Culture
“Black-Jew Dialogues” Coming To OU-Lancaster
By: Cheri Russo
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To celebrate Martin Luther King Day, the Ohio University Lancaster Diversity Committee is sponsoring a performance of The Black-Jew Dialogues on campus. The event will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. in Brasee Hall’s Wagner Theatre.
“This is an exciting opportunity for students at Ohio University Lancaster-Pickerington and people in our community,” said Diversity Committee Chair Lisa Skeens. “Martin Luther King Day should be a time that we think about diversity at our school and in our community and learn about ways to open our minds and hearts.”
The Black-Jew Dialogues combines fast-paced sketches, improvisations, multimedia, puppets and a game show to create a show that has gained praise across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. at universities, high schools, synagogues and theatres.
Emmy-award winner Ron Jones and veteran performer Larry Jay Tish take the audience on a hysterical and poignant ride through three days they spent together in a cheap hotel room discussing their own experiences, the history of their people, and why there has been a growing rift between the two groups since the early 1970s.
The success of the show has prompted the development of the Dialogues on Diversity Workshops and Consulting. These diversity trainings and diversity workshops have been highly praised by academic, business and religious institutions. Its focus is on cultural literacy, behavior, multicultural awareness training, and the commonality that all Americans share, including hatred, bigotry and bias.
“We think all those who attend will get a great deal out of the performance,” said Skeens. “Students and community members will walk away changed. It will be a fantastic, eye-opening night.”