Wham! Slam! Bam! Jam!
Sounds like – Superman? No, it’s not superman – but man, will it be super. Inspired by an amazing documentary, “Deaf Jam” (google it and view the trailer), Jewish, Muslim and Deaf teens will be participating in a poetry slam to be held at Kol Ami on Friday night, April 12th, 2013.
Don’t Miss This!
Several years ago, filmmaker Judy Lieff followed a group of students from the Lexington School for the Deaf to the NYC Urban Poetry Slam – the first time that deaf students were admitted as contestants. Each of the deaf contestants was paired with a hearing member of the Urban Poetry Workshop. The charismatic young woman (a high school junior and senior at the time of the filming) to emerge as the star is the young Aneta Brodski, whose Jewish deaf family (Aneta, her parents and younger brother) emigrated from Russia to Israel and then to New York City. She is paired with Tahani – a hearing poet – who is Muslim and Palestinian. You can begin to imagine the obstacles that separate the experiences and worldviews of these two young contestants.
We will be screening the documentary for our high school students on Wednesday evening, February 27th. The whole congregation is invited to join us for this screening. The stars of the film, Aneta and Tahani, will be with us to moderate a Q&A following the film. You are welcome to bring your friends, your parents, your (older) kids and grandchildren. Wednesday, February 27th – 6:30-8:30 pm.
The screening of the film launches a project within our Kol Ami high school program – in which a select number of our students will be able to participate with Aneta and Tahani in a four-session workshop (all on Wednesday evenings) – together with Muslim high school students and students from the New York School for the Deaf – culminating in a poetry slam after Friday night services – Synaplex, April 12th. We read every day in the news about all that divides us – barriers of language, race, religion, culture, physical and emotional capacity. This is a triumph of connection. Mark the two endpoints of this project – the opening night film screening (February 27th) and the closing night performance (April 12th) on your calendar.