A chat with Hershel Blatt
How did you get introduced to UTC61?
I first interned a couple years back for Edward and UTC61 through a program with Alliance for Jewish Theater. I learned so much about independent theater in NYC by going to events, seeing work from the company and assisting in different tasks that go into producing new works; development, marketing, fundraising, grants and so much more!
How did you find yourself in our world of Exagoge last year?
Well! I was out of the city for a bit. I was working back in Toronto and was off for a couple weeks travelling to Europe for the first time and getting to meet some family in the UK! I was on route first to Porto, Portugal when I emailed Edward to touch base… he told me Exagoge was on the docket! I had known about the show from my previous work with him and now it was coming to life! I think he had gotten a bit more acquainted with my work through interning and asked me to audition. I did a few Zoom rounds of auditions and then chemistry reads from a room that had neon strobe lights in Portugal. By the time I was reuniting with some family in London—Edward let me l know I had the part!
What was your experience like working on an opera like Exagaoge vs. Blood Sweat and Queers?
Both are so different! Exagoge had so many moving pieces from the OPERA to the Seder, the audience interaction, the origins of the story from Ezekiel the Tragedian, etc. I met so many amazing people on Exagoge including opera singers and Music Director’s like the amazing Mila Henry, who I probably wouldn’t have gotten the chance to collaborate with if it wasn’t for this genre-blending show! I got really focused on the play piece of Exagoge and tried to hone in on that. I was in awe of the opera singers and other worlds of the piece, so I tried to get my piece of the puzzle down and as my Bubie used to say “study your part and know it good!” My whole feeling was if I came in with choices and my work done, then the opera EXPERTS from a world I knew little about could do their work and I could support and exchange ideas in any way I could! Of course, knowing the scenes in and out, but also timing, giving and pulling focus, eyelines and all that, as we were really watching an opera in real time. There were so many elements at play, so that homework felt really imperative to be able to go on the ride of the show—big operatic numbers to real food, and audience members next to you drinking a little too much Manischewitz!
BSQ has really got me into this classic ensemble vibe—kind of like being part of a theater troupe —which is also a scene in the play! Everyone works as a team. We all have different tracks, portray multiple characters, ages, accents and there’s a lot of moving pieces—similar to Exagoge, but here it feels like all our puzzle pieces are connected instead of independent elements that come together. From grabbing costumes for each other in hot hustles backstage, to moving set pieces and props when something goes array—the whole team feels really connected at all times. In rehearsals, the translation piece was also really interesting as it was translated to English by Edward and Katarina (who also plays so many characters beautifully in the show) before rehearsals, so we came in with this text that really worked! But, we also learned sometimes…it didn’t. So that’s when the cast came in to be like “this doesn’t sound right,” “maybe try it like this,” trying to find the small nuances to make it sound more natural in an American English setting to tell this important story more deeply and specifically in this production! What I like about both Exagoge and BSQ are that they break tradition and are theatrically inventive! As an actor, it’s exciting to be able to work with new texts that have so many origins whether they’re translated from an another language like BSQ or adapted from ancient texts like Exagoge. Then add in things like an opera, multimedia, a Passover Seder and it all really keeps you on your toes!
How has UTC61 been part of your time in New York?
Working with UTC61 has been a pivotal experience and source of so much joy for me in the city! Getting to star in a show like Exagoge and get to perform at the historic La MaMa was such a dream as an actor from Toronto who had grown up yearning to perform in New York. The community aspect has also been huge for me! From doing readings by European playwrights like Gabrielé Labanauskaité and Vladislava Feketé at the Rehearsal for Truth Festival and now doing multiple productions with the company, I have made wonderful connections with thoughtful, hardworking and incredibly talented artists that help keep independent theater alive in the city and abroad! I think there’s something so unique about Edward’s vision for theater that really allows for a wide scope of artists to come together and trust the process of an idea—one the world of Exagoge or the first English language production of BSQ!
What’s next for you?
I am still developing some plays as a writer. I have a solo show Little Village about the experience growing up with my Bubie (grandmother) which had a workshop production at the Vino Theater in Brooklyn, as well as my play Ahava Later that has had some Equity workshops in Canada! There are some film and tv projects that I can talk more about soon too! You can also catch me guest-starring on Season 18 of the CBC/Ovation series “Murdoch Mysteries” and the W Network/UpTV’s “The Love Club Moms” !