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June 9, 2000/6 Sivan I 5760, Vol. 52, No.40
Provide for culture, theater at JCC
JANET ARNOLD
Special to Jewish News
My family moved to Phoenix in 1957. I spent several years hanging out at the pool at the JCC on Camelback and 16th Street, and when the "new" JCC opened at 17th Avenue and Maryland, I was proud to spend much of my teen years there.
My affiliation continued over the years; my children went to preschool, participated in basketball and AZA; I went to aerobics; and eventually I was employed at the JCC for 4 years. When it closed, I felt a real loss.
The entire community should be thankful to the Levine family and all those who are contributing to the creation of a Jewish Community Campus. However, I have some serious concerns about the vision of the JCC as it is now planned. The Scottsdale location will service those who live within a five-mile-or-so radius of the center. Those folks will utilize the health club, the preschool and the senior services.
But what will entice the middle-aged folks who don't "work out" and those of us who live in other parts of the Valley?
Cultural programming.
Although those of us who live in central Phoenix, Sun City and the East Valley may not travel to the new campus to go for a swim, we most likely would travel that far for a special Klezmer group, Israeli dance troupe, Passages lectures, Jewish film festival or Jewish play.
Unfortunately, the JCC has no plans to include a theater in its building. Instead, there will be a multi-purpose room, with flat-floor seating, and a portable stage that can be brought in. That isn't exactly the kind of space conducive to any of these cultural programs.
The Jewish Community Centers of America movement in the last few years has been stressing cultural aspects of Jewish life. Cultural programs reach out to the unaffiliated, casually affiliated and those who are more committed. They bring families together and keep alive a feeling of community.
Jewish theater, for example, has been described as a "secular sanctuary." It allows people to get in touch with their roots.
While it may be lovely to think every Jewish family should belong to a synagogue and other Jewish organizations, that is certainly not the reality in the Valley. A JCC which offers a wide range of programming is a perfect vehicle to reach a myriad of people.
In the past 13 years, I have visited a different city in the United States or Canada each year as a representative of the Association for Jewish Theatre. Each city has had a lovely JCC, and in each JCC has been a viable legitimate theater space - some simple, some luxurious.
When I asked the folks at the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix about the possibility of at least putting in tiered seating, I was told it was not being considered. When I asked if anyone had been approached to endow a theater, I was told there were other priorities.
In fact, one federation official said that some people are upset that we're not enclosing the pool. While I understand that some people would benefit from an enclosed pool, I don't feel that concept is comparable to a theater that would allow thousands of people to gather - and comfortably see and hear - programming of Jewish content that will enhance and further Jewish continuity.
I believe a JCC should be the cultural core of a community. At my point in life, I don't need a preschool, I won't travel far for a health club and I'm not ready for senior programs. What I do need - and I don't think I'm alone - is a center that will provide Jewish cultural and artistic programming that are the very soul of Jewish life.
And the programs will be much more enticing if they are housed in a setting that will allow easy viewing, comfortable seating and lighting and sound systems.
Janet Arnold is the producing director of the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company.
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