Welcome, we are eager for our intimate play of the heart to reach larger audiences.
FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE
A full length play for four performers (including one violinist) by Jamie Greenblatt
With a solo violin score by Richard Jennings
WANT TO HELP US STAGE FEMALE, ASHKENAZI?
Please write to Jamie Greenblatt at jamieg@sonic.net.
In the Subject Line, write, “FEMALE, ASHKENAZI”
HERE’S WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT:
“It's a very timely one-set small cast play about illness, ancestry, family, and hope. The writing juxtaposes lyrical language with earthy, funny, immediate dialogue & gorgeous visuals that are … really affordable and very emotionally potent.”
- Dramaturg, Dr. Melissa Hillman.
“It’s a story of intense pain — emotional, physical and spiritual — and that can make it hard to watch at times...In a way, though, navigating the capricious twists that life throws you is what the play is all about, and “Female” deals with them in a compellingly imaginative way.” San Jose Mercury News review. Link to the full review of the first production, staged by Inferno Theatre in Berkeley, CA in 2017
“The Jewish Plays Project recommends FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE as a Semi-Finalist for the 11th annual Jewish Playwriting Contest. Our community of readers were compelled by the strong theatricality while bringing awareness to a genetic mutation within Ashkenazi community, through one woman's journey of love, sickness, and soul-searching. Our readers were highly moved and related to this poetic story of grace, love, and imagination as Anna discovers her identity. FEMALE, ASHKENAZI ... rose to the top of 20 out of 250 plays and we hope this play swiftly finds opportunities to reach new audiences.”
ABOUT THE MUSIC:
Richard Jennings’ evocative score for violin premiered with the 2025 production by Arts Judaica in Chicago, Illinois.
"the authentic/antique Hebraic-esque score, moving the action through history and fantasy" - Splash Magazine
RELATED MUSIC:
Richard Jennings composed FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE SUITE for Violin, Viola and Female Voice. It was inspired by the solo violin score he wrote for Jamie Greenblatt’s play. The ten movements in the suite follow Anna’s journey from love, to miscarriage, to cancer diagnosis, to deep heritage dive, to healing, and finally returning home to learn that she and her spouse Benjamin will become parents through adoption.
It premiered at Inferno Theatre’s Diaspora’s Festival on April 25, 2026 in Berkeley, CA.
You can listen to a sample here:
“I've now listened to this many times. It's just wonderful; seems perfectly suited to the theme. And I've never heard a duet for violin and viola that sounded so full without a bass instrument (i.e. cello ;-) Just perfect; so many layers, so many emotions. Great as a stand-alone work in its own right.”
—Susanna Porte. Classical-rock-jazz Cellist & Music Arranger
To inquire about licensing rights for this suite, write to Richard Jennings at rj@rjmusic.org. In the Subject Line, write, “FEMALE, ASHK SUITE - Licensing Rights”
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Jamie Greenblatt, playwright:
https://newplayexchange.org/users/27406/jamie-greenblatt
Richard Jennings, composer: rjmusic.org
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