"Hearing one person tell their story gave a completely different perspective to what happened, as it wasn't about statistics or about a nation as a whole, but one person who lost his family and home." ~O. Avery (student)
Anne Frank Theater Project Takes Off
The Anne Frank Theater Project entertained and enlightened 60 sixth grade students and the staff at the Temple Beth Am religious school, Sunday morning, December 13, 2009. This was the first time the project performed its one hour abridged play under the auspices of the Holocaust Awareness Museum, which recently became the project’s new sponsor. The performance was a 45-minute adaptation of the acclaimed Broadway play “The Diary of Anne Frank” by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.
The one act play was performed by six highly experienced professional actors. The actors vividly portrayed the courageous life of Anne Frank and her family while hidden away in Amsterdam during the Holocaust. At the conclusion of the performance, producer Sharon Geller facilitated a discussion focusing on prejudice, intolerance, moral responsibility and the fate of the Frank family. As a final footnote, the actors came out for a one on one discussion with the audience. They spoke about their personal dedication to the material and answered questions about acting and their personal backgrounds.
Prior to presenting the play, Geller introduced Chuck Feldman, Holocaust Awareness Museum president. Feldman informed the audience that the Holocaust Awareness Museum was founded by a survivor, Jacob Riz, nearly fifty years ago, making it the first Holocaust museum in the country. He went on to explain that the museum welcomes visitors all year round and that the museum houses the Jacob Riz Resource Center that provides programs such as a survivor’s speaker bureau; original video documentaries; and the Anne Frank Theater Project which they were about to experience.