Creative Control

Jewish Japanese-American actress presents
for-women-only performance at Oak Park ICC

SUZANNE CHESSLER

videos, film and television.

Special to the Jewish News

What Came Next

A

Looking for different work opportuni-
ties, Factor relocated to New York
City, where she soon was hired into
the chorus of Shogun, the Musical and
went on to other musical productions.
Wanting to explore more dramatic
works, she also studied with an acting
coach and later won roles in a number
of Shakespeare plays staged by an
Asian theater company.
The entertainer's focus began to
change after she started dating Todd
Factor, who directed television com-
mercials. Faced with his commitment
to have a home in which his children
could be raised as Jews, she began
studying his religion and had a
Conservative conversion before they
married in 2002.
As the couple got to know deeply
religious people, their spirituality
expanded. The couple became
Orthodox. It wasn't long before they
concluded the best place to study
would be Israel.
"We were committed to taking some
time off and doing some learning,"
explains Factor, who changed her
name to Rachel during a visit to the
mikvah. "We were in Israel for three
months, and that extended to six
months. Then, it extended into a year.
"In that course of time, I started
performing J.A.P. and had such a great
response that we decided to take it on
the road and go to different communi-
ties. Initially, we thought the show
would provide for us.
"We've come to find that there's a
real need for women to have an artistic
outlet such as I do. A lot of women
have been telling us how they need a
center where they can nurture their
artistic interests and perform. We
decided to form a nonprofit company
that will be for women by women.
That's what the tour proceeds will go
toward, first in Jerusalem and then in
the United States."
Factor's involvement in Judaism has
not erased her respect for her Asian
heritage; and she has been happy, and
somewhat surprised, to connect with
Israeli women having backgrounds
similar to her own. The entertainer

former Broadway dancer has
cut her potential audience just
about in half and has no
regrets. She reveals why as she tours
Israel and America with her one-
woman show.
Rachel Factor, whose New York
stage background includes experience
in the chorus of Miss Saigon and as a
Rockette at the Radio City Music
Hall, now talks and sings in JA.P, a
theater piece about the personal fulfill-
ment she has found since converting
to Orthodox Judaism.
JA.P, which holds to Orthodox
conventions and restricts the audience
to women only, will be performed
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 6, at the
Jewish Community Center in Oak
Park. While the tide simply might
seem to reference the negative phrase
"Jewish American Princess," it also
refers to Factor's cultural orientation as
a Japanese American.
"I do a show that runs for an hour
and 20 minutes," says Factor, 36, who
travels in a recreation vehicle with her
husband and two small children. "I do
a series of monologues and songs with
a little poetry and dancing. There's
mostly storytelling about my early life
in Hawaii and my moves to Los
Angeles, New York and Jerusalem.
"I wrote all of it, including the
songs. The music is on a pre-recorded
track. Sometimes, I take questions
from the audience after I do my
scripted performance. It's been about
two years that I have been appearing
only in front of women, and it has
been a wonderful experience in bond-
ing. The road trip has been a great
adventure"
Factor, a fourth-generation Japanese
American named Christine Frances
Masaye Horii at birth, attended pri-
vate school founded by Christian mis-
sionaries in Hawaii and became com-
mitted to dance and theater when she
was in junior high school. With her
performance interest intensifying dur-
ing her high school years, Factor
moved to California after graduation
and found work as a dancer in music

Above: The Israel-based Factor
family is traveling around the
U.S. in a recreational vehicle,
bringing 7.A.P" to American
audiences.

Right: Rachel Factor: "I don't
look down on my Broadway
experiences."

wants her sons to become familiar
with Japanese culture, and she is plan-
ning to take the boys to the country of
their maternal ancestors so the young-
sters can have firsthand knowledge of
that influence.

Broadway Influence

As Factor looks back on all of her the-
atrical experiences, she continues to
value her time performing on
Broadway, sometimes scantily clad, in
front of men and women. While she
has learned that Orthodox women
share a universal concern with their
appearance, she appreciates being part
of a group she believes pays more
attention to inner beauty.
"I don't look down on my Broadway
experiences," she says. "I'm thankful
for them. I believe that everything I've
done has led me to this place. I am
finding a great deal of fulfillment in
the performing I'm doing now It's
what I was searching for in my pursuit

of the theater arts in terms of express-
ing myself, making a difference and
giving back.
"One difference between what I'm
doing now and what I was doing then
is that I have a great deal more creative
control — total control. The expres-
sion is 100 percent mine. It's more
rewarding in that way."
Factor, in planning her theatrical
instructional center, has definite ideas
for offering artistic experiences.
"My goal is to provide quality
instruction for women and girls," she
says. "I want religious women to have
a chance to dance and sing and act so
they won't have to subject themselves
to the difficult and harsh worlds found
in places like Hollywood. It will all be
extremely therapeutic." ❑

J.A.P. will be performed 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 6, at the Jewish
Community Center in Oak Park.
$25-$36. (888) 256-1764.

JN

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2005

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