The journey from Israel to Boulder, kibbutz to family garden, secular to spiritual Jew has been more of a process than a direct route for playwright Ami Dayan.?
“I was brought up on a secular kibbutz in Israel and went to the military,” he says about his origins. “From there, I found my way to a beautiful place next to Tel Aviv and was inspired to go on a trip to South America.”
Still, after the army, with no real career goal in mind, Dayan says he floundered a bit and became easily bored. That boredom motivated him to sign up for a weekly evening theater class. “I was hooked right away.”
Speaking from his backyard, Dayan recounts his migration from a cotton kibbutz in Israel to his lush vegetable garden in Boulder via Europe and New York.
“I delved into the world of theater and studied it for four years in Tel Aviv, New York, Paris, London,” he recalls.
From acting, Dayan moved easily into translating and adapting works for the stage. His accomplishments in that regard earned him a grant from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation, which allowed him to choose where he wanted to live. By then, Dayan was married and the choice was not his alone.
“I wanted to live in India; my wife wanted New York,” he recalls. Though not exactly mid-way geographically, Boulder satisfied some of their requirements.
“We got to Boulder through yoga, really. My wife found Richard Freeman’s yoga Web site a week before [we had to choose where to live] and she said, ‘I know where we’re going to go.’”
TEN years, a son, a dog, and a house later, Dayan considers Boulder home. “In terms of the mountains, the people, Boulder is very nourishing in an artistic sense,” he says, “not because I see a scene on Pearl Street and put it into a play, but it allows me mind space.”
His latest creation is an adaptation of an Israeli play by Oren Neeman, which is based on the novel, Confession, by Yonatan Ben-Nachum. Dayan’s version entitled, “Conviction,” was commissioned by the Denver Center Theater Co.
“Most of my productions are selected by what I want to do,” says Dayan. “Sometimes, I’m lucky to get support for them. In this case, I was very lucky.”
“Conviction” is the story of an Israeli scholar who is detained and questioned by a Spanish official in Madrid for stealing a confidential Inquisition file. That file uncovers the story of a “priest who was sent on a witch hunt, saved the Jews that were persecuted only to fall in love with them and then reconnect to his Jewish roots,” explains Dayan.
The playwright says he chose this piece for its artistic integrity and its universal messages of oppression and oppressed love. But in the process of working on this play, Dayan says it brought home the issue of Jewish identity.
“I was brought up on a secular kibbutz in Israel so Jewish identity was not an issue. But in the States, [Jewish identity] is a very different entity compared to secular Israeli life. They are very different worlds altogether.”
The play, says Dayan, deals with issues that parallel his life: someone who was not aware of his Jewish history and connection and finds it through the heart and spirit.
“The act of working on the play,” says Dayan, “was the obvious connection that couldn’t be denied. So that theme obviously became core to my involvement in this piece.”
Dayan says he hopes the audience will not only be aware of the Jewish message in his play, but also will connect the themes from “Conviction” to present day and see how similar issues of love and taboo relationships have not changed in our global cultures. Because the themes are emotionally and politically charged, scholars and spiritual leaders from the community will lead group discussions following the shows.
“Conviction” premiers at the Curious Theater Company, 1080 Acoma St., Denver. It runs June 27-July 12th, on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Information: convictiononstage.com