Kaleidoscope
KALEIDOSCOPE is a narrative-arts driven initiative that was sparked by a desire to highlight the stories of Jews of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Given the increasing diversity of Jewish communities, it is essential to foreground the complex, personal stories of diverse Jewish voices.
KALEIDOSCOPE addresses this need by providing innovative performance platforms and workshops that seek to overcome organizational, cultural, and ideological barriers to Jewish diversity.
Through finely crafted performances, writing-workshops, and an ever-expanding curriculum, KALEIDOSCOPE hopes to establish a powerful initiative that will both engage and challenge Jewish traditions to reflect the many faces that already comprise klal yisrael.
What People Are Saying
I found the Kaleidoscope monologues captivating and deeply moving. In a short time, I had to expand my vision to include the realities of a proud Ethiopian Jew, a Moroccan Jew learning pride through her mother’s cooking, an African-American Orthodox Jew, an Israeli-American wrestling with that combined identity, and an African-American recent convert to Judaism greeted regularly with references to “Orange is the New Black.” For our mostly white, Ashkenazi community, this range and complexity was a wake-up call and a delightful surprise, adding to the performance our teens enjoyed earlier in the year. Every white Jew in New York should see Kaleidoscope.
–Rabbi Ellen Lippman; Kolot Chayeinu, Brooklyn NYC
The Kaleidoscope story-tellers welcomed us into their lives. With grace--gently but insistently--they invited us to open our eyes to new ways of seeing. Their generous sharing of painful, humorous, and inspiring experiences made the world seem more complicated and infinitely more beautiful. Kaleidoscope reminds us all of the work we all have to do as a Jewish community in the 21st c.
— Rabbi Barry Dov Katz; Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale (CSAIR)
Thank you for inviting us to your inspirational show ‘Kaleidoscope’. I thoroughly enjoyed the show. It is important to expose Israelis (especially younger ones) to the current conversation about Jewish identity that your show so brilliantly explores. I’d love to think with you about ways to make that happen.