The Proyekt - Seven Years of Laughter

There are a few occasions every year when I wish I understood Hebrew and Israeli culture a little better. One of those times is the yearly Proyekt teen comedy show.
The audience roared and cheered throughout the evening, and I was a bit slower on the up-take, as I waited for my spouse to finish laughing before he told me what I missed.
As dozens of teenagers floated through scene after scene, jumping across time and space, the appreciative audience of teens and adults alike hooted and applauded.
This year's Proyekt, "The Mystery of the Lost Pearls", featuring characters as diverse as Sherlock Holmes, King Ahav, and Guy the Israeli paratrooper, was a strictly youth production - with young people writing the script, creating the scenery, music, and commercials, promoting the show, performing, and working backstage. Its humor was clever and in, and the jokes rolled easily from one to the next all night.
Kids worked on the show for six months under the guiding hand of producer-director Yonatan Levi (above left). 
Levi told the audience that communities are always searching for ways to engage the youth in positive activities. Well, the Proyekt has proven itself to be one of those ways.
It promotes friendship, cooperation, creativity, really hard work and dedication. And it encourages teenagers to take responsibility for their own undertaking. 
This year's Proyekt was written by Dvir Infeld, Yaniv Cohen, Ohad Naveh, Avia Benmelech Chovav, Yonatan Levi, Natan Marcus, Roi Gugenheim, Elazar Landau, Esti Kolin, Arnon Gutel and Amit Sorek.
More than a dozen young people appeared on stage and three times that number worked backstage and in pre-production.
Over the past seven years more than 6000 people have come to see the Proyekt's performances. 
"The Mystery of the Lost Pearls" may struck its sets, but the Proyekt will be back later in the summer with a film night, featuring short movies about life in Gush Etzion. It's something worth looking forward to. 
Here's a glimpse of this year's Proyekt, http://www.voices-magazine.com/videoClip/247.
For more information on the Proyekt, haproyekt@gmail.com .