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A mid-20s' night's dream
By Zipi Shohat
Tags: Israel News, Gilad Kimchi

As a child, when he forgot his dancing shoes after a performance in Holon, his dad, Nissim Kimchi, drove back to retrieve them. When he grew up and forgot his notebook at drama school, his father again went to pick it up. That father can now take pride and rejoice: His son Gilad - a director, choreographer, actor, dancer and singer - is one of the most intriguing new discoveries in Israeli theater. The critics sing his praises and his professional calendar for the coming year is fully booked.

In 2008, Kimchi was among the contestants on a Channel 2 reality show called "Grease," which attempted to cast that musical's lead roles for a subsequent stage production. The show was not a ratings success, the stage production never materialized, and Kimchi, in any case, did not land the part. One of the judges on the show, Tzipi Pines, who heads Tel Aviv's Beit Lessin repertory theater, told Kimchi that he was not right for the leading male role, but, she recalls, "I then added: 'No matter what happens at the end of the show, whether or not you get picked, you are welcome to come to Beit Lessin.'"

She subsequently offered Kimchi the job of directing and choreographing the opening show of the Open Stage Festival, produced by Beit Lessin. Thus was conceived "Broadway on Frishman," showcasing 60 years of Hebrew musical theater in 60 minutes. Starring young actors, many of whom had also appeared on the reality show, this production won the festival's awards for audience favorite, outstanding director and outstanding costume designer - and entered the theater's repertoire.
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That was the beginning of his career at Beit Lessin, which led to Kimchi directing Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." It soon become evident that he is an artist with something to say, and in a language of his own. Again the audience cheered and the critics raved: Writing in Haaretz, Michael Handelzalts described the production as "a celebration of youth, energy, and ingenuity"; Shay Bar-Yaakov in Yedioth Ahronoth termed it "one of the most magical and fun [productions] I have seen in recent years"; and Eitan Bar-Yosef of Achbar Ha'ir called it "a dream of a play."

This season, Kimchi is set to direct "Spring Awakening," a Broadway rock musical based on the 1891 play by the German writer Frank Wedekind, which deals with adolescent sexual angst. The New York production reaped eight Tony awards in 2007, including one for best musical. Later on, Kimchi will direct "Romeo and Juliet," and he is currently directing a Hebrew children's production, Ephraim Sidon's "Child's Play." And he is just 26 years old.

Devastating loss

Gilad Kimchi was born in Rishon Letzion to immigrant parents: His father came from Bulgaria, and his late mother, Shoshana, hailed from Turkey. He has two older sisters who, like their parents, encouraged his early artistic inclinations. At age 5 he was already singing, dancing, acting and attending drama classes. At 13, he made the cut for the municipal youth troupe, Kol Rishon, which put on musicals and plays, including works by Moliere and Shakespeare.

Shoshana Kimchi did not live to see her son's success; she died five days before "Broadway on Frishman" opened. "She was my best friend," Kimchi says. "Dad liked to brag about me, but she, whenever I was praised, would always respond: 'Never mind talent, you don't know what a human being he is.'"

Shoshana died from cancer, and her son describes how he spent his mother's last days with her: "I slept at the house and at night I gave her morphine. During that period there were projects I backed out of, and I also considered canceling 'Broadway on Frishman,' but Mom said: 'Don't do it.' So I spent five hours a day at rehearsals and the rest of the day with her."

Kimchi describes that period as "the most complex and spiritual days I have ever experienced in my life. We cried together and laughed together. She believed she would beat it." The moment she died, he says, "I stopped mourning her. I felt she was no longer suffering. Following the funeral, I went to sleep after three sleepless nights and returned to the rehearsal room. And just like that, with a black skullcap and a torn shirt, I demonstrated for the actors how to dance."

And the family wasn't angry?

Kimchi: "No. I announced that I would have to work during the shiva. At the end of the shiva we visited her grave, and that evening was the premiere and the family came to see the show. I am certain that it is what Mom would have wanted. The audience received a sheet of paper with the playbill on one side, and on the other side a dedication that I had written to my mother."

Kimchi says he learned the ABCs of stagecraft during his days with the Kol Rishon entertainment troupe in his hometown. "Thanks to the harsh discipline there I learned to work in an ensemble and I learned to respect the profession," he says. The troupe, which he describes as "a way of life" for him, took the place of studies at school, which did not really interest him, and of a less than ideal social life, "because my friends started smoking cigarettes and going out to clubs, and I wasn't willing to be a part of that."

He served in an entertainment troupe in the army, and was discharged early because of back problems. Afterward he enrolled at the Beit Zvi Academy of Performing Arts in Ramat Gan, whose then-director Gary Bilu gave Kimchi his first crack at directing: "Gary took me aside for a chat after he saw a performance of mine at the first-year end-of-school party. He asked me whether I was capable of instructing the lighting designer, and I said that I was, and then he asked whether I would like to direct and I said yes."

Kimchi directed the musical extravaganza "On Top of the World," which featured selections from Andrew Lloyd Webber shows, with 30 Bet Zvi graduates and students and a live orchestra. Other offers to direct followed, the most significant of which was "Grease," which had a run of 150 shows at Hasifriya Theater, in Ramat Gan. Kimchi also played a supporting role in the production.

How did you juggle the triple role of director, choreographer and actor?

"My brother-in-law sat with a video camera and taped the rehearsals, and the following day I would give the actors feedback."

Did you suffer under the educational methods Bilu instituted at Beit Zvi?

"No, I didn't suffer under Gary's regime. The only incident occurred when I played Peter Pan during Hanukkah and I was injured during the very first performance. I realized that if I failed to carry on performing because of the injury, it would undermine my standing at the school. There was absolutely no consideration for the injury, to the point where at the final performance, while I was standing on stage, I couldn't move anymore and they called another actor, Ido Rosenberg, to take my place. He was not familiar with the role and did not know the text, and I stood backstage prompting him.

"For the most part I benefited from Gary Bilu, because Beit Zvi taught me all about musicals. My monetary reward was in the form of a scholarship for the second and third years of school. Gary also appreciated the tremendous support that I got from my parents. When I graduated, he wrote them a letter that said: 'If there were a scholarship for outstanding parents, there is no doubt that you would be the winners. I wish that all Beit Zvi students had parents like you."

Sense of curiosity

Kimchi's formal training was in acting; he never studied directing or choreography professionally. But he describes himself as an autodidact, who "always had in me the ability to take people and work with them." He also has always had a powerful sense of curiosity. From the age of 13, he would fly to London to see plays, and "I would be moved and cry, and also see the same play six or seven times. In high school I had subscriptions to Habima, the Cameri and the Hasifriya theaters, and for me going to those places was something really exciting."

The young acting troupe that Kimchi now leads at Beit Lessin was formed together with Pines, who he says, "is involved down to the level of the pin in the actress' dresses." Most of the members in the group were at Beit Zvi with Kimchi, and he directed some of them there, but others are graduates of the Nissan Nativ and Yoram Levinstein acting schools. Kimchi also brought the production team with him: musical director Amir Lekner, set designer Eran Atzmon, costume designer Ula Shevtsov, and vocal instructor Doki Atzmon.

Kimchi: "I like working with the same actors and dancers, because that makes it easier for me to invent things. Yesterday a friend asked me whether I have a technique and a directorial method, and I responded that I don't have one technique, but rather a technique that changes for every actor. For example, there's one actor who requires plenty of freedom, and another for whom I need to demonstrate. I see the director's role as not merely directing mise-en-scenes or constructing a concept for the set: The director's most important job is guiding the actor."

How did you decide to take on a Shakespearean play? Wasn't it a bit pretentious?

"I drew up a list of 30 possibilities, and included two plays by Shakespeare, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and 'Romeo and Juliet.' Tzipi went down the list and said, 'This I hate,' 'This I can't stand,' 'This won't work.' And then she said, let's do 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' I got cold feet at first, but then I went back to the play and saw that it's messy and complex and superb, and I wasn't scared anymore..

"I told myself that either I would rise to the challenge or people would expect less of me. Nevertheless, two weeks before the premiere I panicked: Nothing in the finished work seemed like it should. And when they came from Beit Lessin to the rehearsals, I got no response, they said nothing. I think they weren't sure how to take this either. It felt a bit like I was in a void. I wanted to hop on a plane and fly away. But from the very first performance, the audience laughed and embraced the actors with love. It surprised me a great deal," says Kimchi, adding that he was also surprised by the warm critical response.

Indeed, a talent such as his did not go unnoticed. "There were offers from the Cameri, from Habima, and from independent producers. I have a contract with Beit Lessin, but the contract is more emotional. I feel I have found a home."

Are you able to make a living?

"It's not simple in the least. I can say that throughout the five years that I worked after graduating from Beit Zvi, I had to keep reinventing myself in order to make a living, including doing private events like weddings or bat mitzvahs. There were times when I supplemented my income by designing costumes for dance or theater shows, or gave private lessons in acting and preparing for auditions, something I prefer not to do.

"Today I won't become rich from managing the young actors group, but I make an honest living and am grateful for what I get. But I see friends who have to wait tables. It's not easy. That brings us back to the fact that it is really tough to make it in repertory theater, and fringe theater too, which I also did. Take for example the show 'In Fernando's Hideaway,' which ran at Tzavta in Tel Aviv about three years ago with seven actors and four musicians. We drove the crowd wild and it ran for a year, but we didn't make a profit, even though we worked like dogs. Now, as the director of the young actors group, I have to look out for my actors, and the children's play that I'm currently directing at Beit Lessin is supposed to provide them with added income."

Are you aware that Israeli theater does not tolerate failure - that failure is something unforgivable?

"I am aware of that and am also afraid of that, but I try not to pay attention. When you get good reviews that fear arises, because then it only becomes tougher to prove yourself. On the other hand, it may be that this pressure is why we love the profession and choose it. Maybe it would be boring if I didn't know that failure is also a possibility."

Asked where he sees himself 10 years from now, Kimchi avoids giving a direct answer, even though he knows full well where he strives to be: "I can't say because someone will wind up reading this," he says. "I can say that I see myself working in the profession. This life is not an easy one for anyone. But after the great tragedy of Mom's death, there is really no reason to cry over anything."

For the first time in our conversation his voice seems to crack. Asked if it is painful for him that his mother never witnessed his accomplishments, Kimchi takes a few seconds to pull himself together before answering. "I had a deal with her - that after she was gone she would 'send me' a feather whenever she's with me. And since then I've had some crazy stuff happen with feathers. For example, in London I wound up by mistake in some scary neighborhood, and I, who usually am not afraid of anything, began to feel really scared that someone would show up at any moment and stab me and take my money. And suddenly I saw a white feather floating down from the sky right above me. I grabbed it out of the air, stuck it in my pocket, and stopped being afraid; I knew she was with me. I conduct a dialogue with her on a daily basis, and she appears in my dreams, too. As far as I'm concerned, Mom saw 'Broadway on Frishman' and she also saw 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' There's no way she didn't."
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