a one act play by David Fuks
May 7 | Event has been postponed – more information to come.
David Fuks is a speaker for the Holocaust Speakers Bureau at OJMCHE, and a member of the Next Generations Group. The play was inspired by his parents’ story as survivors of the Holocaust. It is also a tribute to the memory of Fuks’ younger sister (of blessed memory). “For Love” is both humorous and poignant. “My sister, Myra, was a passionate advocate for Holocaust remembrance,” Fuks explains. “Her poetry and her commitment had a significant impact on her community in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After her untimely death, I felt that it was my responsibility to carry her work forward. It is important to honor her and our parents. While the characters in the story and the circumstances are fictional the affection and the reflections of our family were inspirations for this play.”
The reading will be directed collaboratively with Sarah Lucht, an Equity actress affiliated with Artist Repertory Theater and an acting teacher at the Portland Actors Conservatory. Conservatory acting students will perform.
May is Jewish American Heritage Month. The monthlong celebration includes 200 educational centers, archives, libraries, museums, cultural, religious, advocacy, and government institutions offering people around the country the opportunity to discover nearly four centuries of American Jewish experience. This participation includes major public library systems, state history centers and museums, venerable grassroots advocacy organizations, municipalities large and small, and cultural gems in and around the Jewish community. Because of the nationwide efforts, more people around the country are able to learn about how America’s Jewish communities have shaped and been shaped by the cultural, social, and economic fabric of the United States. OJMCHE is proud to again participate with programming, social media campaigns, and ongoing outreach.
About David Fuks: Fuks is an author, playwright, actor, and a child of Holocaust survivors. His father was in the Lodz Ghetto, then survived five years imprisoned in Buchenwald near Weimar, Germany. His mother was enslaved for five years in Oberalstadt, a labor camp near Prague, Czech Republic. They were married after the war. Fuks’ family came to the United States after 4 years in a displaced person’s camp in Landsberg, Germany. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and came to Portland in 1974. Fuks received a BA in English Literature and a Master’s Degree in Social Work at the University of Michigan. In addition to his creative work, Fuks worked as a leader in Oregon’s human services arena. He was also the CEO of Cedar Sinai Park. Fuks’ short stories have been published in “Drash,” a Jewish literary review. His story “Distinctions” was awarded Top Prize in American Fiction Number 17 by New River Press in 2019. Fuks has worked as an actor in many plays, and was a member of the improv/sketch comedy group, Waggie and Friends, for five years. His play, “Invisible Friend,” received a stage reading in Portland’s 2019 Fertile Ground Festival.