News Archive.
July 2019 - The Escape Act World Premiere!
|
...And we're off!
On July 5th The Escape Act had its world premiere, playing to a full house at the TransFolk Kucku Festival in Loviisa, Finland. The performance was a great success, with both adults and children staying for a Q&A with the performer and the director and sharing their experiences. Local newspaper Nya Östis wrote: "Overall, The Escape Act - A Holocaust Memoir offered a rollercoaster of emotions where the audience felt everything from joy to wonder, worry and sorrow. The audience got to listen to song, admire trapeze art and laugh." |
|
May 2019 - we are officially supported by Arts Council England!
We were awarded another grant!
I am beyond grateful, proud and excited to announced that "The Escape Act" inception and subsequent UK Autumn tour has just been funded by Arts Council England + National Lottery fund! We are grateful for the support and look forward to bringing our show to the people of Finland and UK.
I am beyond grateful, proud and excited to announced that "The Escape Act" inception and subsequent UK Autumn tour has just been funded by Arts Council England + National Lottery fund! We are grateful for the support and look forward to bringing our show to the people of Finland and UK.
April 2019 - Another scene released, recapping two successful events
Another scene for your viewing pleasure!
This video is from a work-in-progress presentation at Circomedia, therefore video quality is not professional and the staging/choreography will probably change a lot between now and the show's July premiere... But nonetheless I wanted to share this labor of love with you.
This isn't just another scene from Irene's story, this is also the first public sharing of what I like to call "disturbances" - moments in the show where I, Stav, get "thrown out" of being in character because Irene's story sparks my own memories growing up 3rd generation to Holocaust survivors. It's super personal to share this, and I am nervous to be doing it regularly with this show. It's a completely different type of vulnerability.
This video is from a work-in-progress presentation at Circomedia, therefore video quality is not professional and the staging/choreography will probably change a lot between now and the show's July premiere... But nonetheless I wanted to share this labor of love with you.
This isn't just another scene from Irene's story, this is also the first public sharing of what I like to call "disturbances" - moments in the show where I, Stav, get "thrown out" of being in character because Irene's story sparks my own memories growing up 3rd generation to Holocaust survivors. It's super personal to share this, and I am nervous to be doing it regularly with this show. It's a completely different type of vulnerability.
Two successful presentations
In April I had the pleasure of presenting my talk on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean: At the Popular Culture Association National Culture in Washington DC, and for the New Stoke Newington Shul in London UK.
In DC I did a 15-minutes presentation on Circus Jews Under National Socialism, shared the experience of transforming these histories into a performance and showed the above video to the attendees.
In London I did an expanded program of 60 minutes which included a historical talk, audience conversations and multiple excerpts from the show. The Adolf puppet had its debut (see photo below), and my favorite part was when audience members joined me on stage to read a scene together!
In April I had the pleasure of presenting my talk on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean: At the Popular Culture Association National Culture in Washington DC, and for the New Stoke Newington Shul in London UK.
In DC I did a 15-minutes presentation on Circus Jews Under National Socialism, shared the experience of transforming these histories into a performance and showed the above video to the attendees.
In London I did an expanded program of 60 minutes which included a historical talk, audience conversations and multiple excerpts from the show. The Adolf puppet had its debut (see photo below), and my favorite part was when audience members joined me on stage to read a scene together!
Popular Culture Association National Conference, Washington DC
|
With Adolf at the London talk
|
March 2019 - Another grant, another scene...
|
We were awarded another grant!
I'm so happy to announce that The Escape Act was awarded a small grant from TelepART. I am grateful for the support and look forward to making the best of it. If you know of any relevant grants, fellowships or residencies we could apply for, or a venue that might want to book us, please contact me. |
|
Another scene coming soon!
We are staging another scene from the show, which will debut this month in Birmingham at CircusMASH's Spring Scratch Pad! Stay tuned, a video will come soon...
We are staging another scene from the show, which will debut this month in Birmingham at CircusMASH's Spring Scratch Pad! Stay tuned, a video will come soon...
January 2019 - two videos and and upcoming visit to US!
|
First off, our promo video has been released:
There it is: The Escape Act's promotional video! Now available in English, and soon in Hebrew. Enjoy and please share! |
|
|
Second, here is a first full length scene from the show:
Going through this journey and re-living one of Irene's most traumatic moments was a challenge, both physically and emotionally. I'll never know what it was like for her, but I tried to embody her as authentically and truthfully as I could. This is the true story of the birth of her son. |
|
Lastly, an upcoming visit to Washington DC, USA:
|
I am very proud and excited and to announce that I've been awarded a generous travel grant by the Popular Culture Association to present my research/performance on Circus Jews Under National Socialism at their 2019 National Conference in Washington DC!
This is my largest conference to date, with over a thousand presenters and thousands of attendees, talking about all different aspects of culture. I'll be presenting my hybrid talk/performance as part of the Circus and Sideshow Culture day and I'm so happy to be coming back to America to be among my colleagues and peers. The show is having its debut this summer, but the talk is available to book right now and is a great program for a diverse range of communities. Check it out! |
Excerpt from the show presented alongside the historical talk at the "Circus and Its Others" Conference in Prague, August 2018
|
December 2018 - a new scene and a new grant!
A powerful scene staged and performed successfully:
|
Earlier this month, I had the honor and privilege to present a new excerpt from my show to my mentors and colleagues at Circomedia. I workshopped one of the most difficult scenes in the play: the birth of Irene's first child.
I don't often get nervous when performing. I've been on professional stages since I was 8 years old, I'm usually quite used to it. But as I was standing on stage, my back to the audience about to start my act, I noticed my hands were shaking. Presenting at academic conferences aside, this is the first time I've shared a glimpse of my show beyond its text, the first time I've had people - and circus people at that! - view a slice of this work that has been shaping my life since 2013. It was terrifying. Truly and utterly terrifying. But I got on the trapeze and focused on my lines. Both the lines coming out of my mouth, and the lines my body was making. Extension, suspension, that is the drive. The extension of limbs and the suspension of the story. Captivate them. Connect with them. I told a story, and I told it in a truthful, engaging way. And that's really all I can wish for. |
The aerial embodiment of a cesarian section...
|
We were awarded another grant!
I'm so happy to announce that we were granted a small grant from the European Cultural Association. I've been applying to so many grants and fellowships recently that I've grown accustomed to rejections, and it's just so lovely and heartwarming to finally get a "yes"; not only because funding is essential to making this project happen, but also because it serves to show that this project isn't some pipe dream, a waste of time and space. It's a worthy cause and a worthy endeavor, more than a personal project, something others are also getting excited about.
I am grateful for the support and look forward to making the best of it.
If you know of any relevant grants, fellowships or residencies we could apply for, or a venue that might want to book us, please contact me.
I am grateful for the support and look forward to making the best of it.
If you know of any relevant grants, fellowships or residencies we could apply for, or a venue that might want to book us, please contact me.
November 2018 - Galleries added
This website now has two media sections: one of this project (with photos and videos from our staged reading and the conferences we've presented in), and the other of the real people behind the project - The Lorch Family.
The historical photos have been painstakingly collected from various sources including books, museums, archives and private collections, and are organized chronologically. We're very proud to have gathered all these delightful photos in one page and to be able to share it with the world. Enjoy!
The historical photos have been painstakingly collected from various sources including books, museums, archives and private collections, and are organized chronologically. We're very proud to have gathered all these delightful photos in one page and to be able to share it with the world. Enjoy!
"Greetings from Circus Lorch, 6 Lorch siblings": Julius Lorch (left) and his siblings in a promotional postcard for their Risley act, 1901
October 2018 - An Interview with Jano Bento
In May this year I had the honor and the privilege to interview Jano Bento, oldest living child of Irene and Peter Bento, about his childhood memories and growing up at a Jewish / circus home.
With the support of my patrons I was able to record, edit, subtitle and annotate the interview, and it is available both in video and audio.
Click the photo below of Jano and his grandfather to be taken to the interview, and please consider becoming a patron to help make this research and this work possible.
With the support of my patrons I was able to record, edit, subtitle and annotate the interview, and it is available both in video and audio.
Click the photo below of Jano and his grandfather to be taken to the interview, and please consider becoming a patron to help make this research and this work possible.
Jano and his paternal grandfather at the Althoff Circus, 1946
September 2018 - Developments
Presenting at the academic conference "Circus and Its Others II" in Prague was a success!
|
On August 27th Stav had the honor to present a hybrid talk/performance titled "Forgotten Legacies for Present Day Audiences: Circus Jews under National Socialism" at the "Circus and Its Others II" academic conference in Prague. This 3-day conference, organized and hosted by Cirqueon, brought over a hundred circus practitioners, researchers, directors and enthusiasts. Stav was part of the Histories Panel, discussing her research and performing a short scene from The Escape Act, followed by a Q&A.
Thanks to the amazing support of our patrons, video footage of the scene and Q&A is available for public view. Please watch it, share it, comment - your engagement matters and is appreciated! |
|
July 2018 - Developments
Launch of Patreon Page:
*We have officially launched a Patreon page, where our supporters can experience monthly content about the show, its development and the research behind it! Please consider supporting us, you will only be charged whenever we release a creation; and you choose how much - or how little - to pay for it! Every contribution helps, truly.
All New Circus Jews Blog:
*To complement Stav's research on Circus Jews in Nazi Germany, as well as to expand on her interest in the intersections of Judaism and Circus, Stav started a blog titled Circus Jews. The blog will alternate between presenting the lives of deceased circus Jews as an act of commemoration, and interviewing present-day circus Jews to celebrate what they are doing in circus nowadays.
Please check it out! |
Guested on the Hideaway Circus Podcast:*Stav was honored to be a guest on Hideaway Circus, a monthly podcast by Josh and Lysdsay Aviner who interview circus professional from all over the world. Stav got to talk about her historical research and the process of turning it into a show, as well as her views on circus writing and performance.
Check out the episode! 
|
Research Trip to Morocco, to interview 94 years old Mohammed Sahraoui
Stav had the pleasure and the honor of interviewing Mohammed Sahraoui at his home in Tangier, Morocco. Mohamed was an acrobat in his youth, performing with his family as a troupe, and they worked at the Althoff Circus during World War 2 and post liberation, from 1941 through 1950.
Mohamed was close friends with the show's main research subjects, Irene and Peter Bento and Adolf Althoff; in fact, the three men were so inseparable they were affectionately nicknamed "The Three Musketeers". Mohamed, or "Momo" as he was called by his friends, helped protect Irene and her family and would run to them every time the Nazis would show up at the circus, tipping them to go hide.
Stav interviewed Mohamed about his time at the Althoff Circus and his memories of the Bento and Lorch families during wartime. This interview will be edited and released to Patreons later this August, please consider pledging to hear his amazing stories and support the research and documentation of this history, and its development into a show.
Mohamed was close friends with the show's main research subjects, Irene and Peter Bento and Adolf Althoff; in fact, the three men were so inseparable they were affectionately nicknamed "The Three Musketeers". Mohamed, or "Momo" as he was called by his friends, helped protect Irene and her family and would run to them every time the Nazis would show up at the circus, tipping them to go hide.
Stav interviewed Mohamed about his time at the Althoff Circus and his memories of the Bento and Lorch families during wartime. This interview will be edited and released to Patreons later this August, please consider pledging to hear his amazing stories and support the research and documentation of this history, and its development into a show.
Mohamed and Stav, holding a framed, signed photo of The Bentos: R to L are Irene, her husband Peter, Peter's dad, and his dad's wife
May 2018 - Developments
Research Trip to Germany:
Stav completed a trip to Pfungstadt, Germany, where she conducted further research into the history of the Lorch Family and the Jewish community in the area. The trip included:
|
*Meeting Jano, Mary and Astrid (3 out of the 4 living children of Irene and Peter Bento) to interview them about their family history and their post-war memories. The interviews have been recorded and videotaped and will be used to further the research, and potentially make their way into the show.
L to R: Mary, Stav and Astrid
*Visiting the Eschollbrucken Cemetery to pay respect to the people whose lives have inspired this show: Hans and Alice Danner, their daughter Irene and her husband Peter Storm share a grave with a small Star of David in an otherwise Christian cemetery. Stav said the Kaddish (Jewish mourners' prayer) over the grave in memory of the family.
*Visiting the Permanent Exhibit dedicated to the Lorchs in the Pfungstadt Museum. The exhibition displays artifacts spanning decades of the Lorch family circus history, with items ranging from photos of the Lorch Icarian Act performing with the Ringling Bros. Circus in Madison Square Garden 1909, Irene's original violin and Peter's makeup box from the 1940s, and the ladder their kids' used in their family act in the 1960s.
Jano Bento-Storm overlooking the exhibition dedicated to his family. The King Kong mask was from his grandfather's most amusing act, and note the puzzle depicting the Lorchs' Ringling engagement
Young Irene and her violin
|
*Meeting Renate Dreesen, a researcher of the Pfungstad Jewish Community, to hear of her research and receive a copy of her book, in which she documented an exchange of letters between siblings Julius and Jeanette Lorch who were hiding in Belgium, and their sibling Arthur and Rudolph who stayed in Germany.
*Visiting the State Archive and The Pfungstadt Synagogue to collect information about the Jewish community pre-WWII and the Lorch Family history in the town.
Examining the original letters between Julius and Rudi
*Visiting the Jewish Cemetery in Darmstadt, where most of Pfungstadt's Jewish population pre-WWII are buried, and paying a visit to the family patriarch Louis Lorch, original founder of the Lorch Icarian Act, and his daughter Jeanette. Louis died in 1924 while on tour in Argentina and his ashes were smuggled back to Germany in a circus wagon wheel!
*Visiting the Bento-Storms in their family compound, which has been the family's property for over 100 years. Outside the home are stumbling stones dedicated to members of the family who perished in the Holocaust.
In Memory of siblings Eugen, Rudolph, Arthur and Julius Lorch, and his wife Sessie
|
The Escape Act received its very first GRANT!
*We are grateful, honored and rejoiced to announced that The Escape Act has been awarded a grant from The Puffin Foundation to support its production. In their grant letter to Stav, the foundation wrote: "Our board was truly impressed with the nature of your proposal and the commitment you have made to fulfill the objectives outlined in your request".
If you know of any relevant grants or residencies we could apply for, please Contact Stav.
If you know of any relevant grants or residencies we could apply for, please Contact Stav.
Our first academic presentation was a success!
|
*Stav presented her research in a hybrid lecture/performance titled "Forgotten Legacies for Present Day Audiences: Circus Jews Under National Socialism" at the University of Sheffield conference Circus and Beyond on May 11th.
The lecture/performance will also be presented this August at the Circus and Its Others conference in Prague as part of the Letni Letna Festival and is available for bookings in London (June), NYC (July and September) and Scotland (August). |
|
|
If you want to hear the full lecture (15 minutes) please support us on our Pateron in whatever level is possible for you.
For further read, check out Stav's article on the website of Diverging Fates, an academic project on Traveling Circus People in Europe under National Socialism, as well as her new blog titled Circus Jews. Reminder: The Escape Act will spend Summer 2019 rehearsing in Finland at the Loviisa Artist Residency, then have its world premiere at the Kucku Festival under the theme TransFolk. We are currently looking for residencies in NYC, London and Israel for the 2019-2020 season. |
|
December 2017 - Gestation of The Escape Act
Stav's new play, The Escape Act (formerly Run Away, Join the Circus) is under production and will be have its debut in 2019. Read about Stav's research work on the website of Diverging Fates, an academic project on Traveling Circus People in Europe under National Socialism.
This is the true story of Irene Danner-Storm, a young Jewish acrobat who survived the Holocaust hiding and working at the German Althoff Circus. Irene and her family were embraced by Adolf Althoff and his wife, Maria, and passed the war years performing publicly at their circus, running to hide whenever the Nazis came for inspections.
The tale of Irene and her rescuers is one full of hope, love and courage. Irene lit up the stage every night doing what she loves most, defying the dangers of frequent inspections and visits from Nazi officers. The Althoffs and their circus troupe stood by Irene and her family through hardships and threats, knowing in their hearts it was the right thing to do - because "circus sticks together". In one of history's darkest hours, the story of Irene and the Althoffs shines as a beacon of pure courage and humanity in the face of the cowardice and hatred of fascism.
A one-woman theater show complete with circus arts and puppets, the show will be offered in conjunction with an exhibition and a workshop: before the show, the audience will enter the venue through an exhibition of the people whose lives the show was based on, photographs that will bring to life the time and place and those who inhabited it. The workshop, following the show, will offer audience members a chance to learn basic circus skills - juggling, acrobalance and more - from the show's creator and performer.
The show will be in residency at the Loviisa Festival in Finland in Summer 2019 under the theme TransFolk, and we are currently looking for residencies in NYC, London and Israel for the 2018-2020.
If you know of available residencies or grants, please Contact Stav.
Stav's new play, The Escape Act (formerly Run Away, Join the Circus) is under production and will be have its debut in 2019. Read about Stav's research work on the website of Diverging Fates, an academic project on Traveling Circus People in Europe under National Socialism.
This is the true story of Irene Danner-Storm, a young Jewish acrobat who survived the Holocaust hiding and working at the German Althoff Circus. Irene and her family were embraced by Adolf Althoff and his wife, Maria, and passed the war years performing publicly at their circus, running to hide whenever the Nazis came for inspections.
The tale of Irene and her rescuers is one full of hope, love and courage. Irene lit up the stage every night doing what she loves most, defying the dangers of frequent inspections and visits from Nazi officers. The Althoffs and their circus troupe stood by Irene and her family through hardships and threats, knowing in their hearts it was the right thing to do - because "circus sticks together". In one of history's darkest hours, the story of Irene and the Althoffs shines as a beacon of pure courage and humanity in the face of the cowardice and hatred of fascism.
A one-woman theater show complete with circus arts and puppets, the show will be offered in conjunction with an exhibition and a workshop: before the show, the audience will enter the venue through an exhibition of the people whose lives the show was based on, photographs that will bring to life the time and place and those who inhabited it. The workshop, following the show, will offer audience members a chance to learn basic circus skills - juggling, acrobalance and more - from the show's creator and performer.
The show will be in residency at the Loviisa Festival in Finland in Summer 2019 under the theme TransFolk, and we are currently looking for residencies in NYC, London and Israel for the 2018-2020.
If you know of available residencies or grants, please Contact Stav.
|
From the staged reading held at the 14th Street Y in New York, April 2017. Above: Irene interrogated by a Nazi officer as she struggles to keep juggling. On the left: Peter woos Irene with a sleight of hand flower bouquet.
|
April 2017 - Upcoming staged reading of Run Away, Join the Circus
Stav's new play, Run Away, Join the Circus, is debuting at the 14th Street Y - please join us for a staged reading!
Petite Mort Productions and Dreamcoat Experience Present
A Staged Reading of
RUN AWAY, JOIN THE CIRCUS
A Holocaust Memoir
Written by: Stav Meishar, Directed by: Lior Zalmanson
Sunday, April 23rd, 2017 - 5:00pm
at The 14th Street Y, 344 E 14th St, NY
Between 1st and 2nd Avenues
Seats can be reserved on the event page.
Please consider donating to our kickstarter.
Presented as part of Holocaust Memorial Day at 14th Street Y
Reading is 60 min long and will start ON TIME. Come early!
A Staged Reading of
RUN AWAY, JOIN THE CIRCUS
A Holocaust Memoir
Written by: Stav Meishar, Directed by: Lior Zalmanson
Sunday, April 23rd, 2017 - 5:00pm
at The 14th Street Y, 344 E 14th St, NY
Between 1st and 2nd Avenues
Seats can be reserved on the event page.
Please consider donating to our kickstarter.
Presented as part of Holocaust Memorial Day at 14th Street Y
Reading is 60 min long and will start ON TIME. Come early!
