MESSAGE FROM THE ARTISTIC MANAGING DIRECTOR

The world comes to you at Chutzpah!

This year we continue our tradition of presenting a multi-cultural profusion of extraordinary national and international music, theatre and dance performance. We would not be in our 12th year without our funders, sponsors, donors, volunteers, partners and our hub, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. Thanks to you all. And to those who support the festival by attending our shows – a special thanks. We have another great lineup this year!

Our invited artists explore numerous themes and travel across disciplines, continents and borders. By providing a place of freedom to explore, grow and share, Chutzpah! fosters experimentation, artistic collaboration and the development of new work for national and international audiences – essential to the continued health of our own vibrant local arts scene. We strive to present the best of all worlds, showcasing Canadian and international artists together. In the end, both audiences and artists are the greatest benefactors.

Two of this year’s theatrical offerings are magical stage adaptations of remarkable novels that share a Polish-Jewish connection: A Blessing on the Moon recounts the unsettling after-life journey of a Polish-Jewish man; and King Matt the First recounts a fantastic tale of a Polish child-king trying to make sense of the destructive adult world around him, written by a beloved author, doctor and war hero.

If you are still reeling from last year’s amazing soldout concerts (or regret not getting tickets in time) take heart! Chutzpah! 2012 showcases music that ranges from cantorial-world fusion to cutting edge beats. At performances by Canadian and international musicians in the Commodore Ballroom, Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre, and Main Street’s hippest new venue, Electric Owl, you’ll experience electrifying sounds and rhythms from the Middle East, Africa, Europe and beyond.

And last, but certainly not least, the spirit, sweat and pure passion that dance artists coming to Chutzpah! this year put into every move is obvious even in the photos in this brochure. But the only way to fully experience the true power of this most ephemeral of performance art forms is to experience them live. Dance leaves no artifact but your emotions. I encourage you to come and be part of something great at this year’s festival.

We look forward to sharing these incredible artists from around the world with you at Chutzpah! 2012.

Mary-Louise Albert

WELCOME!

As President of the Vancouver West Side Theatre Society and Executive Board Member of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, I welcome you to the 2012 Chutzpah! Festival. We are so proud to present such an elite and exciting line-up of daring local, national and international performing artists.

Please join me in congratulating our ever-inspiring Artistic Managing Director Mary-Louise Albert, her talented staff, our generous supporters and dedicated volunteers. The performing arts are vital to expressing and developing our lives, and these individuals’ commitment to the Festival is a benefit to us all.

Chutzpah! is a platform to both confirm and challenge our notions of contemporary music, dance and theatre. These forms of expression play an important role in our communities, promoting communication, understanding and opportunity.

Chutzpah! is a festival for everyone, so enjoy the shows.

Esther Chetner: President VWSTS and Executive Board Member of the JCCGV

REMEMBERING LISA NEMETZ
March 31, 1955 – May 17, 1997

Lisa Nemetz was a dancer, a lawyer, a lover of the arts and a tireless advocate for the treatment of women with breast cancer. She was also active in promoting the arts as a member of the Community Arts Council. Lisa was a devoted wife to her husband David Levi, mother to children Yoni and Miri and shared her love with her sister Laurie, extended family and many close friends. Chutzpah! The Lisa Nemetz International Showcase of Jewish Performing Arts is named in her memory to celebrate her love of and dedication to the performing arts.

CHUTZPAH! STAFF

Mary-Louise Albert: Artistic & Managing Director
Mimi Abrahams: Production Manager/Technical Director
Jodi Smith [JLS Entertainment]: Publicity/Communications Director
Gwen Kallio [Sisu Productions]: Marketing Director
Molly Winston: Assistant to the Artistic Managing Director, Outreach & Marketing Assistant
Robert Johnson & Terry Loo: Front of House Managers
Stephen Bulet & Xavier Berbudeau: Sound Techicians
Kougar Basi & Fred Thompson: Lighting Technicians
Day Helesic: Stage Management
Anthony Walmsley: Box Office Manager
Teresa Weir: Box Office Assistant
John Endo Greenaway [Big Wave Design]: Brochure & Poster Graphic Design
Corporate Graphics: Ad Design
Wasserman & Partners: Festival Poster Design
Deanna Peters: Web Support and Ad Sales
Chris Randle: Videographer & Photographer
James Gaffney: Web Design & Webmaster
Ronville Swartz of Ronalistic Media: Promotional DVD

CHUTZPAH! 2012 COMMITTEE

Sima Godfrey: Chair
Marty Braverman
Sandy Chernoff
Kathie Folk
Claudia Bolotin Givon
Harriett Wolfe

VANCOUVER WEST SIDE THEATRE SOCIETY

Board of Directors
Esther Chetner: President
Lloyd Baron
Sol Casseres
Alex Cristall
Arnon Dachner
Barry Glotman
Michelle Pollock
Melanie Samuels
Brett Sandler
Zev Shafran
Nancy Stern
Alvin Wasserman
Executive Director JCCGV:
Rick Nelson

What is Chutzpah!?

(pronounced: ho’ots-pä) Chutzpah! is the quality of impudence. The word derives from a Hebrew word meaning “impertinence.” The modern English usage of the word has taken on a wider, positive meaning to express admiration for non-conformist but gutsy audacity.

The Chutzpah! Festival is a dynamic multi-disciplinary performing arts festival featuring both established and emerging professional artists from across Canada and around the world.

In 2011 Chutzpah! celebrated its 11th Anniversary and is very proud in that time to have significantly grown audience numbers, calibre of programming, as well as local and international profile on the festival calendar.

Chutzpah! nurtures interaction and dialogue amongst different artistic disciplines and between artists, both nationally and internationally. It also brings together diverse groups and different generations within the Lower Mainland in a shared and accessible celebration of the performing arts.

Chutzpah!’s main home is the state-of-the-art 318-seat Norman Rothstein Theatre and the JCCGV a busy gathering place that draws thousands of people from the Jewish community and well beyond. In 2012 Chutzpah! continues to expand programming into other venues – River Rock Show Theatre, Commodore Ballroom, Electric Owl and Firehall Arts Centre – to attract new and diverse audiences. Mary-Louise Albert has been the Artistic Managing Director of Chutzpah! and the Norman Rothstein Theatre for the past seven years.

“It’s not much of a stretch to think of the evolution of the word Chutzpah as a perfect embodiment of how the festival Chutzpah! The Lisa Nemetz International Showcase of Jewish Performing Arts has changed over a decade. Like those Yiddish words that have become part of our daily lexicon, the festival has become part of the Vancouver performing arts calendar. Chutzpah! is both a Jewish festival and a festival for everyone…” Vancouver Sun, March 2010