Operation Immigration is a film, written and performed by Avi Aharoni, produced by Barbara Brooks and Rick Friede, Renae and Phil Goldman, Jeff and Katherine Tane, Harvey Zuckman and Phil Oxman made available by MJTC on October 17th, 2020. Tickets through October 25th. This one man show is like a homage to anyone who has ever dabbled in homemade film making, and anyone who has reconciled with their inner child.
After picking up a friend and coming home to boot my chrome book, ensuring the volume was on high. I was ready for this experience on YOUTUBE. (If you have a kid you may have noticed families obnoxiously vlogging their experiences on a similar platform- this coming from a very annoyed middle-aged parent herself.)
I was told to show up ten minutes early to prepare myself and read the program. Then I was metaphorically transported to a backyard in the Twin Cities made apparent by deciduous trees and finely mowed grass.
This film was first presented at the Fringe Festival in August of 2019. Under Robert Dorfman’s direction, Operation Immigration introduces you to Avi’s grandparents and eventually his late father, Menachem Aharoni (Shekrola). His father’s story recounts the physical pain he endured so his siblings could survive in Iran, Israel, and eventually Minnesota. Avi talked about his father admirably and how he literally built Israel with his bare hands. “When he’s in his late teens, he was promoted to construction. He would bend steel with his bare hands. I can bend a twizzler in half,” Avi joked.
I couldn’t help notice the video effects. The times Avi moved closer to the camera gives a more intimate story retelling. Sound design by Reid Rejsa, farsi musical interchanges take you back in time to life in Iran. For this film showing, sound amps are useful (As are for most videos on YOUTUBE). Very few props were needed, but the ones used were memorable like black and white ancestor photographs that laid on the ground, or the use of easels to mount important timeline messages like ‘Operation Magic Carpet.’ The outline made it easy to imagine how anyone could create their family's’ story given the right production team and film editing crew. Normal video challenges like blocking were overcome beautifully. The camera spanned fewer than twenty feet around Avi at all times.
Avi gave the impression of multiple characters by imitating the members of his family and their connections. The sound of crickets allowed scenes to change in pace. I found myself laughing when he did a Hamilton style rap to the rhythm of a Beastie Boys song. In fact, the more I watched Avi's performance, the more I was reminded of children's puppet shows. Avi certainly knows how to get at the heart of a character-no matter their age, and he will do whatever it takes to show that character's richness.
Avi says "You know through research of my father's story I learned a lot about myself. I have worked and continued to work with kids. I fell in love with it when I got my first job as a teacher... you really start to understand how truly complex and rich kids are, even today I tried capture and emulate children's sense of play, their vulnerability, their natural ability of being in the moment, every toddler is a natural performer, and I don't know if we grow out of it as we get older or change by our surroundings but that's where we all begun."
Avi poses questions about identity, like “Am I a foreigner? Who am I?” And he talks about how identities don’t define him, yet he questions about where he fits in. He discusses oppression, “We love labels, we don’t feel satisfied.” Avi reminded the audience that we’re all immigrants, “If you’re not a Native American, you came from somewhere else.”
The film is current and intensely emotional. Avi thanked Barbara Brooks for the opportunity and Jo Holcomb for the invaluable wisdom. Watch on YOUTUBE Operation Immigration. Tickets available through October 25, 2020 at http://mnjewishtheatre.org/
