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Bloomfield are stacks of scripts — some read and The newest committee member is Pino, who joined the enjoyed, others read and on their way to being returned group after appearing in Broken Glass last season and mak- to playwrights, many more waiting to be reviewed. ing it known that she had stepped away from acting for a Amid the rush of getting ready for the 2000-2001 sea- time to produce 'corporate and industrial presentations. son, responsibilities for seasons to follow already have been "I've read seven plays and gone through them entirely accepted by the Play Selection Committee, a seven-member because sometimes the relevance does not become evident team. After dividing some 200 scripts each year for initial until the last act," says Pino, who has requested scripts from readings, members discuss the merits of the plays, pointing a theater company in Florida that does all new works. "I'm out the ones they think should be staged, either as full pro- thrilled just being around theater people again." ductions or in staged readings. Beer, in her fourth year on the JET committee, brings a Evelyn Orbach, both artistic director of JET since it New York perspective. She invests in theater and is a backer of opened in 1988 and a committee member, has final say on the Broadway musical revue Swing. the choices but does not restrict the pool of material to "Theater is my passion, so this committee gives me an outlet what comes through the mail. for that as I discuss and review plays," says Beer, who also has She travels to new-play festivals around the country and invested in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum networks with other Jewish theaters to track down works of with Nathan Lane and Triumph of Love with Betty Buckley substance. That often includes known pieces that haven't "I have season subscriptions to a lot of the theaters in been done in this area for awhile. Michigan and enjoy the exchange of energy between perform- Orbach's schedule is a little tighter this year because the ers and audiences in live productions. comedy slated to end the season has to be replaced. I have every single playbill from every A problem with the rights to present it keeps her Members of JET's Play play I've ever seen." looking for another comedy before fully moving on Beer was first contacted to invest Selection Committee to choices for 2001 - 2002. in productions after purchasing tick- "When I planned this committee, I looked for peo- include, left to right, ets for plays in New York through ple who loved theater and had some literary license," Sidney Dillick, Evelyn the Actors Fund. She enjoys going says Orbach of West Bloomfield, who has instructed to the workshops of potential shows Orbach, Rosalie Beer, them to work within the boundaries of JET's mission. backers as well as the "Our plays tackle issues of humanity and communi- Saul Wineman and Kelly soliciting opening-night parties. ty from a Jewish perspective," says Orbach, "and I love Pino. Not pictured are Beer reads about 30 plays a year that we have different eyes and ears involved in the for JET and encouraged the 1999- Bert and Larry Wember. selection process." SUZANNE CHESSLER Special to the Jewish News I Loaded with stacks of scripts are Saul Wineman of Farmington Hills, chairman of the committee; Rosalie Beer and Sidney Dillick, both of West Bloomfield; Kelly Pino of Plymouth; and Bert and Larry Wember of Oak Park. Although they may lobby for plays that somehow resonate with them at a very deep level, they also must consider how individual . plays mesh with the others in the season. Orbach has been holding some she likes for five years as she scouts the right slot. "I never look for a specific thematic factor," says Wineman, a humanities professor at Wayne State University who, under the name Paul Winter, has been a radio and television broadcast- er as well. "The reputation of the playwright is influential as is the number of cast members, which affects production expenses." Wineman, on the committee from the begin- ning, has read hundreds of plays with JET in mind and recently pushed for an additional pro-