BORDERS
Written by Nimrod Danishman
Directed by Michael R. Piazzaa
First premiered in 2019, Borders unfolds the virtual encounter of Boaz and George, who meet on Grindr. They want to meet in person, but something prevents them from doing so. One lives in Israel, the other- in Lebanon. Through their virtual relationship, they examine the meaning of borders—real and imagined, physical and not. With all of us hunkered down at home, the play has been adapted to fit the online medium, creating a unique theatrical experience with live performances amplified with multimedia and video elements, specifically designed for the home screen format, pulling the audience into a virtual but intimately real environment reminiscent of a physical theatre. Find out if it is just the physical border that keeps Boaz and George apart? Would they be able to transition their virtual relationship to the real world?
In April 2020, Borders was webcast in a series of live performances for the general public around the globe, directly from the actors’ own homes. The virtual show was recognized three times by Time Out New York as “Best Theatre to Watch Online.”
FEATURING
Eli M. Shoenfeld
Adrian Rifat
CREATIVE TEAM
Assistant Director /Stream Technician - Ron Orlovsky
Production / Stage Manager - Joanne Au
Producer - Maera Daniel Hagage
Thursday and Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 3pm through February 27th
PRESS
On Wednesday February 24, 2021, at 6:30pm EST, The Center, in partnership with Dirty Laundry Theatre & the Tank, hosted “Queering The Middle (East),” a virtual panel discussion with the director and actors of Borders. The panel explored what it means to connect with another human in the virtual space and the relationship between virtual space and physical life in a highly politicized and hyper-virtual world. Tickets to the panel were free, with a suggested donation of $10.
MEET THE CAST
ELI M SCHOENFELD
BOAZ
Eli M Schoenfeld is a multidisciplinary American-Israeli award-winning actor, singer, and performance-maker. A graduate of both the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio, his work has been seen on television, film, and in various live performance settings in Israel, the UK and Europe, and the US.
ADRIAN RIFAT
GEORGE
Adrian Rifat is a Cuban- American actor of Lebanese decent, who’s very excited to jump back onstage with this moving project! Most recent credits include a mainstay with Ragtag Theatre Company, and a guest actor for the School of Visual Arts. Other credits include HAIR(Arizona Broadway Theatre), Seussical and Marry Me A Little(The Gallery Players). LET’S PLAY! Adrianrifat.com
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
NIMROD DANISHMAN
PLAYWRIGHT
Nimrod Danishman is a theater director, playwright and teacher in Tel Aviv, Israel. After graduating with honors from the School of Performing Arts of Kibbutzim College, Nimrod wrote and directed the cabaret “Lema’an Ha’emet” (“To be honest”), co-directed the play “Yoter Mize Anachnu Lo” (“We’re no more than that”) by Gal Chapsky at Tzavta Theater together with Rom Reznik, and directed “Isha Le’Isha” (“From a woman to a woman”) by Roey Maliach Reshef at Playwrights Project. Nimrod is passionate about connecting people through Theatre. He teaches theater in high schools in Tel Aviv and Haifa and runs theatre workshops around the country. “Borders” (in heb. הגדר) is his first play, currently also performing at Tzavta theater in Tel Aviv.
MICHAEL R. PIAZZA
DIRECTOR
Michael R. Piazza is a director, actor and theater educator based in New York City. Directing: the East Coast premiere of Marja-Lewis Ryan’s award winning play One in the Chamber in Washington DC, Brunch in Babel at the New York Theater Festival, and Romeo and Juliet, The Lottery and The Fall of the City (also adaptor) for the Atlantic Acting School. Acting: Tales from the Rabbit Hole, The Book of Esther (Joust Theater Co.) Empire Travel Agency (Woodshed Collective), Romeo and Juliet (Northwest Passage), The Tenant (Woodshed Collective), The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs (Atlantic Theater), and The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Pipeline Theater Co.). Michael is a teaching artist with multiple organizations serving all five boroughs, was an adjunct professor at The College of Mount Saint Vincent, and was a faculty member for ten years at the Atlantic Acting School. Michael graduated with honors from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
RON ORLOVSKY
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR & STREAM TECHNICIAN
Ron Orlovsky is an Israeli actor, singer and director. Ron had the privilege to perform repertory theater and also numerous original works in NYC. Favorite original works: The Nose- The Musical, Tales of an Imaginary Bird, Memory of a Smile, etc. Favorite Repertory Theater: Three Sisters, Ragtime, Company, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Into the Woods and more. Ron aspires to bring light to the similarities we all have, and celebrate the differences, through looking deep into different cultures that are filling this colorful city.
JOANNE AU
PRODUCTION / STAGE MANAGER
Joanne Au is an international Dancer and Stage Manager. She toured with Yip’s Children’s Choir as a performer in South Africa and Brazil at the age of 11. She took part in the Guinness World Records: “The Largest Drum Ensemble” in 2007, at the Hong Kong Coliseum as a performer. She studied Drama and Environmental Studies at New York University. Afterwards, she continues her performing arts journey as a stage manager with various theatre companies such as Meta-Phys Ed., Bated Breath Theatre Company, and Dirty Laundry Theatre.
MAERA DANIEL HAGAGE
PRODUCER
Maera Daniel Hagage is a NYC-based actress, writer, artistic-director and a customer success manager. Texas-born and Israeli-raised, Maera lived in Germany and Egypt and travelled the world, before finding home in NYC. Her journey provided her with various opportunities to explore foreign views of Israel and other cultures, led her to pursue studies and career of storytelling with a great passion to bring people together through art.
About Dirty Laundry Theatre
We’ve started our journey in 2018, seeking to explore and embrace cultural differences, raise consciousness, encourage a broad discussion and challenge the status quo by bringing to life narratives which are not typically represented in popular culture, starting with Israel. We firmly believe that bringing forward the untold angles of the Israeli story can create empathetic connection to Israel, Israelis and the kaleidoscope that is the Jewish story.
We set Diversity, Accessibility and Fairness as our core values:
Diversity of our creative team as well as audience
Accessibility- Make our show accessible to all by both setting an affordable ticket pricing as well as making 10% of all tickets free to underprivileged communities
Fairness- Ensure all artists included in our productions are receiving a fair payment for their time and talent.
You can find more details about who we are at https://www.dirtylaundrytheatre.org/