with tickets priced at $10. Thursday tickets cost an additional $5, but will include pre-show appetizers and a cash bar beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets can be found online at www.sinclair.edu/tickets.
“Bring someone you’re not afraid to cry in front of,” Smith said.
For further information, email Patti Celek at patti.celek@sinclair.edu.