Standing in Two Worlds-Episode 71-Psycho Drama-Theater as a Medium of Self Awareness

Yeshiva of Newark Podcast

The discussion begins with a review of a recent
production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” by a Modern Orthodox Jewish cast and crew at the Jerusalem Theater. Prof. Juni had organized a sizable group of friends and colleagues who attended the play and then participated in a focused
discussion group with the producer, crew, and key actors. The discussion is enriched by R. Kivelevitz’s encyclopedic mastery of the world of cinema and theater and its history.

The discussants compare and contrast the dynamics of
the intended message (if any) which is evident in Method Acting vs. those one observes in such popular critically acclaimed fare as The Marvelous Miss Maisel and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Juni argues that – in the latter – Larry David actually manages to bring Method Acting to a new high as he merely assigns
specific roles and scenarios allowing each actor to improvise their lines while the camera rolls.

R. Kivelevitz manages to maneuver Juni into sharing
some of his personal experiences as a “ham actor” in a number of performances –and to relate them to his current psychoanalytic perspective.

The main focus of the discussion between Juni and Rabbi Kivelevitz was on the pros and cons of Method Acting, with particular attention to its potential as a means to insight and self-discovery. Whereas the Stanislavsky approach was designed with attention to the psyche of the actors, Juni is a proponent of using theater as a vicarious therapeutic emotional experience for the audience. Elaborating on his approach, Juni grounds his
position on several postulates:

A. Freud’s idea of Polymorphous Perversity
which asserts that we all have unresolved conflicts in every feasible conflict
area;

B. Jacob Moreno’s hypotheses that action
engenders latent underlying emotions;

C. Cognitive Dissonance Theory which claims
that feelings will be created artificially when one behaves in a dramatic manner.

Juni combines these diverse ideas as he argues that theater
audience members will inevitably be “dawn into” identifying with the protagonists if they leave themselves open to the experience. R. Kivelevitz points out that classic authors of fiction capitalize on this very orientation as well asin the construction and wording of their narratives.

Juni extolls the psychological virtues of Method Acting (in contrast to the Classical Shakespearean Style which stresses context and the Objective Approach).

R. Kivelevitz introduces the “Jewish connection”into the discussion by pointing to Stella Adler’s adaptation of Method Acting
and its pivotal role in shaping Yiddish American Theater. He also engages Juni as they critique the confabulation of modern theater and the worldview of Orthodox Judaism – as the pair explore the dissonance that may be experienced by Modern Orthodox directors, actors, and audiences which elicits visceral responses to
their presentations.

R.Kivelevitz concludes by lauding a novel contemporary approach in self-discovery known as Improv Therapy, relating its rationale to a number of the points and dynamics raised in the discussion.

Prof. Juni is one of the foremost research psychologists in the world today. He has published ground-breaking original research in seventy different peer reviewed journals and is cited continuously with respect by colleagues and experts in the field who have built on his theories and observations.

He studied in Yeshivas Chaim Berlin under Rav Yitzchak Hutner, and in Yeshiva University as a Talmid of Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchik. Dr. Juni is a board member of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists and has regularly presented addresses to captivated audiences. Associated with NYU since 1979, Juni has served as Director of PhD programs, all the while heading teams engaged in cutting-edge research. Professor Juni's scholarship on aberrant behavior across the cultural, ethnic, and religious spectrum is founded on psychometric methodology and based on a psychodynamic psychopathology perspective. He is arguably the preeminent expert in Differential Diagnostics, with each of his myriad studies entailing parallel efforts in theory construction and empirical data collection from normative and clinical populations.

Professor Juni created and directed the NYU Graduate Program in Tel Aviv titled Cross-Cultural Group Dynamics in Stressful Environments. Based in Yerushalayim, he collaborates with Israeli academic and mental health specialists in the study of dissonant factors and tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict and those within the Orthodox Jewish community, while exploring personality challenges of second-generation Holocaust survivors.

Below is a partial list of the professional journals where Professor Juni has published 120 theoretical articles and his research findings (many are available online):

Journal of Forensic Psychology; Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma; International Review of Victimology; The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease; International Forum of Psychoanalysis; Journal of Personality Assessment; Journal of Abnormal Psychology; Journal of Psychoanalytic Anthropology; Psychophysiology; Psychology and Human Development; Journal of Sex Research; Journal of Psychology and Judaism; Contemporary Family Therapy; American Journal on Addictions; Journal of Criminal Psychology; Mental Health, Religion, and Culture.

As Rosh Beis Medrash, Rabbi Avraham Kivelevitz serves as Rav and Posek for the morning minyan at IDT. Hundreds of listeners around the globe look forward to his weekly Shiur in Tshuvos and Poskim.

Rav Kivelevitz is a Maggid Shiur for Dirshu International in Talmud and Halacha as well as a Dayan with the Beth Din of America.

This podcast has been graciously sponsored by JewishPodcasts.fm. There is much overhead to maintain this service so please help us continue our goal of helping Jewish lecturers become podcasters and support us with a donation: https://thechesedfund.com/jewishpodcasts/donate