Creative Partners

Avner Ben-Amos

Historian

Professor Avner Ben-Amos is a Historian of education at the School of Education, Tel-Aviv University. He holds B.A. in Drama Studies and History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, M.A. and PhD. in European History from the University of California, Berkeley. His play Sarah, a Stubborn Woman (1986) was performed at Akko Festival and Beit Zvi Theatre. At Dionysos in the Center (2004) he served as co-adaptor with Ruth Kanner of a book by Tamar Berger; at He Marches in the Fields (2013-14) he served as co-adaptor with Mor Frank of a novel and a play by Moshe Shamir, He Marched in the Fields - both at Ruth Kanner Theater Group

Kinneret Kisch

Stage Designer

M.A. degree at the Department of Theater Design of the Tel Aviv University. Has designed sets for theaters in Israel and abroad. Teaches stage design in Tel Aviv University. Stage and costume Designer for "The Way to There", "He Is Walking (again) In The Fields", "The Hebrew Notebook", "Time of Metamorphosis", "The Adventures of Humit" "Family Ties", "Tell Me Something".

Roni Toren

Space and Costume Designer

Born in Jerusalem. Began his career as an editor and presenter of radio and TV programs. Studied art and theater in Paris and graduated from the Department of Theater Arts of Tel Aviv University. Has designed stage and costumes for a wide range of theater and opera productions in Israel and abroad. In 1986 won the Margalit prize for theater arts. In 1991 earned a silver medal in the Prague Quadrienalle and in 2005 a silver medal in The World Stage Design exhibition in Toronto. In 2007 he won the prize of the OISTAT organization and was chosen as one of the 23 most prominent stage designers in the world. ("The Honorable Scenographers"). In 2009 he won the Landau award of the Miphal Ha Pais in Israel. Since 2005 has participated in the creation of Ruth Kanner Theater Group productions and served as the stage designer of the shows directed by Ruth Kanner in the X Theater, Tokyo, Japan

Yair Vardi

Projects Developments and Lighting Design

Yair Vardi is a curator, theatre-maker, dramaturg, performer and lighting designer, currently living in Tel Aviv. He has a BA in Theatre and Choreography Practice from Dartington College of Arts, UK (2009) and an MA in Solo/Dance/Authorship (SODA) from the Berlin University of the Arts (2012). His research interests deal with the relationship between dramaturgy, light designing, curation and creation as structural and artistic tools for making art. In 2006, Yair initiated the Festival "A-Genre" at the Tmu-Na Theatre. He has been the festival's artistic director and curator since its inception. In 2012, he was put in-charge of Tmuna Theatre's curations, theatre festivals and special events, working alongside the theatre's artistic director Nava Zukerman. In January 2017 Yair resigned from his role at Tum-Na theater and now he is working as independent artist and curator. Some of Yair's past projects include The Conversation Piece (2016, Tmuna Theatre Ensemble); Singular light a video work for "Loving Art Making Art" (2015, Tel Aviv); You never look at me from the place I see you (2013, Berlin, Tel Aviv). As a lighting designer, he has worked with various artists from all disciplines, on almost every stage in Israel, as well as in museums, galleries, public spaces and concert halls. A participant in the group’s works: " RITZA", "Walking Swimming Running - At Sea" and "Family Ties".

Avshalom Ariel

Musician

Composer and performer. Avshalom graduated with distinction from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music. He participated in master classes and workshops with the composers Krzysztof Penderecki, Philip Leroy, Chaya Czernowin, Steven Taczogi, and others. His chamber music has been performed in various Asian and European venues, including Ensemble Modern, Meitar Ensemble, Musica Nova, Plus-Minus Ensemble, the Basel Academy of Music, Tzlil Meudcan Festival and the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music. Since 2008 he has been the co-creator and electric guitarist in the experimental rock band Saal Hardali. Avshalom has won the Avraham Klon scholarship for young composers and first place in The Buchmann-Mehta School of Music Annual Competition for Composing. He was chosen as the young Israeli representative of the Israel Composers' League at the 32nd Festival of the Asian Composers' League in Tokyo, Japan. Composed, performed and conducted full-length compositions for theater: the rock opera "Love Beach Girls Choir" and "Ritza - for choir, musicians and actors" and "Time of Metamorphosis" directed by Ruth Kanner.

Ilan Green

Musician

A constructor and player of musical instruments, lecturer and visual artist. He is the initiator and director of the Department of Modern Music at the Musrara art school , Jerusalem. In 1989 he was one of the originators of the "The Tractor Revenge" rock band that published seven discs, and was a member of this band till 2004. In 1999 he was one of the initiators of "Krechz", a band experimenting with noise, electronic sounds and live sounds. He created the project "Voices of the Levites", in which ancient Biblical musical instruments played by the Levites in the Jerusalem Temple were replicated and played in a special concert, subsequently published in a disc. He creates installations and sound statues and participates in a variety of performances and dance and theater shows. A participant in the group’s works: "Discovering Elijah" (2001) and "At Sea" (2005).

Ori Drumer

Musician

A musician, multimedia artist and teacher. The initiator of The Multimedia Arts Department and Digital Media in the Musrara school, Jerusalem. Presented many single and group exhibitions (video, animation, sound, installation and photography). Serves as a curator and initiator of social projects and publishes articles and personal columns in a variety of newspapers and magazines. Ori writes music for dance, theater and the cinema. He lectures about sound and history of modern music. Won the first prize for writing and directing the play "My Skin" in the 2002 Akko Festival. Created music for the group’s works: "Discovering Elijah" (2001) and "Bathers" (2004).

Shaked Vax

Lightning and Space Designer

Graduate of the Theater Design Department of Tel Aviv University. Specialized in lighting design. Has designed the lighting in a variety of theater and music shows. In recent years has been a production and marketing manager in the Compulite Company, specializing in developing equipment and programs for lighting control. A participant in the group’s works: "Discovering Elijah" (2001), "Bathers" (2004), "Dionysus at Disengof Centre", "At Sea", "Disgust", "Cases of Murder", "The Flight of the Dove" and "Time of Metamorphosis".

Naomy Yoeli

Guest Director

Naomi Yoeli has been involved in many aspects of Theatre, including directing, acting, puppetry, storytelling and performance as well as theatrical research, dramaturgy and play writing. Born in Jerusalem in 1950 Naomi has a PhD (Summa cum laude) in Theatre Studies, Tel-Aviv University, and has been researching and lecturing on Israeli ceremonies as theatrical phenomena. Naomi has over 20 years of teaching experience in Theatre, Puppetry and storytelling, and has performed as a at many international festivals in Israel and abroad. Naomy was a member of the artistic committee of the Akko Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre, 2000-2004 as well as Artistic consultant and dramaturge in the Train Theater, Jerusalem, since 2004. Over the past few years she has developed her own independent theatre performances: the show "Doda (Aount) Frieda: The Museum" (2006) won the Best Performance Prize at the Akko Festival, 2006 and the Fringe Theatre Prize, 2007 for "Performance Language". The play "Between Calendars" (2008), an adaptation of a book by Nativa Ben Yehuda, was performed in collaboration with the Ruth Kanner Theatre Group, and won the Best Adaptation and Best Performance prize of Fringe Theatre, 2009. She also cooperated with the Ruth Kanner ensemble in their performance "Bathers" and directed the performance "Good Tidings". Naomi has been awarded The Landau Prize for Theatrical Excellence, 2008, and the Best Actress Prize of Fringe Theatre, 2009.

Noa Elran

Born in 1980, she is an interdisciplinary performance artist. She graduated from the Carpentry Course of the Ministry of Labor in 2004, the School of Visual Theater in 2009, and holds a Master's degree in Directing with highest honors from the Performance Studies program in the Department of Theater at Tel Aviv University in 2018. Noa works under various roles in the field of performance art: performing, lighting, objects, costumes, directing, and dramaturgy. Her practice is characterized by combining different media and experimenting with plastic thinking within performance spaces. Noa has collaborated with various creators, including the Ruth Kanner Theater Group, Iris Erez, Noa Dar, Lilach Dekel-Avneri, Tsibi Geva, Yehudit Sasportas, and Kinneret Hayya Max. Her works have been presented in several frameworks in Israel. She collaborated with the Ruth Kanner Theatre Group in the productions "Time of Metamorphosis" and "Ritza".

Nori Jacoby

Musician

A music composer and scientific researcher. In his research he investigates the interface between computer science, brain studies and music cognition. In his doctoral research at the Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computation at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem he investigates rhythm perception in humans. He writes acoustic and electronic music, explores Jewish musical traditions, arranges, performs and teaches music. His original works have been presented on prominent stages in various countries. In recent years he has been creating music for theater and dance. Since 2006 he has been participating in the Ruth Kanner Theater Group productions. He won the Margalit award for his amplified solo viola music accompanying the show "Disgust", directed by Ruth Kanner.

Hila Lulu Lin Farah Kufer Bir'im

Visual Images Creator

Hila Lulu Lin Farah Kufer Bir'im is a multi-disciplinary artist, and extraordinary woman who has been an active artist for more than thirty years. She has held solo exhibitions in galleries and museums in Israel, the US, Europe and Japan, and has participated in dozens of group exhibitions. She is the co-founder of "Sharnaka", a nonprofit organization whose goal is to promote and develop projects from the fields of art, architecture and cinema dealing with identity, memory and space. Throughout her career, she stands out in her bold discourse and her ability to give visual and formal expression to the deep pathologies of the human soul, in connection with both the local and the universal. Her work reflects a basic belief that art is an integral part of the stream of life, rather than a disconnected path. Her work is political and social, and at the same time completely personal and intimate. Lulu Lin's installations, video works, and art books contain a wealth of different textures and moods, including those of the written word. ‘Lulu font’ accompanies her throughout her career, and was also used her in her work with the Ruth Kanner Theater Group in "Ritza", which appears as part of the trilogy "At Sea - Walking Swimming Running" (2018).

Hadas Ophrat

Stage Designer and Performance Artist

Hadas Ophrat is a leading figure in Israeli interdisciplinary art. Dramaturg and teacher of visual theater and artivism in various art schools. Founder of The School of Visual Theater and co-founder of The Train Theater and Hazira - Performance Art Arena - in Jerusalem and the Lewinsky Garden Library for asylums and migrating communities in Tel Aviv. Ophrat studied literature and philosophy at Tel Aviv University (1972-75). He then practiced Bunraku and Noh theatre in Osaka, Japan (1984-6). He completed graduate studies (MSc.) at the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, the Technion Institute of Technology, Haifa (2016); his research field is art intervention as a tool for urban renewal. He has directed, designed and performed dozens of theater and performance-art oeuvres. His Performances and media installations have been shown at numerous art events, solo and group exhibitions of contemporary art in Israel and Europe, including a solo exhibition at the Israel Museum (2007). He was awarded the Minister of Culture prize for excellence in Art (2008) and the Israel Prize for performing arts (2016). He has published books of poetry and books on performative and artistic issues. Was the Space Designer in the Ruth Kanner Theater Group’s works: “Between Calendars” (2008) and “Good Tidings” (2016)

Mor Frank

Guest Director

Mor Frank holds a master's degree with honors in directing from the Department of Theatre Arts, Tel Aviv University. She teaches acting and directing at the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio and Kibbutzim College. Many of her plays are based on adaptations she has made of literary works: "Dybbuks" at the Israel Festival 2008, "If This is a Man" based on Primo Levy's book at the Khan Theater, "Death Sat Beside Me" based on stories by Nissim Aloni at the Habima Theater and more. Her performance "Grandpa Aaron and His Rain" based on a story by Meir Shalev won the Best Performance Award, the Music Award and the Design Award at the Haifa Children's Festival 2017, as well as the Best Directing, Design, Lighting and Performance Awards at the 2018 Children and Youth Stage Award. In 2013 she created with the Ruth Kanner Theatre Group an adaptation of a play by Moshe Shamir – He Walked in the Fields.

Guy Saggee

Graphic Designer

Guy Saggee is an Israeli graphic designer, artist and a design educator. Since 2001, operates his studio, Shual (fox), specializing in various aspects of visual communications, with particular emphasis on culture and politics. He is an educator at the Visual Communication Department of the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design, Jerusalem. Graduated with a B.F.A from the Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design, Jerusalem (1994) and a M.F.A from the School of Visual Arts, New York (1998). Guy is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) since 2012. He has participated in the group work "The Hebrew Notebook by Franz Kafka", and was responsible for designing the images that represent the work. Guy was also the Graphic designer the book "A Local Tale" which marks twenty years of the group's artistic work.

Ronen Shapira

Musician

A composer and player of piano and other instruments. Studied in Tel Aviv University and The University of Michigan. Earned a PhD in composition at Northwestern University , USA, 2002. A performing artist in many festivals. Has written music for bands and orchestras. Has collaborated with Israeli rock and pop artists. Published two albums of songs and prayers in Hebrew and other languages and an album of orchestral compositions. His original works have been performed by the Israeli Chamber Orchestra and The Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra and other major orchestras in various major concert halls (e.g. Carnegie Hall) in Israel and other countries .Shapira won the Israeli Prime Minister's prize (2005) for his chamber and orchestral compositions and for having established orchestras for Israeli Jews and Arabs. Shapira is also a music teacher at the Levinsky College of Education in Tel Aviv. He has served as a composer, arranger and music director in Ruth Kanner's productions in X Theater, Tokyo since 2005 and was a participant in the group’s works: "He Said Yes / He Said No" and "The Flight of the Dove".