Enacting History: Learning about the Holocaust through Theatrical Activities

Workshop Presentation
Janet E. Rubin  

By using plays to learn about the Holocaust, participants have an opportunity to view history coming alive. Theatre is an important tool in Holocaust education because it changes that dark event from something that occurred many years in the past to one with immediacy and relevance. In this workshop, participants not only present scenes from the play, The Survivor, they engage in activities which can be used to deepen connections to the characters and give depth of understanding to theatre practice as well as Holocaust education. Workshop participants will engage in a theatre game during which they apply differing character motivations to tossing objects of varying shapes and weights. Using improvisation, in another exercise they will create a scene requiring persuasive skills and then apply these skills to a scene from the script. A role-playing activity casts participants as reporters and ghetto occupants on a tour of the Warsaw Ghetto. Another undertaking, based upon analysis of given circumstances, involves participants in writing and performing a short monologue honoring the protagonist in The Survivor. By coupling these activities with scripted scenes, attendees enter the world of the play, fostering connections to characters’ motivations and deepening their own understanding and empathy.