UNPACKING THE PLAY
Indecent by Paula Vogel

Why is a play about a play in 1907 just as relevant, if not more in 2023? 

Anti-semitism, Artistic Freedom, Censorship, Homophobia, Immigration, Jewish Culture, Violence Against Women: Join us for a panel discussion as we take a deeper dive into the story and the themes in our most recent play: Indecent by Paula Vogel.

When: Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Time: 7:00-8:30pm

Where:
Playhouse on Park

FREE - Reservations Required
860-523-5900 x 10 or BoxOffice@PlayhouseTheatreGroup.org  


MODERATOR - RAY HARDMAN

Ray Hardman is Connecticut Public’s Arts and Culture Reporter. He is the host of CPTV’s Emmy-nominated original series “Where Art Thou?” Listeners to Connecticut Public Radio may know Ray as the local voice of “Morning Edition”, and later of “All Things Considered.” Ray started his career at WFSU in Tallahassee, Florida while pursuing a Master’s Degree in Opera Performance. He now lives in West Hartford with his wife Kathleen, his two teenage boys, and Charlie, the naughty Black Lab. He also fronts a garage rock band called “The Radiation.”

RABBI JESSICA DELL'ERA
Rabbi Jessica Dell’Era (she/they) is the spiritual leader of Temple Shalom in Medford, MA.  Before becoming a rabbi, she was a Spanish bilingual public school teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she grew up.  She graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary with ordination from the Rabbinical School and a Master’s in Sacred Music from the Cantorial School.  She also holds a Master’s in Education from the University of California, Berkeley.

ILENE FRANK
Ilene Frank serves as the Deputy Executive Director / Chief Strategy Officer for the Connecticut Historical Society where she plays a critical leadership role in guiding the museum’s programmatic and organizational efforts and advancing the CHS’s vision to work with inclusive audiences to promote historical and cultural perspectives as essential tools to connect with each other. Previously, she held leadership positions at the Rensselaer County Historical Society (NY) and the Schenectady Museum & Planetarium (NY). She has also worked at the McFaddin-Ward House (TX) and Historic St. Mary’s City (MD). Ms. Frank holds a M.A. in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program, State University at Oneonta, and a B.A. from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. 

REVEREND JAKE MILES JOSEPH
The Rev. Jake Miles Joseph is ADL Connecticut’s Associate Regional Director. His work at ADL focuses on incident response and statewide capacity building to fight hate and bias. He received his BA in French from Grinnell College and his Masters of Divinity and Graduate Certificate in Human Rights from Emory University. Jake served UCC (Congregationalist) congregations for over seven years in Colorado and in Connecticut focusing on LGBTQ+ equality and affordable housing. Jake currently serves as a Commissioner for Milford Housing and Redevelopment, on the DEI Committee of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), and as the Chair and Founder of the NAHRO National LGBTQ Subcommittee.

DAVID MAZOWER
David Mazower is Research Bibliographer and Editorial Director at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. He is Chief Curator of the Center’s new core exhibit, Yiddish: A Global Culture, opening later this year, and co-editor of the Center’s English-language magazine, Pakn Treger. He also oversees the Center’s holdings of hundreds of thousands of Yiddish books and related collections. He writes on Yiddish theater and popular culture, British Jewish history, and the life and work of his great-grandfather, Yiddish writer Sholem Asch (whose play God of Vengeance is at the heart of Indecent). Other recent passion projects include the blog Bronx Bohemians, about the literary salon of Yiddish poet Bertha Kling; and the work of avant-garde women artists in post-WWI Lodz. In a previous life David was a news editor and journalist with BBC World News in London.