Arts & Entertainment

A Wonderful Mix

Two dramas, two comedies comprise JET's 2009-2010 season.

Suzanne Chessler

Special to the Jewish News

p

laywright Kitty Dubin uses her
own career as the starting point
for a new play that opens the
2009-2010 season of the Jewish Ensemble
Theatre.
Dubin, who teaches playwriting at
Oakland University, developed The Blank
Page to capture the self-doubts of a cre-
ative writing professor under deadline to
complete her second novel.
The play, directed by Gillian Eaton
and staged Oct. 13-Nov. 8 at the West
Bloomfield Jewish Community Center,
precedes The Big Bang by Boyd Graham,
The Tale of the Allergist's Wife by
Charles Busch and Palmer Park by
Joanna McClelland Glass.
"There are no bad guys or good guys in
this play,' says Dubin, in her sixth produc-
tion with JET. "They're all people I hope
the audience can relate to in some way.
"The main character is trying to resur-
rect her once successful literary career
after being sidelined for many years by
marriage and family. At the same time,
she's advising a master's degree student
who is everything she was 10 years ago
— unencumbered and fearless — and
it's very threatening for her to be working
with this younger person"
Leslie Ann Handelman, who grew up in
West Bloomfield and now pursues an act-
ing career in Chicago, plays the student.
"In the role of Alex Malone, I see a lot
of myself when I was in grad school;' says
Handelman, in her first JET performance.
"She's really funky."
The actress, who holds degrees from
Syracuse University and the University of
Illinois, has worked with the ShawChicago
Theater Company and appeared in region-
al productions.
Sarab Kamoo plays Amy Kaplan, the
main character, and John Lepard takes
the part of husband Danny Kaplan. Naz
Edwards portrays Joy Fields, the writer's
best friend, who has been sidelined by
divorce and experiences her own brand of
self-doubts.
Dubin, as playwright in residence at
JET and in contrast to her main character,
takes pride in the more than 60 of her
students' plays that have been produced
at venues outside the university. She has

Playwright Kitty Dubin, right, helps rehearse JET's first play of the season, The
Blank Page, with actors Leslie Ann Handelman (Alex Malone), left, and Naz Edwards
(Joy Fields).

The Blank Page will be performed
Oct.13-Nov. 8 in the Aaron DeRoy
Theatre in the Jewish Community
Center in West Bloomfield.
Performance times: 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct.13; Wednesdays, Oct.
14, 21 and 28; and Thursdays, Oct.
15, 22 and 29 and Nov. 5. Other per-
formances are at 5 and 8:30 p.m.
Saturdays, Oct.17, 24 and 31 and
Nov. 7, and 2 p.m. Sundays, Oct.18
and 25 and Nov.1 and 8. There is a
matinee at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov.
4. $28-$36 with student and senior
discounts. (248) 788-2900.

introduced The Blank Page through
staged readings at the Performance
Network Fireside Festival in Ann Arbor
and the Renegade Theatre Festival in East
Lansing.

JET SCHEDULE

The Blank Page: Oct. 13-Nov. 8
The Big Bang: Dec.8-Jan. 3 with
two New Year's Eve performances
The Tale of the Allergist's Wife:
Jan. 26-Feb. 21
Palmer Park: April 13-May 9
The Diary of Anne Frank returns 7
p.m. Saturday, March 27, and 3 p.m.
Sunday, March 28.

Sarab Kamoo, left (with Leslie Ann

Handelman), plays Amy Kaplan, the

main character.

The playwright believes the issue of self-
doubt is particularly timely because of the

Single tickets for the new
productions range from $15
(students) to $36. The four-show
subscriptions are $80-$116. Tickets
for The Diary of Anne Frank are $9
for students and $14 for adults. For
information, tall (248) 788-2900 or
go to www.jettheatre.org .

economic issues being faced throughout
the country.
"There's something about getting back
into whatever a person's been taken out
of, such as a marriage or a job, that makes
that person very vulnerable," Dubin says.
"Identity is at stake, and there's not the old
confidence important to taking a risk."
Judaism also is relevant to the produc-
tion.
"This play has more Jewish content than
any play I've written;' says Dubin, whose
previous JET projects include The Last
Resort, Change of Life, The Day We Met,
Dance Like No One's Watching and
Coming of Age. "The two main characters,
husband and wife, are Jewish, and that
plays a role in the development of the story.
"I've given some thought to the issue
of self-doubt and how to deal with it in a
spiritual way so there's more of a spiritual
bent in this play than any of the others."
The Blank Page shows a continuation
of the playwright's interest in subjects
related to the power of female friendship,
confrontations in marriage and entrance
into different stages of life. Among the new
themes is dealing with risk-taking.
"I think we find all kinds of reasons
not to put ourselves on the line, where we
might be judged or face disappointment,'
explains Dubin, who was a psychothera-
pist before venturing into a midlife career
change that involves writing and teaching.
"It could seem safer not to bother:'
Dubin, whose plays have been per-
formed at the Purple Rose in Chelsea, the
BoarsHead Theater in East Lansing and
venues in New York, will have her produc-
tion complemented by the JET season's
other serious piece, Palmer Park, which
recalls integration issues in Detroit during
the end of the 1960s.
Bringing a lighter feeling to the JET
stage is The Big Bang, a comic musical
trying to compact the history of the world.
The Tale of the Allergist's Wife is about
rekindling an old friendship with disas-
trous consequences.
"With a world premiere in The Blank
Page and an American premier with
Palmer Park, we have serious produc-
tions before and after the two funny shows
that allow us to relax:' says Christopher
Bremer, JET managing director. "I think
our audiences will find a wonderful mix in
the season:' 1-1

iN

October 1. 2009

43

