THEATER and THEOLOGY

Yael has been involved in the Israeli English-speaking theater scene for twenty years as an actor, writer, director, and voice actor. She recently finished her MFA studies in Performance Art at Tel Aviv University, expecting to graduate formally at the beginning of 2026. In the summer of 2025, her piece, I Chose You was featured in the Tel Aviv University Art Gallery as part of the university's Tribuna Performance Art festival. Yael is a graduate of Matan's Ayanot program, with an emphasis on Bible, and of the Ruti Tamir Physical Theater Workshop. She and John Krug (see below) are currently designing a new curriculum for a Theater and Theology program integrating theory and practice at Midreshet Amudim for post-high-school students. Yael taught theater for many years at Midreshet Emuna v'Omanut, and drama at Midreshet Darkaynu and at Yachad to adults with special needs. She was a member of the David Cardozo Academy think tank, run by Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, for thirteen years. Yael runs and teaches Bibliodrama workshops for Jewish and non-Jewish groups and has taught the Bibliodrama technique in various settings. Yael also occasionally guest-directs for other theater companies, most recently Rhinoceros' Productions' production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2023). Check out Yael's voice reel here. She works in dubbing and narration for several production companies, and you can hear her voice (though you may not recognize it) in seven Disney Junior and Fox Network BabyTV series, with another one currently in production. Yael also lectures and runs interactive workshops on theater, and on the mix of theater and theology. You can read her paper on the challenges of mixing theater with theology, published in the theological journal Perichoresis, here.

Rabbi Dr. John Krug is a true Renaissance Man. He was the Assistant Producer of the world’s longest-running musical, The Fantasticks, from 1974 until its closing in January 2002. He served, for ten additional years, as the Production Consultant/Assistant Director for The Fantasticks' revival, until its closing in June 2017. In addition to more than 250 production credits in the past 49 years, as director, production consultant, set designer or lighting designer, he directed an award-winning show for NBC and consulted for multiple Broadway productions and national touring companies. In addition to his semicha, he holds undergraduate degrees in psychology and speech/drama, Masters degrees in psychology and Jewish education, a doctorate in clinical psychology, a post-doctorate fellowship degree from Bar Ilan University, and is licensed and in private practice as a clinical psychologist. Dr. Krug wrote his post-doctoral thesis on “The Use Of Drama And Theatrical Technique in Informal Jewish Education,” an oft-cited work. He served as a teacher and as the Dean of Student Life and Welfare at the Frisch School in New Jersey for about thirty years (and, of course, he ran the Drama club there), and he served as the Yeshiva College Dramatic Society production designer and assistant director for decades.