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62
April 18 • 2013
manes; Osborne explains. "I wanted the
designs to have more bounce. Spirit has
been part of everything we've been doing:'
As she went about her tasks, Osborne
had the availability of Darren Marks,
a professor at Western University in
London, Ontario.
"I serve as a consultant for Stratford
and help non-Jewish cast and crew
understand Jewish history and culture
he explains. "I do a large series of presen-
tations about shtetl life, anti-Semitism
and pogroms. I want them to see the
world the way the characters would have
been living in those shtetls."
Also, Marks watches rehearsals to
make sure that the rituals and man-
nerisms are carried out correctly. For
example, he has explained that Jews of
those times would not cross their fingers
because that is a Christian symbol.
"My work comes out of a desire of
directors to honor the Jewish culture
represented by the creators of the show:'
says Marks, who planned the Chabad
Sabbath service to also include 200 uni-
versity students.
Rabbi Mordechai Silberberg of
London offered leadership for the ser-
vice and meal that followed.
"When the show goes on, we're invit-
ing everybody to be Jewish for two
hours:' says Marks, also offering insight
for the production of The Merchant
of Venice, which features Sara Farb as
Jessica, Shylock's daughter.
"I like the role because Jessica is a
very complex person:' says Farb, 26.
"There are many ways to approach a
character like this, which makes it inter-
esting to me as an actor and someone
who identifies as Jewish.
"Jessica falls in love with a Christian
named Lorenzo and decides to take off,
marry him and convert to Christianity,
leaving Shylock (Brian Bedford) without
a daughter. She also robs him of every-
thing he's worth.
"I've never played anything quite like
this before, and I can't wait to challenge
myself with it:'
Farb, based in Toronto, debuts with
Stratford as she also takes parts in pro-
ductions of Romeo and Juliet and The
Three Musketeers.
"This is my first time doing repertory,
and it is exercising my brain:' says Farb,
in professional theater since the age of 9
when she portrayed the young title char-
acter in Jane Eyre the Musical.
"I'm used to doing multi-tasking,
but this experience involves different
approaches that make for a fascinating
and engaging time. Nothing is ever stale or
boring:'
Farb has been able to build a career
without post-secondary training in perfor-
mance.
"I decided that rather than removing
myself from a business I'd been working
in for quite a while, I would stay in it and
pursue an English degree at the University
of Toronto, doing that part time until
graduation:' explains Farb, now studying
for a certificate in editing.
"I have been able to sustain myself
with theater, but when I feel that times
are a bit dry, I write:'
Among Farb's many theater credits have
been Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor
Dreamcoat (with Donny Osmond), A
Midsummer Night's Dream and Next to
Normal. Television roles have placed her in
episodes of The Firm and Covert Affairs.
"I was in the inaugural season of the
Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company
in Toronto:' Farb says. "I appeared in
The Sisters Rosensweig.
"I have participated in fundraisers for
the company and other organizations
that support Jewish causes. My artistic
and Jewish identities do coincide some-
times, and that's a lovely thing:'
That coinciding came together as Farb
helped with the company seder. She
sang and recited prayers.
"In my family, we don't generally do
the parts after the meal, but it was nice
to be able to do that in this case she
explains. "This is the first seder I've
missed with my family.
"The company seder was a happy event.
It was so communal with so many people
interested in it:'
Ian Lake, in his sixth season at Stratford,
was one of the Jewish company members
to join the interfaith celebration of the
seder, planned by Shira Ginsler, education
and editorial coordinator at Stratford.
Lake, who plays Mortimer in Mary
Stuart, also appears in Measure for
Measure and Othello. As Mortimer,
he takes the role of a young man who
grew up as a Protestant in 16th-century
England and converts to Catholicism
while traveling. He returns to England to
help free Stuart.
"We have had a Catholic priest speak,
and it was interesting to explore a different
religion as Judaism remains an impor-
tant theme of the season:' says Lake, 29,
who recently appeared in a production
of Hannah Moscovitch's This Is War at
Toronto's Tarragon Theatre and in the tele-
vision series Bomb Girls.
"The characterization of religious out-
siders especially comes across through [the
characters of] Mary Stuart and Shylock.
It's been fascinating for me to delve into
another faith:"
Ginsler, who has invited Lake and other
company members to her home seders
in previous years, was asked by company
administrators to set up the company
observation.
"We did a lot of explaining and had los-
herish' foods, including smoked brisket,
gefilte fish and matzah ball soup:' she says.
"It was a fun group to have together, and it
was fun to share this part of my life.
"I believe that expanding the experi-
ences of the plays is a great way to expand
the theater experience. It makes the plays
even better than they already are:'
❑