NAME GAME: Pre-show Workshop
Nov 29 @ 3:00 pm - 4:15 pm
Presented by LABA BAY AREA and the Magnes.
Join LABA BAY AREA and the Magnes for an afternoon workshop on the subjects of “names.” Learn about the power of names in the Torah with LABA scholar Tova Birnbaum, discover the layers of meaning in your NAME, and play an actual Name Game in the new gallery show, Nancy Katz: A Private Pantheon. Prizes for winners!
After the game, head across the street to The Marsh Berkeley to catch the play, LABA’s NAME GAME with Sara Felder and Yehuda Hyman. Purchase tickets for the 5pm show here.
Sunday, November 29, 2026 | 3:00 – 4:15 pm
In person at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA
RSVP
If you have any questions about accessibility or require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact us at magnes@berkeley.edu or call us at (510) 643-2526 with as much advance notice as possible.
About Tova Birnbaum
Tova Birnbaum is a faculty member at the Mandel Institute for Nonprofit Leadership and a Rabbinic Ordination student at the Shalom Hartman Institute. Tova was born in B’nai B’rak, Israel, in an Ultra-Orthodox home, and was one of the founders of the BINA Secular Yeshiva in Tel Aviv, where she was a faculty member. She is a Judaic studies teacher, Theater Midrash workshop facilitator, and a Secular Jewish Life Cycle ceremonies officiant. Tova holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Jewish Philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a master’s degree in Theater from Tel Aviv University. Tova and her husband live in Palo Alto, California, and are proud parents of two daughters.
About the play, LABA’s NAME GAME
What’s in a Jewish name? Two old friends seek to find out in the NAME GAME. A playful and profound exploration of naming, identity, sexuality, and reinvention told through monologues, circus, and dance with a vaudeville flair. Come discover how veteran performers Sara Felder and Yehuda Hyman found their names—and themselves.
After the game, head across the street to The Marsh Berkeley for the play. Purchase tickets for the 5pm show here.
About LABA BAY AREA
LABA BAY AREA is a laboratory for Jewish culture and a program of the Firehouse. It is part of an international collective of LABAs, all of which use classic Jewish texts to inspire the creation of art, culture, conversation, and community. The program began in 2007 at the 14th Street Y in New York City (LABA NY), and now has hubs in Buenos Aires (LABA BA), the Bay Area (LABA BAY), and Berlin (LABA BE). LABA BAY AREA was formerly LABA East Bay, and a program of the JCC East Bay. LABA presents Judaism’s rich literary and intellectual tradition in a free and creative setting, so that these fertile stories and ideas spark new thought and creative work. The output from our laboratory hubs push the boundaries of what Jewish culture can be and what Jewish texts can teach.
