THEATER and THEOLOGY

Creative Director

YAEL VALIER

Yael has been involved in the Israeli English-speaking acting scene for seventeen years as a writer, actor, voice actor, and director. She is a graduate of Matan's Ayanot program and of the Ruti Tamir Physical Theater Workshop. Yael teaches drama at Midreshet Emuna V'Omanut to post-high school students of the Arts, and Midreshet Darkaynu to young adults with special needs. She has been a member of the David Cardozo Academy think tank, run by Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, for the last eleven years. Yael runs and teaches Bibliodrama workshops for Jewish and non-Jewish groups and voices animated characters for The Fox Network's BabyTV Channel. You can hear her voice (though you may not recognize it) in five current series. Yael also lectures and runs interactive workshops on theater, and on the mix of theater and theology. You can read her recent paper on the challenges of mixing theater with theology, published in the theological journal Perichoresis, here.

Production Design

JOHN KRUG

Rabbi Dr. John Krug 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 has 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 often cited work.