{"id":22535,"date":"2024-10-25T22:32:13","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T19:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dramaisrael.org\/?post_type=play&p=22535"},"modified":"2024-12-04T14:54:21","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T12:54:21","slug":"untitled-194418","status":"publish","type":"play","link":"https:\/\/dramaisrael.org\/en\/play\/untitled-194418\/","title":{"rendered":"Untitled #194418"},"content":{"rendered":"

Untitled (194418)<\/strong> is the potential of a life that could have been and the implications it could have had. Untitled (194418)<\/strong> are the fantasies of Nelly\u2014a girl, barely 18, who created and sculpted with bread and elements she could find during WWII in the camps and beyond, and pioneered a new art movement called “Nellism”. Nelly symbolizes multiple life stories that could have influenced and changed reality.<\/p>\n

The play was written following an in-depth investigation of several female artists who created art during World War II. Some of them continued their art after the war, while some did not survive, but what they all had in common was that art gave them and those around them strength, meaning, and hope. In a chaotic, unpredictable world full of evil (just like we all find ourselves today), our creations and thoughts have a great influence on our ability to survive. We chose to deal with the memory of the Holocaust and heroism through a play full of life, humor, and the perspective of “what if.”<\/p>\n

The play opens, when Nelly, a 96 years old feminist artist full of life and humor, is called to the stage to receive her Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts. Nelly is sitting in the audience with the spectators and is led by an usher.<\/p>\n

We are, as the audience, suddenly thrown into the midst of her life, in a non-chronological way, following pieces of her passions, loves, disappointments and artistic creations. The transitions between times are marked by walls and elements that move, symbolizing on the one hand, the ghetto walls, and on the other hand, her unique artistic creations. The elements gradually fill the stage, and we slowly discover her final artwork (see pictures are attached at the bottom of the play). The play ends with the 18-year-old Nelly being led to the stage by a woman\u2014the same actress who played the usher at the beginning. At this point, we suddenly realize, that Nelly is, actually, being led to her death by a Nazi, and that all her life which we just saw did not happen. The play are her final thoughts as she walks to her own death.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a scene just before the end, when Nelly and her lover Peter reunite, she chooses to move to a kibbutz in the Gaza Strip area. Unlike the characters, we as the audience already know the future and that \u201chistory repeats itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Inspired by true events and characters that she could have encountered throughout her life, the scenes are constantly invaded by the reality that she is trying to escape. Throughout the performance, and unrelated to the actual scene, multiple \u201cinterventions\u201d of sounds, decor and lighting effects break into moments of Nelly\u2019s \u201clife\u201d as if \u201ccalling\u201d her back to reality.<\/p>\n

The play demonstrates the power of creation in preserving identity, motivating, instilling hope, surviving, and continuing to be and live. The physical boundaries of the ghetto and subhuman conditions provide meaning, inspiration, groundbreaking creativity, and boundless expression.<\/p>\n

The play ends with six empty seats lit in the middle of the crowd, including the one where the elder Nelly was seated.<\/p>\n

The play will premiere on May 8, 2025 at the Dortmundt Theather. The project has received the support of the Goethe Institue, the office of North Rhine Westphalia as well as Rabinovitch foundation (in Israel)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Untitled (194418)<\/strong> is the potential of a life that could have been. Nelly\u2019s dream, which she constructs in her mind as she walks to her death, is inspired by true stories and characters that she might have encountered throughout her life. Her dream keeps being invaded by the reality that she is trying to escape. Hence, throughout the performance, and unrelated to the actual scene, multiple \u201cinterventions\u201d of sounds, decor and lighting effects break into moments of Nelly\u2019s \u201clife\u201d as if \u201ccalling\u201d her back to reality.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sound<\/strong> – burst of diverse sounds such dog barking, steps, digging, knocking…ect\u2026 intervene surprisingly and unrelated to the actual scene. The sounds, from her present life in Terezin, invade Nelly\u2019s dream.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lighting<\/strong> – flashbacks of life in the camp are marked by a change in lighting design.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Set<\/strong> – Nelly’s artwork emerges on stage as she assembles together pieces of bread, wood, stone, walls, and more… Her artwork and life take form before our eyes.<\/p>\n

* Nelly writes letters to her beloved Peter, using charcoal on the walls. This also enables her to record time and leave an additional mark of her existence.<\/p>\n

* Nelly’s transformation during the different periods of her life, is openly exposed to the audience\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n

*Casting – some of the characters are played by the same actors purposely. All the characters Nelly meets in her dream are people she met in the ghetto and camps, and who stand as witnesses to her death at the end of the play.<\/p>\n

The woman with cloth<\/strong> – She is Nelly in the present life in Terezin. She is her alter ego and holds a piece of cloth that connects to the remains of identity she still has. Only Nelly is aware of her presence. As she walks to her death, Nelly holds the piece in her hand, linking the two characters to one another.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Untitled (194418) is the potential of a life that could have been and the implications it could have had. Untitled (194418) are the fantasies of Nelly\u2014a girl, barely 18, who created and sculpted with bread and elements she could find during WWII in the camps and beyond, and pioneered a new art movement called “Nellism”…. Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dramaisrael.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/play\/22535"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dramaisrael.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/play"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dramaisrael.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/play"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dramaisrael.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22535"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/dramaisrael.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/play\/22535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23095,"href":"https:\/\/dramaisrael.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/play\/22535\/revisions\/23095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dramaisrael.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dramaisrael.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}