Local News
Gwen Secter online concert series fill much needed role in community’s cultural life
By BERNIE BELLAN
It’s been almost eight months since the province imposed the first lockdown due to the COVID pandemic. While we’ve had our fair share of stories in this paper about how the pandemic has affected so many of us, we’ve also been trying to avoid dwelling on the terrible toll it’s taken.
You’re undoubtedly inundated with those types of stories from so many other media. Instead we’ve tried to find stories that illustrate the often innovative ways in which both individuals and organizations within our Jewish community have responded to the challenges presented by the awful disruption in life that we’ve all encountered to one degree or another.
One organization in particular has amazed me in the way that, despite its relatively small size, it has filled several voids in the community that were left when other organizations were either unable or unwilling to provide services that were desperately needed by some members of our community. I am referring to the Gwen Secter Centre. (Elsewhere in this issue we have a story by Myron Love about the upcoming tea that Gwen Secter will be holding –but not an actual tea.)
The reason I wanted to write this article was to explain how the Gwen Secter Centre – somewhat surprisingly, came to be involved in offering a firstrate online concert series that anyone can watch from their home – so long as you have a computer or tablet (and you register in advance, as will be explained if you continue reading).
I contacted our community’s go-to impresario, Karla Berbrayer, who has been organizing concerts and other programs for various organizations for so many years that it’s hard to know where this community would be without her. I told Karla that, while we’ve been running ads promoting the concert series, we really hadn’t explained to readers how the series had come about, which led to a phone interview – interrupted strangely when her phone line went dead. (Later Karla emailed me to say that an MTS crew that had been installing new cables in the area had accidentally cut the line to her home, leading not only to the loss of landline connection, but the internet and TV as well. If that had happened in our home my wife would have blamed me.)
When our phone interview resumed Karla related the story how the online concert series had come about. She said she had been working for Gwen Secter the past year (2019) “doing a series called ‘All About Jews’. That’s when Becky (Chisick, Gwen Secter executive director) and I solidified our working relationship – and she had hired me back to do the same series in 2020.”
The idea behind that series was to offer monthly Friday lunch time programs featuring either a speaker or a concert. The first program in “All About Jews” – in February, featured children’s author Harriet Zaidman speaking about the Winnipeg General Strike while the second program – on Friday, March 13 (the last day before the province wide shutdown went into effect) featured Kevin McIntyre singing songs from Broadway musicals with a Jewish connection. The day of that second program Karla said she “wondered whether anyone was going to be here? “ The first case of COVID had just been announced the day prior, Karla noted.
“The room was absolutely full,” she continued, “and I said to one woman in the audience that I was afraid no one would come today, and she said: ‘Karla, we just want to be entertained.’ So I was adamant that I would continue bringing that to them.
“And once it became mandatory that this specific demographic was not going to be able to mingle freely in an environment like they had been, I suggested to Becky that I could do a virtual concert series. I said to her that if we wanted to bring culture to her membership I saw this as the only option and I’m happy to do it.
“We all have to reinvent ourselves,” Karla observed, “and ‘pivot’ – that’s a great word – and if you don’t reinvent yourself, it’s game over,” she suggested.
“ At that point Becky said :‘Let me think about this’ and then she called me back shortly afterwards and said: ‘Karla, let’s just do it.’ “
“So that was amazing because she gave me carte blanche to put together a high quality concert series and gave me free run to manage it the way I felt it should be managed. Becky deserves a lot of credit. I produced the series but without Becky it wouldn’t have happened.”
Of course, by now many of us have become used to the notion of watching Zoom events, but frankly the quality of many of those sessions leaves something to be desired. And for Karla Berbrayer, the idea of simply offering concerts via Zoom was a non-starter.
“From the start I made a decision that I did not want to do a concert series where everyone is recording themselves from their living room or their kitchen – on their cell phone. I wanted a high end event. I wanted to record the performers in a theatre (which, in this case, turned out to the Berney Theatre), with lighting and sound and a tech crew – basically everything except the audience.”
As it turned out Karla managed to record 10 different concerts – all in the same day!
Each concert is between 20-30 minutes. The concerts run the gamut from “jazz to pop to Borscht Belt to Broadway,” Karla observed. “I try to give it a lot of variety so that if you don’t like a specific concert you’ll like another one.”
“I would bring in a group or a performer and they would ask me: ‘How many takes do I get?” and I’d say: ‘One. You just perform as if there’s a live audience. We’re not doing any editing.’ “
“Each one was able to have the feeling of playing live in a theatre, having a tech crew. It was also a good feeling giving all these people work as well. After all,” she added, “their lives had been shut down because of the death of live entertainment in the city”.
The series opened in October. Karla explained how it works: “Every Monday at 9 am we release a concert. They’ll be released weekly right up until mid-December. There are 10 concerts altogether and all people have to do is register at and they’re immediately given a link that will allow them to watch a concert. Also, every week they’re sent a reminder when the next concert is coming up.”
So far, concerts have featured local performers Nadia Douglas, Erin Propp and Larry Roy, Shayla Fink, and Aaron Hutton with Paul De Gurse.
I asked Karla whether the concerts can be viewed if you don’t happen to watch one on a particular Monday?
“Yes,” Karla answered. “The concerts are archived so if you want you can go online and watch an earlier concert – by going to the Gwen Secter website once you’ve registered. You can watch a concert any time of day and as many times as you’d like.”
The response to the concert series has been terrific. Over 364 individuals have registered at www.gwensecter.com as of the time of writing. As well, statistics of how many people are actually watching the concerts live indicate that, as of the date of writing concerts have been viewed 729 times.
As for cost, Becky Chisick was adamant that the series would be offered free of charge. Funding for the series is provided by the Manitoba Arts Council.
I suggested to Karla that while Gwen Secter deserves full credit for stepping up to fill a cultural void in our community, the fact that it’s the Gwen Secter Centre filling that void still comes as somewhat of a surprise. It wasn’t that long ago that the Gwen Secter Centre’s very survival was in question. Now it’s rising to the fore of Jewish community organizations that are stepping up during the pandemic. Who would have thunk it?
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Local News
Winnipeg Jewish Theatre breaks new ground with co-production with Rainbow Stage
By MYRON LOVE Winnipeg Jewish Theatre is breaking new ground with its first ever co-production with Rainbow Stage. The new partnership’s presentation of “Fiddler on the Roof” is scheduled to hit the stage at our city’s famed summer musical theatre venue in September 2026.
“We have collaborated with other theatre companies in joint productions before,” notes Dan Petrenko, the WJT’s artistic and managing director – citing previous partnerships with the Segal Centre for the Performing Arts in Montreal, the Harold Green Jewish Theatre in Toronto, Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon and Winnipeg’s own Dry Cold Productions. “Because of the times we’re living through, and particularly the growing antisemitism in our communities and across the country, I felt there is a need to tell a story that celebrates Jewish culture on the largest stage in the city – to reach as many people as possible.”
Last year, WJT approached Rainbow Stage with a proposal for the co-presentation of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Rainbow Stage management was really enthusiastic in their response, Petrenko reports.
“We are excited to be working with Winnipeg’s largest musical theatre company,” he notes. “Rainbow Stage has an audience of more than 10,000 people every season. Fiddler is a great, family-oriented story and, through our joint effort with Rainbow Stage, WJT will be able to reach out to new and younger audiences.”
“We are also working to welcome more diverse audiences from other communities, as well as newcomers – families who have moved here from Israel, Argentina and countries of the former Soviet Union.”
Helping Petrenko to achieve those goals are two relatively new and younger additions to WJT’s management team. Both Company Manager Etel Shevelev, and Head of Marketing Julia Kroft are in their 20s – as is Petrenko himself.
Kroft, who is also Gray Academy’s Associate Director of Advancement and Alumni Relations, needs little or no introduction to many readers. In addition to her work for Gray Academy and WJT, the daughter of David and Ellen Kroft has been building a second career as a singer and actor. Over the past few years, she has performed by herself or as part of a musical ensemble at Jewish community events, as well as in various professional theatre productions in the city.
Etel Shevelev is also engaged in a dual career. In addition to working full time at WJT, she is also a Fine Arts student (majoring in graphic design) at the University of Manitoba. Outside of school, she is an interdisciplinary visual artist (exhibiting her work and running workshops), so you can say the art world is no stranger to her.
(She will be partcipating in Limmud next month as a member of the Rimon Art Collective.)
Shevelev grew up in Kfar Saba (northeast of Tel Aviv). She reports that in Israel she was involved in theatre from a young age. “In 2019, I graduated from a youth theatre school, which I attended for 11 years.” In a sense, her work for WJT brings her full circle.
She arrived in Winnipeg just six years ago with her parents. “I was 19 at the time,” she says.
After just a year in Winnipeg, her family decided to relocate to Ottawa, while she chose to stay here. “I was already enrolled in university, had a long-term partner, and a job,” she explains. “I felt that I was putting down roots in Winnipeg.”
Etel expects to graduate by the end of the academic year, allowing her to focus on the arts professionally full-time.
In her role as company manager, Shevelev notes, she is responsible for communications with donors, contractors, and unions, as well as applying for various grants and funding opportunities.
In addition, her linguistic skills were put to use last spring for WJT’s production of “The Band’s Visit,” a story about an Egyptian band that was invited to perform at a cultural centre opening ceremony in the lively centre of Israel, but ended up in the wrong place – a tiny, communal town in southern Israel. Shevelev was called on to help some of the performers with the pronunciation of Hebrew words and with developing a Hebrew accent.
“I love working for WJT,” she enthuses. “Every day is different.”
Shevelev and Petrenko are also enthusiastic about WJT’s next production – coming up in April: “Ride: The Musical” debuted in London’s West End three years ago, and then went on to play at San Diego’s Old Globe theatre to rave reviews. The WJT production will be the Canadian premiere!
The play, Petrenko says, is based on the true story of Annie Londonderry, a young woman – originally from Latvia, who, in 1894, beat all odds and became the first woman to circle the world on a bicycle.
Petrenko is also happy to announce that the director and choreographer for the production will be Lisa Stevens – an Emmy Award nominee and Olivier Award winner. (The Olivier is presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional London theatre).
“Lisa is in great demand across Canada, and the world really,” the WJT artistic director says. “I am so thrilled that we will be welcoming one of the greatest Jewish directors and choreographers of our time to Winnipeg this Spring.”
For more information about upcoming WJT shows, readers can visit wjt.ca, email the WJT office at info@wjt.ca or phone the box office at 204-477-7515.
Local News
Rising Canadian comedy star Rob Bebenek to headline JCFS’ second annual “Comedy for a Cause”
By MYRON LOVE Last year, faced with a federal government budget cut to its Older Adult Services programs, Jewish Child and Family Service launched a new fundraising initiative. “Comedy with a Cause” was held at Rumor’s Comedy club and featured veteran Canadian stand-up comic Dave Hemstad.
That evening was so successful that – by popular demand – JCFS is doing an encore. “We were blown away by the support from the community,” says Al Benarroch, JCFS’s president and CEO.
“This is really a great way to support JCFS by being together and having fun,” he says.
“Last year, JCFS was able to sell-out the 170 tickets it was allotted by Rumor’s,” adds Alexis Wenzowski, JCFS’s COO. “There were also general public attendees at the event last year. Participants enjoyed a fun evening, complete with a 50/50 draw and raffle. We were incredibly grateful for those who turned out, the donors for the raffle baskets, and of course, Rumor’s Comedy Club.
“Feedback was very positive about it being an initiative that encouraged people to have fun for a good cause: our Older Adult Services Team.”
This year’s “Comedy for a Cause” evening is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25. Wenzowski reports that this year’s featured performer, Rob Bebenek, first made a splash on the Canadian comedy scene at the 2018 Winnipeg Comedy festival. He has toured extensively throughout North America, appearing in theatres, clubs and festivals. He has also made several appearances on MTV as well as opening shows for more established comics, such as Gerry Dee and the late Bob Saget.
For the 2026 show, Wenzowski notes, Rumors’ is allotting JCFS 200 tickets. As with last year, there will also be some raffle baskets and a 50/50 draw.
“Our presenting sponsors for the evening,” she reports, “are the Vickar Automotive Group and Kay Four Properties Incorporated.”
The funds raised from this year’s comedy evening are being designated for the JCFS Settlement and Integration Services Department. “JCFS chose to do this because of our reduction in funding last year by the federal government to this department,” Wenzowski points out.
“Last year alone,” she reports, “our Settlement and Integration Services team settled 118 newcomer families – from places like Israel, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. Each year, our program supports even more newcomer families with things like case management, supportive counselling, employment coaching, workshops, programming for newcomer seniors, and more.”
“We hope to raise more than $15,000 through this event for our Settlement and Integration Program,” Al Benarroch adds. “The team does fantastic work, and we know that our newcomer Jewish families need the supports from JCFS. I want to thank our sponsors, Rumor’s Comedy Club, and attendees for supporting us.”
Tickets for the show cost $40 and are available to purchase by calling JCFS (204-477-7430) or by visiting here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/jcfs-comedy-for-a-cause. Sponsorships are still available.
Local News
Ninth Shabbat Unplugged highlight of busy year for Winnipeg Hillel
By MYRON LOVE Lindsay Kerr, Winnipeg’s Hillel director, is happy to report that this year’s ninth Shabbat UnPlugged, held on the weekend of January 9-11, attracted approximately 90 students from 11 different universities, including 20 students who were from out of town.
Shabbat UnPlugged was started in 2016 by (now-retired) Dr. Sheppy Coodin, who was a science teacher at Gray Academy, along with fellow Gray Academy teacher Avi Posen (who made aliyah in 2019) – building on the Shabbatons that Gray Academy had been organizing for the school’s high school students for many years.
The inaugural Shabbat UnPlugged was so successful that Coodin and Posen did it again in 2017 and took things one step further by combining their Shabbat UnPlugged with Hillel’s annual Shabbat Shabang Shabbaton that brings together Jewish university students from Winnipeg and other Jewish university students from Western Canada.
As in the past, this year’s Shabbat UnPlugged weekend was held at Lakeview’s Hecla Resort. “What we like about Hecla,” Kerr notes, “is that they let us bring in our own kosher food, it is out of the city and close to nature for those who want to enjoy the outdoors.”
The weekend retreat traditionally begins with a candle lighting, kiddush and a traditional Shabbat supper. Unlike previous Shabbats UnPlugged, Kerr points out, there were no outside featured speakers this year. All religious services and activities were led by students or national program partners.
The weekend was funded in part by grants from CJPAC and StandWithUs Canada, along with the primary gift from The Asper Foundation.
Kerr reports that the activities began with 18 of our local Jewish university students participating in a new student Shabbaton – inspired by Shabbat Unplugged, titled “Roots & Rising.”
In addition to Shabbat Unplugged, Hillel further partnered with Chabad for a Sukkot program in the fall, as well as with Shaarey Zedek Congregation and StandWithUs Canada for a Chanukah program. Hillell also featured a commemoration of October 7, an evening of laser tag and, in January, a Hillel-led afternoon of ice skating.
Coming up this month will be a visit to an Escape Room – and a traditional Shabbat dinner in March.
Kerr estimates that there are about 300 Jewish students at the University of Manitoba and 100 at the University of Winnipeg.
“Our goal is to attract more Jewish students to take part in our programs and connect with our community,” she comments.