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In conversation with ‘heroine’ Elaine Rembrandt
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BY: VIOLET SPEVACK CJN Columnist
I spoke with Elaine Rembrandt, actress, teacher, freelance career writer, and former cultural arts director of the Jewish Community Center of Cleveland about her onenwoman plays, including her newest, “Unlikely Heroes: The True Story of Three Jewish Women Spies.”
V.S. How did you get into performing onenwoman plays?
E.R. One of the reasons I wrote my first onenwoman show, “Courage and Commitment,” about four outstanding Jewish women n Deborah the Judge, Donna Gracia Mendes, Emma Lazarus and Golda Meir n was because at that time (22 years ago), I was getting calls from organizations around town about my strong portrayal of Golda Meir in a play at the JCC’s Halle Theatre.
V.S. So, you swung into creative action?
E.R. If you want to call it that. I certainly realized the need for more substantive programming for Jewish organizations. Programs that would celebrate women’s lives, their roles in love and friendship, their heroic places in history.
V.S. Where did you find these women?
E.R. I’m a consummate reader. I immersed myself in Jewish history. I’m astounded at the amazing stories about Jewish women whom most of us have never heard of, several of whom made their way into “Courage and Commitment.” I appeared coastntoncoast with that first onenwoman show and received rave reviews.
V.S. So, you were on your way. What followed?
E.R. I fell in love with a script I found in a corner of my desk at the JCC. It was “Chaya’s Love Song,” a love letter for all who daydream of the past. I called the playwright, Dr. Marvin Chernoff, a professor at California State University at Northridge, and asked him if he would rewrite it as a onenwoman show. He turned me down. I was devastated.
V.S. What happened next?
E.R. I was so in love with that script that I spent the next four years rewriting it for myself (taking all the parts) and then sent it to Chernoff. He was so impressed with my approach that he actually rewrote it just for me, and I performed this onenwoman show across the country.
V.S. And after that?
E.R. I really didn’t know. I needed an inspiration. I found it during one of my trips to Israel with my husband (Rabbi Daniel Roberts). In the village of Zichron Yaakov, I heard about the incredible Sarah Aaronson, the only woman of the legendary Nili group who dared to spy on the Turks for the British government during World War I. My heart was beating fast. All I had to do was find at least two more Jewish female spies. Then I would become them, heart and soul, and tell their stories.
V.S. How long did it take to find two more extraordinary, courageous female spies?
E.R. It took years. I finally interviewed Shulamit Cohen Kishik in Jerusalem five years ago after reading her book Shula and had a fascinating encounter with another Jewish female spy, Marthe Cohn, who lives in California.
V.S. I’d like to hear about them.
E.R. You can. At a gala event at Temple Emanu El on Aug. 11.
“Unlikely Heroes” by Elaine Rembrandt at Temple Emanu El on Aug. 11. Winenandncheese reception at 6, performance at 6:30, and dinner with actress at 7:30. 216n381n6600.
There is a fee.
V.S. How did you get into performing onenwoman plays?
E.R. One of the reasons I wrote my first onenwoman show, “Courage and Commitment,” about four outstanding Jewish women n Deborah the Judge, Donna Gracia Mendes, Emma Lazarus and Golda Meir n was because at that time (22 years ago), I was getting calls from organizations around town about my strong portrayal of Golda Meir in a play at the JCC’s Halle Theatre.
V.S. So, you swung into creative action?
E.R. If you want to call it that. I certainly realized the need for more substantive programming for Jewish organizations. Programs that would celebrate women’s lives, their roles in love and friendship, their heroic places in history.
V.S. Where did you find these women?
E.R. I’m a consummate reader. I immersed myself in Jewish history. I’m astounded at the amazing stories about Jewish women whom most of us have never heard of, several of whom made their way into “Courage and Commitment.” I appeared coastntoncoast with that first onenwoman show and received rave reviews.
V.S. So, you were on your way. What followed?
E.R. I fell in love with a script I found in a corner of my desk at the JCC. It was “Chaya’s Love Song,” a love letter for all who daydream of the past. I called the playwright, Dr. Marvin Chernoff, a professor at California State University at Northridge, and asked him if he would rewrite it as a onenwoman show. He turned me down. I was devastated.
V.S. What happened next?
E.R. I was so in love with that script that I spent the next four years rewriting it for myself (taking all the parts) and then sent it to Chernoff. He was so impressed with my approach that he actually rewrote it just for me, and I performed this onenwoman show across the country.
V.S. And after that?
E.R. I really didn’t know. I needed an inspiration. I found it during one of my trips to Israel with my husband (Rabbi Daniel Roberts). In the village of Zichron Yaakov, I heard about the incredible Sarah Aaronson, the only woman of the legendary Nili group who dared to spy on the Turks for the British government during World War I. My heart was beating fast. All I had to do was find at least two more Jewish female spies. Then I would become them, heart and soul, and tell their stories.
V.S. How long did it take to find two more extraordinary, courageous female spies?
E.R. It took years. I finally interviewed Shulamit Cohen Kishik in Jerusalem five years ago after reading her book Shula and had a fascinating encounter with another Jewish female spy, Marthe Cohn, who lives in California.
V.S. I’d like to hear about them.
E.R. You can. At a gala event at Temple Emanu El on Aug. 11.
“Unlikely Heroes” by Elaine Rembrandt at Temple Emanu El on Aug. 11. Winenandncheese reception at 6, performance at 6:30, and dinner with actress at 7:30. 216n381n6600.
There is a fee.
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