LABA presents DRUNK, A Night of Art, Drinking, and Torah

LABA, the international incubator of Jewish art and culture, presents DRUNK,its annual wine-soaked celebration of new art inspired by ancient texts. The evening will feature readings and performances by LABA fellows and a five-course wine tasting. DRUNK is a unique way to experience Jewish culture - and did we mention wine? - in a cabaret setting.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of LABA, and its organizers have lined up an extra-special event. The selections of Jewish texts have been curated by LABA Lead Teacher Liel Leibovitz of Tablet Magazine; Resident Scholar Ruby Namdar, author of the Sapir Prize-winning novel The Ruined House, provides riveting commentary. The wines have been carefully paired by renowned sommelier Ronald Jordan of VOS Selections.

“The ancient rabbis knew what they were talking about when they compared the Torah to fine wine,” said Leibovitz. “And there’s no better way to ponder its eternal wisdom than with a glass at hand, the heart opening a little more with each sip.”

The evening will include works that range from wine-inspired video installations, monologues, and dance, as well as a few drunken songs. Examples include: Carnal Regrets of the Patriarchs: A Triptych

by Jon Adam Ross, in which three men of Genesis emerge from their beds with hangovers and carnal regrets; and Confessions of a Wine Lover by writer Amy Handelsman, who will read a new fiction piece on sobriety.

So we invite you to feast, sip, study, and celebrate as LABA kicks off its tenth-anniversary celebration with DRUNK on Saturday, November 18, 2017 at 7:30pm at The Theater at the 14th Street Y, 344 E. 14th Street, New York, NY 10003. Tickets are $25 in advance ($30 at the door) and are available at 14streety.org/drunk.

About LABA

Each year, The Theater at the 14th Street Y presents the residency program LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture. The goal is to support Jewish art and culture by providing the space, time, and resources needed to create new work. At the core of LABA’s mission is the belief that classical Jewish text study can and should be a source of inspiration and creativity for contemporary culture-makers and thinkers. All of the public art created through LABA aims to transcend cultural and social borders by bringing to light the universal themes and questions that our artists encounter through their engagement with Jewish thought.

LABA brings together ten fellows to study classic Jewish texts in a non-religious, open-minded setting centered on a chosen theme - this year’s theme, chosen by Lead Teacher Liel Leibovitz , is WAR+PEACE. Commentary and elucidation is provided by Resident Scholar Ruby Namdar.

Inspired by the fourteen study sessions of the fellowship, the Fellows share their new works with the public with DRUNK and in the LABAlive Series at the 14th Street Y.