Talking With... Seth Rozin
Playwright of TWO JEWS WALK INTO A WAR...
Conducted by Rebecca Wright, InterAct's Literary Director & Dramaturg,
and Bryce Bayer, Literary Intern
 InterAct: TWO JEWS WALK INTO A WAR… is based on true events. To what extent did the non-fictional situations of the last two Jews in Kabul guide your writing of the play?
InterAct: What kind of research or other preparations did you do before or during your writing of the play?
I read a handful of articles and watched a couple of short documentaries about Zebulon Semantov, who is still living in Kabul. But the biggest part of my research involved reading (most of) the Torah, which, having grown up in a singularly non-religious family (my grandparents on both sides were atheists) I had managed to never read. That was an arduous, if fascinating, labor. I was particularly interested in Leviticus, the book that outlines the laws that still govern most of our Judeo-Christian morality in the present day. In the midst of my immersion in The Torah, while writing an early draft of the play, I had occasion to watch the Republican YouTube debate on CNN, which ended up spurring on one critical moment in the script. A young man from a Southern state, sporting a rifle over his shoulder, held up the Bible in his video question and asked all of the candidates if they believed in every word. Appropriately, each of the candidates responded by saying no; that some of what is in the Bible is to be understood as literal, other parts metaphorical and still others allegorical. But the obvious follow-up question was not asked: So who decides which parts are interpreted which ways? And why do we accept certain interpretations, when there is no certainty of the intent?
InterAct: What drew you to writing about Afghanistan? Is there something in particular about the history or current state of that place that you wanted to explore in writing this piece?
I didn’t know a whole lot about Afghanistan before reading the article about the last two Jews there, but it always seemed a fascinating country with a rich and troubled history; a country ravaged by multiple wars, steeped in political turmoil and religious oppression, with a vigorous people that had survived all of that. It is a shame that most Americans have only come to learn about Afghanistan in recent years, because of a war, but it has kindled the interest of quite a lot of playwrights and screenwriters. I’m sure most Americans were equally ignorant of Vietnam, Korea, etc. before respective conflicts in those countries.
InterAct: TWO JEWS... carries the subtitle A Vaudeville. What drew you to this genre for this story? What elements of this genre did you employ in creating the plot and characters?
InterAct: TWO JEWS deals, albeit often comically, with some pretty heavy issues regarding religious and cultural oppression. Were you aiming to communicate some universal statement about oppression in writing this play?
Honestly, I wasn’t thinking that broadly or deeply when I started writing TWO JEWS. What began as a very funny, but limited idea blossomed into something that I hope does more than entertain. I’m hoping that audiences of all religious and non-religious convictions alike will find something compelling about the story of Zeblyan and Ishaq. Their big questions about why and how we believe what we do are as fundamental as any other inquiry into our nature as human beings. I know, for myself, that I did not set out to write a play that affirmed the importance of faith; and yet here it is. There is a wonderful moment in writing a play, if you’re lucky, when you know your characters so well that they start telling you what they want to say, instead of the reverse. I’ve learned a lot from Ishaq and Zeblyan.
InterAct: In a way, TWO JEWS centers around a complex debate about the nature of faith. Can you talk about the questions you set out to ask about faith in writing this play, and what you discovered as you wrote?
InterAct: After the premiere of TWO JEWS at Florida Stage (West Palm Beach) last fall, two audience members sent the program to their son who was working for the U.S. Airforce in Kabul and he corresponded with and eventually met Zabolon Semantov. What did you think when you heard about this meeting?
InterAct: TWO JEWS has had a number of productions before this one. Are there things you are particularly looking forward to in the InterAct production?
All of the productions, thus far, have had strengths and weaknesses, but I am particularly looking forward to the pairing of actors John Pietrowski (who I had imagined in this role before I even knew he was an actor) and Tom Teti (with whom I have always wanted to work). John and Tom participated in the first public reading of TWO JEWS at PlayPenn’s 2009 Conference, and I loved their chemistry.
InterAct: What other projects are in the works? What’s next for you?
My most immediate project is a musical – A PASSING WIND – that is, as luck would have it, being premiered at the Kimmel Center in the exact same timeframe as TWO JEWS at InterAct. Like most of my plays, A PASSING WIND is based on real-life events, but unlike the others it is distinctly not political. It chronicles the (mostly) true story of Joseph Pujol (a.k.a. Le Petomane), who became a star at the Moulin Rouge doing an act of fart tricks during the Belle Epoque, to the great dismay of celebrated artists Sarah Bernhardt, Erik Satie and Claude Monet. Apart from that, I am working on a handful of plays, none of which are far enough along to talk about just yet.
InterAct: Thanks for talking with us and we wish you a big success with A PASSING WIND.
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