Holocaust Theater Production (HTP) features annual Remembrance Day Play Readings (RR) and performances of Holocaust plays, scenes, monologues and verbatim testimony selected by participants from the Holocaust Theater Catalog. They are held in honor of International Holocaust Memorial Day, January 27th, Yom HaShoah ( Holocaust Remembrance Day, dates vary) and Kristallnacht November 9th &10th . Remembrance Readings do not require lengthy rehearsals, expensive production values and have involved theaters, artists, libraries, Holocaust educators, schools, universities, places of worship, JCCs, memorial museums and general public. They can be done in modest or elaborate settings by diverse participants of all ages. Remembrance Readings have been done by very experienced actors to those with limited or no formal theater training.
Select examples of Remembrance Readings (RR) from inception to now include:
2017: NJTF HTII honored Elie Wiesel (playwright) and wife Miriam (translator) of his plays with Lifetime Achievement award and Remembrance Readings of his plays across the U.S.A., including at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts in New York. Other 2017 highlights included acclaimed actor Ed Asner doing Remembrance Readings of the NJTF/HTII critically acclaimed off Broadway Holocaust play/film, The Soap Myth by Jeff Cohen, directed by Arnold Mittelman.
2018: HTP worked with the United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and Holocaust Education Trust to create ongoing Remembrance Readings in London.
2019: Continued growth of RR to fifteen states in the U.S., including New York (held at Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts) and at La Jolla JCC (honoring 3 major San Diego based founding Remembrance Readings theaters).
2020: Readings grew abroad, to include Cape Town in South Africa. Prior to the pandemic in the U.S., NJTF HTII 2020 commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27th, with a live Remembrance Day play reading of A Shayna Maydel by Barbara Lebow at The Jewish Museum of NYC. Unfortunately, COVID-19 crisis curtailed live RR plans for balance of 2020/21.
2021: NJTF HTII, Georgetown University and NYPL Lincoln Center presented a virtual RR program hosted by HTII Director Arnold Mittelman on 1/27/2021 (International Holocaust Memorial Day), celebrating play and film on life and work of Jan Karski as portrayed by Oscar nominee, actor David Strathairn.
2022: 1/27/2022 (International Holocaust Memorial Day), NJTF HTII and NYPL Lincoln Center created a virtual program about creating Holocaust theater with actress Tovah Feldshuh and producer Lynne Meadows, led by Mr. Mittelman.
2023 plan return of 2024 live Remembrance Readings with collaborations between members of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), Alliance for Jewish Theater (AJT), Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), American Alliance for Theater and Education (AATE), Jewish Community Centers of North America (JCCA), UK Holocaust Education Trust (HET), Holocaust educators of France, Austria, Israel and international Association for Holocaust Organizations (AHO).
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“We are living in times when studies indicate that memory and knowledge of the Holocaust is lessening. Researching, educating and performing Holocaust-related theater can create an artistic moral compass for future generations”.
- Arnold Mittelman, NJTF President and Director of NJTF Holocaust Theater International Initiative at University of Miami Miller Center