ARI TEPERBERG

The Soft Hum of the Dial Tone

A portrait of a relationship by Ari Teperberg 

2022

Eli Teperberg is a real estate agent. He lived in Jerusalem all his life. A serious amateur trumpet player.

Ari Teperberg is a theatre-maker, director and dancer. He left Jerusalem at 24 and lives abroad. An ex-violin player.

 

A father and son meet on stage.

 

There, where the son is at home and the father a guest, they try to find a common language. They talk over the phone, dance, sing, learn and teach one another things they know.

In an attempt to bridge over the ever-lurking distance, present even when so close together, they re-examine the roles and patterns that are so deeply rooted, and for this they use everything a stage has to offer - time travel, roleplay, ghost-summoning and applause.

 

The research that fed the creation process was around the invention of the telephone, and observations on its development history in the neverending human quest to bring voices closer together and overcome distance.

Parallel to that, a subculture of phone-hackers arose, discovering loop-holes in what was now the biggest machine in the world. They found each other by “misusing” the telephone, thus creating alternative, virtual encounter spaces, motivated primarily by pure curiosity, playfulness, loneliness and deep listening.

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Created by Ari Teperberg

With: Eli Teperberg and Ari Teperberg

Lighting design and scenography: Omer Sheizaf

Sound design: Lior Pinsky

Costume design: Dor Frank

Assistant Director: Yael Sady

Producer: Dana Galanti

Artistic consultation: Moran Aviv Dvir and Sharon Silver

Vocal consultation: Lee Teperberg

Collaborators in research phase: Yael Finkel, Dor Frank, Daniel Edvardson, Ilana Baer, Sharon Silver, Mica Kupfer, Gili Amit Bar-Nir, Pelleg Halfin

International relations: as is presenting arts

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Created for the Israel Festival 2022, artistically directed by Itay Mautner and Michal Vaknin. Supported by the Israel Ministry of Culture and Sport, the Pais Culture Committee and Eve - Independent Theatre and Performance Art Creators Organization.

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The work was created in collaboration with Westflügel Theater, Leipzig Germany.

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