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Theatre as a Force for Social Change
Today, 345,000 disadvantaged youth live in Israel. Our project allows underprivileged children to benefit from theatre classes, to be heard, to be seen, and to embrace a life shaped by more than just the streets. Theatre provides the essential tools for these struggling youth:
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A place for self-expression
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Boosting self-esteem
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Realizing their potential
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Teamwork
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Social integration
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Understanding others
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Mutual dialogue
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Facing conflicts and desires, and much more.
Art as a Working Tool
Art allows teenagers to express their feelings and thoughts, their fears or shames, without feeling threatened. It offers a range of expressions found in dramatic works where conflict, dialogue, and intense emotions are intertwined.
In theatre, young people are exposed to a variety of characters and viewpoints, helping them grasp and better understand diverse ways of thinking. Theatre enhances their communication skills, concentration, empathy, and social awareness.
Theatre as a Tool for Social Integration
Theatre helps struggling youth discover a new and stimulating world, develop their interests, and offers them professional training while providing positive activities during their afternoons.
The practical courses foster essential life skills, such as:
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Moving in a safe environment
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Language skills through dramatic texts
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Psychological analysis of characters and dialogues
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Understanding body image through costume creation
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Conflict management, and more.
Demographics and Location
The theatre is located in the Daled neighborhood of Jaffa, at the Ennis Theatre. This area is a social hub with a highly diverse population, making the theatrical practice rich and unique.
The audience is multicultural, coming from all parts of society, mainly residents of Jaffa: Jews, Arabs, new immigrants from Russia and Ethiopia. The theatre collaborates with the municipality and sets up activities within the community.
Agenda
The theatre offers a two-year professional program for 75 at-risk teenagers, with a full range of theatre courses. Participants attend five times a week.
Since our launch in November 2014, we have welcomed young people from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds (Jews, Arabs, immigrants, etc.). Participants, aged 14 to 18, mostly come from broken homes and face issues such as:
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Prostitution
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Violence
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Drug addiction
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Abuse
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And many other distressing situations.
Training and Teaching Team
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Monologue and Character Analysis
Analysis of various characters, their visions, and conflicts. This course is taught by Gal Hurvitz, founder and director of the theatre. -
Physical Theatre
A course on clowning, masks, Commedia dell'arte, and circus, taught by Ronen Sadis, a professional clown. -
Voice Work and Singing Classes
Taught by Mira Awad, an Arab Israeli singer and actress. This course emphasizes the importance of words in theatre and in life. -
Improvisation Classes
Enhances spontaneity, responsiveness, and pragmatism. This course is currently taught by Effim Rinnenberg, a director and actor from Jerusalem. -
Acting
This course is taught by Maor Zagory, Alma Dishi, Hava Ortman, Agam Rodberg, Yeoshua Sobol, and many others. -
Costume and Makeup Design
History and costume creation course taught by Yuval Kaspin and Liron Menkin. -
Writing Classes
This course includes writing monologues and plays. At the end of the year, a book compiling the adolescents' texts is published.
Our Supporters
The municipality of Tel Aviv provides the Ennis Theatre. Among our supporters:
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FSJU in Paris
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Yahel Foundation
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Arkin Foundation
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Fondation de France
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Beit Lessin Theatre: offers lectures and free tickets for performances
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Inbal Dance Company and Gesher Theatre: collaborations on performances and master classes.
The Israeli Etty Hillesum Youth Theatre
Adolescents of Jaffa - A Human Diversity
The Israeli Etty Hillesum Youth Theatre is a unique and unprecedented project, founded through a Franco-Israeli cooperation. Located in the Yaffo Daled neighborhood, at the Ennis Auditorium, it offers an intensive and diverse theatre training program to at-risk youth from all sectors of society: Jews, Arabs, Ethiopians, illegal immigrants, and more.
The training is provided by renowned theatre professionals from Israel and France. At the end of the year, the students produce a play entirely created by them, from writing the script to designing the costumes.
This project allows marginalized youth not only to access the stage to be seen and heard but also to integrate into community life through the tools they acquire in theatre.
The Project
Our theatre offers the youth of Jaffa and southern Tel Aviv — Jews, Arabs, Ethiopians, illegal immigrants, and more — coming from challenging family and socio-cultural backgrounds, a solution tailored to each individual’s abilities. Social values are embodied in the art of theatre, allowing struggling adolescents to collaborate, meet the top professionals in the field, and find a passion, interest, and commitment during their afternoons.
At the Etty Hillesum Youth Theatre, every boy and girl has the opportunity to explore all aspects of theatre and professionalize in the role they are passionate about. The adolescents create the play: they write the texts, perform the roles, choose the music, and participate in every stage of production with the assistance of top instructors.
Our Mission
Etty Hillesum was a 27-year-old woman who lived during the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands. She wrote a diary that was published 40 years after her death at Auschwitz. At the heart of her diary lies the idea of human compassion, as well as the necessity of art and beauty to overcome the many obstacles.
With her art and writings, Etty Hillesum was able to face the terrifying challenges imposed by the Nazis. Through dialogue, compassion for others, faith in the goodness of the heart, and the greatness of the human spirit in tragic times of war, she transformed her world and alleviated the suffering of others.
We decided to shape the youth troupe in the spirit of Etty Hillesum, recreating it within the theatre and the melting pot of Israeli society. This theatre will be based on dialogue, understanding, beauty, and art.
We aim to serve as a reference point for coexistence for these at-risk youth and the various sectors of Israeli society. The theatre provides the opportunity to create, aspire, set positive and achievable goals, and experiment in all aspects of theatre.