SARATOGA SPRINGS – Saratoga Jewish Community Arts (SJCA) will present its ninth annual Jewish storytelling program, on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the Falstaff Pavilion on the Skidmore College campus and the presentation will also be available on Zoom. A dessert reception will be followed by the evening’s selection of stories.
The late Matthew M. Neugroschel at a previous SJCA storytelling performance. The program, is now named in his honor, and is set for Feb. 12.
Annually, (SJCA) brings together storytellers. After the death of Matthew M. Neugroschel, a favorite teller at the program, the program was named in his honor. Tellers this year include some old-timers and some new voices and will feature Shawn Banner, Jeanine Laverty, Beth Sabo Novik, Sandy Schuman, Dee Wind, Frank Wind, and Martina Zobel.
“Not everyone is a storyteller. There is a captivating gift for storytelling. It is not just a reading or recitation of a story. It is an enthusiastic interpretation of a tale so that the listeners are transported through time and to places they have never been,” said Phyllis Wang, coordinator of SJCA.
She added, “For the Jewish people, storytelling has been a means of defining the Jewish identity, the ethnic distinctiveness as a Jew. To hear a Jewish story is to share the humor, wisdom and angst, earthiness, and spirituality of an ancient and thoroughly modern, diverse, and irrepressible group of people bearing an extraordinary history. Telling stories is the way Jews share historical happenings and create a cultural history.”
A minimum $5 admission is requested for onsite attendees. Registration to the program, sponsored by Temple Sinai and the Jewish Federation of Northeastern NY, is required by e-mailing [email protected]. Information is available at www.saratogajewishculturalfestival.org or by visiting www.saratogasinai.org.
