In an impressive scene at the end of Hanoch Levin's play "Shake My Heart," in which she plays a broken woman, Yael Levantal is required to burst into bitter tears.
The comedian, who is routinely considered a priestess of laughter, does the job with dignity, and it is clear that the tears do not flow from her by themselves, but come from the depths of the soul.
"The show's director asked me in rehearsals if crying came easily to me. I replied that I felt that years after I lost my parents, and at the same time had more children, my tear sac opened in such a way that I could cry from anything - and all the time.
"There's something in the connection of children being born and parents dying that makes me walk around in a bare world, as if my heart is out of body and everything touches it. I truly believe that humor and pain come from the same place, and so do laughter and crying."
You bring it to the stage in an impressive way.
"There's another scene in the show where I laugh and cry at the same time - and it's so connecting to me."
Not boring to interview a professional funny who also knows how to cry.
Indeed, three minutes after the beginning of the interview, Bentel comes out with a Torah comedy announcement: "I have a title for you - Yael Leventel comes out of the closet."
Wow.
"After all, today we have to sell something to the media, so I'm coming out of the closet - as Queen of England."
You can be believed. I saw you drinking tea with milk in the morning.
"Well, does that not already reduce the distance between me and her?"
Laughter aside, do you feel connected to an aging woman?
"I always have an attitude of trying to live life from the age of 80. When I have a decision that is hard to make, I think about how I will treat it when I'm 80. For example, if it's expensive for me now to buy a plane ticket, but I still want to fly abroad - What will I tell myself about it at 80?
Which would have been better for me to save those $ 700, or fly back and forth with a memory to life?
And I answer to myself that it's obviously better to fly.
"Many times I also feel, because my children do not have a grandparent on my side, that I love them twice: both as a mother, but also as a grandmother. That is, a more forgiving love of the adults."
"Every woman was harassed"
As you can see from the joke about coming out of the closet, Leventhal (51) understands well the rules of the game with the media.
As someone who experienced sexual harassment two decades ago, she has strong opinions about the rules of discourse that have been established in recent years around the subject.
"Today, in almost every interview that is published, the headline will end up being 'The sexual harassment I went through.' Interest, put in the title 'Sexual Harassment'.
"So I say now to everyone: Every woman in the world has been sexually harassed at some point in her life. In every article you read - keep in mind that the interviewee has been harassed somewhere in the past, even if it does not make headlines. Every woman has been harassed, one way or another - or most severely There is or in the most minor way. "
Unfortunately, you know the difficult experience from yourself.
"First of all, as a young actress it's clear I found myself, mostly on TV sets, on guard and busy fending off. Instead of focusing on work I had to focus my energy on thinking about what I wear, who I pass when I wear it, and how to react.
"Luckily, I did not experience any situation that came to something very serious, but I did have one experience, specifically not in the theater, following which I am still annoyed by the 'why you did not speak or say anything' claim."
Want to share?
"It happened 20 years ago. We then renovated the apartment, and I went with my husband to buy tiles in the store. One of the sellers told me that the warehouse has more tiles missing in the display, and asked me to follow him. My husband stayed behind in the store, and I innocently entered the warehouse. , And was already waiting for me.It was dark, and suddenly I realize that the man is sitting and waiting for me naked.Ready.
"I froze, looked and did not believe it was happening to me. I stared a bit to make sure I saw well, and when I realized what I saw I ran away, without saying anything to his employee or boss, the store owner. Only when we sat in the car did I tell my husband what happened. He immediately wanted to go back and scream. About the employee, but I did not want to.
"A friend of mine was just volunteering at the hotline for sexual assault victims at the time, and she was on duty. I called her and we talked, and when she caught my storm of emotions she said to me, 'Sweetie, hang up and call me again at the hotline because you tell me you were sexually assaulted.' When she said that I burst into tears, and even now I can cry from it (her eyes start to cry; MK).
"I'm in tears now not because of that moment itself, but because of that feeling, that you were attacked. I so identify and understand women who froze and it took them a while to talk and take it out, after years. It also took me a while, and here it's seemingly a small thing, no one "He did not rape me. And to think that I did not want to say anything to the store owner, that he would not fire that employee, God forbid."
If this had happened to you today, would you have reacted differently?
"I hope I would do something else, scream at the employee or throw something at him. But you are not prepared for this feeling of paralysis. My pain now, when I tell this, is not about myself, but comes from the concern and fear of all of us girls, which I hope is theirs. It will not happen.
"All my life I remember myself walking around as a woman who thinks about what she wears and if she is too exposed. Maybe it's something Jerusalemite, but until I was 30 I went unconscious with sweatpants and big clothes because I was not comfortable exposing my body or wearing tight clothing. Today I was I want every woman to feel that she can walk the way she wants - and with whatever outfit she wants. "
"Come on, am I a diva?"
In the poster of the play "Shake My Heart".
"I have a great love for Hanoch Levin's materials," Photo: PR
The play "Shake My Heart" deals, as is the custom of Hanoch Levin, with human misery, compassion, loss and longing for love.
The witty comedy tells the story of "The Judge" Lemke, who falls madly in love with La La La La (played by Leventhal), believes she is a celebrated singer who appears on the French Riviera, and does not notice reality even when her many suitors criticize her under his nose.
The play, directed by Miri Lazar, was staged at the Habima National Theater on June 3.
Ben Yossifovich, Maya Maoz, Ami Smolarchik, Neil Mashen, Shachar Raz and Zohar Badash play alongside Levantel.
"I have a great love for Hanoch Levin's materials," smiles Leventhal.
"I find a lot of comfort in his lyrics. This play was supposed to be directed by the late Omri Nitzan, and on the day we had to start rehearsals - he passed away.
Then the feeling of missing out that the play deals with anyway mixed with all of us, with the missing out on Omri.
Missing life and love. "
You have previously acted in Levin's play, but not in the Repertory Theater.
"When I was studying a game at Nissan Nativ, we uploaded his 'Popper', and Hanoch came to see us present it together. After the screen went down, he approached us and said, 'Yael, very beautiful.' It stayed in my heart to win."
She was born in Jerusalem ("I told my parents at the age of 3 that I would be an actress"), studied at Nissan Nativ in the capital, and served in the army as a commanding officer in the Nahal.
"I was a company officer and nuclei, in fact responsible for knowing who sleeps with whom. I would travel with the commander of the Nahal for patrols, to give him an overview of the social situation in each nucleus.
When I finished the job, I told the 80th Commandant Commanding Officer that it was an unnecessary job, and they really canceled it. I am an effective person, it is in my name. The army wrote about me: "A serious, quiet and responsible officer."
After completing her acting studies, she worked at the Khan Theater, moved to the Cameri and Beit Lessin, and for the past four years has been on stage (along with the new play, she plays there in "The Robotic", "Council Chairman" and "My Zakopane").
At the same time, she acted in cinema and participated in a variety of Israeli series.
She lives in Tel Aviv with her husband Benjamin (55), a kindergarten teacher, and their children Daniel (20), a soldier in the navy, Tamara (15 and a half), a tenth-grade student, and Rachel Hilleli (13), a seventh-grade student.
For the past five years she has been running her successful stand-up show, "Yael Leventhal," which she co-wrote with Shira Alon, her father Avraham and Daniel Chen.
In the show, she talks about Israeliness, parenting, and how not - the relationship between men and women.
"People roll their eyes and say, 'Alas! Men can no longer be natural, they are afraid to start with women!'
So I say, 'Oh oh oh,' "she smiles again.
Stand-up is still considered one of the most demanding stage professions there is.
"From my first day in the profession I had a strong feeling that I must be independent. There is something in the acting profession that can be terribly miserable. You can be a very talented person, but you will find yourself dependent on other people. Sitting and waiting for them, depending on their opinion, sentence someone writes about you "In a review of a show that you can take with you for five years and remember - and that's awful. I'm a person who does not like to be helpless."
Do you take criticism with you for years?
"I try not to. And in general, today the institution of criticism has completely changed. Every person today is a media power, and anyone can overthrow you and pick you up.
"I used to say that stand-up is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but now it's slowly stopping being so difficult. Before shows I even had joy in my heart, light. The shows themselves are one big pleasure."
"Shake My Heart" is directed by a woman, at a time when awareness of the inequality between men and women in the theater has risen a notch.
The Theater Creators' Forum recently launched a campaign calling for a combination of "50-50", meaning equal representation of creators in theaters - which is, at the moment, far from the reality on the ground.
We're in 2022. Do you still think that society refers to a different code that is ostensibly expected of women, compared to men?
"For me, the progress the world has made in the context of feminism and women is minimal, and there is another very great way to do it. We are constantly talking about jobs, women's wages versus men and power positions. In my stand-up I had a sentence that said, 'We all work It is so difficult that we do not have the strength left to be in positions of power. '
"So yes, there is a long way to go in theater as well, probably when it comes to directors and playwrights. Even if there are women in management positions who wave at them, the road is still difficult. I want to say that equality starts within us because it is not out on so many levels."
Do you manage to maintain optimism?
"Yes, because I see my girls and their generation, who do not even allow to ask if sailing on sea scouts is not harder to build than boys, because they pee in the sea and the girls do not. My girls say it's even a sexist question. I see how they treat themselves And to the place they can go, and I'm optimistic.
"I really want to believe that the world has improved in the area of equality, but maybe it's just me who's improved. Maybe I'm less of an accountant and play the game less and feel more confident than before."
Are there places where you feel less safe?
"Sometimes I'm cast for roles, including in the current show, and I look at the character's description and say, 'Seriously? Why did you turn to me? Is that me?'
When I read the character of La La La La La, I saw a woman who was terribly alive in the movie, a diva like that. I said, 'Me? A diva?'
But then I asked people and they replied, "Well, Yael, really." Tell me, am I a diva? "
Absolutely not, but maybe a little animal in the movie.
"Maybe, could be," she laughs.
With her husband, Benjamin.
"Before performances, I already have joy in my heart, light," Photo: From the private album
She is a sandwich girl ("between two sisters"), and lost her parents at a relatively young age - and by a small margin.
"My mother passed away 17 years ago from leukemia, at the age of 64, after a failed bone marrow transplant. I was 34, with a 4-year-old child, and to this day I keep thinking about the fact that she does not know I have two more daughters. Celebrated my wonderful daughters, who were born after her death.
"My mother was a perfect grandmother to Daniel, who still remembers her. She would take him to the sea, play with him, come sleep with us to lie next to him in bed and tell him a story.
"My father, Yaakov, who was a physics and chemistry teacher, died six years later, also from cancer. He retrained and started an independent business, so my whole independence thing came from him. In short, with cancer on the part of both my parents I have very 'good' genes. "Christianize the moments I sit in front of you."
"Must pass 11 exams"
With her daughters Tamara (center) and Rachel Hilli.
"It was once written about me that I will soon not recognize my children," Photo: From the private album
Speaking of body and health matters, Bentel suffers from facial blindness (prosopagnosia), which makes it difficult for her to recognize facial features.
"When we were looking for a way to publicize my stand-up, the idea came up to talk about my shortcomings in the article, and then they gave it a bombastic headline: 'Yael Levantal suffers from facial blindness.'
And what is the truth?
"This blindness is something that accompanies me for years, but I came up with it after reading an interview with Gilat Ankuri, who talked about it. It was the first time I realized it was there. Until then I was sure I was a selfish person who does not remember anyone, because I am self-centered. I was diagnosed, and a brain researcher called and sent me a face recognition test. My husband and I did the test together - he got a score of 90 and I got a 30.
"My kids and my close friends are used to seeing me have a five-minute conversation with a person who says 'hi' to me on the street, even though I have no idea who is standing in front of me. I've already developed a routine of how to get out of it, and I really apologize. "Go with a name tag or just tell me who you are, because I'm upset and embarrassed to talk to you without knowing who you are."
And is there really a danger that you will not recognize your children?
"It's something that can get worse, but I'm not going to get into a situation where I do not recognize people close to me. I noticed, by the way, that faces from the distant, distant past, from elementary school, I can suddenly recognize."
The story of blindness dresses well on the colloquial character created for Levantal over the years, a funny kind that hovers a bit in space, though she herself does not always connect to this labeling.
"I feel completely split personality when they say that about me, because on the one hand I do feel sometimes that I'm not here, and on the other hand one of the first things I did in Corona was learn hundreds of real estate appraisals. Does that make someone clumsy?"
Wait, do you have a "Yael Leventhal, Appraiser" business card?
"I started studying at Afik College, which offers 11 digital courses. I sit at home and do digital tests of the Board of Appraisers. After that there is a year of internship, and for dessert three more final exams. So anyone who asks me today if I am an appraiser, I answer I do not think I will "But I passed seven of the 11 preliminary exams."
Real Estate Appraisal? That sounds like the beginning of your joke.
"The truth is that I planned to get out of the corona when I know how to edit films, because in closures I started making my 'just asking' videos, which were great fun. I planned to learn video editing, but to this day I make the videos in one take, because I do not know how to edit. "I still do not know hundreds of real estate appraisals."
Laughter-laughter, the thought of learning an alternative profession came to you for fear of the future of the acting profession?
"Absolutely, a thought that was not unfounded at all. I was sure my profession was going to rubbish. Fortunately, during the epidemic I also had something charming with the stand-up, when people realized they could band together and book my show. It's something that lasts to this day. "100 people - and once in front of ten people. The courtyard performances were great fun, and the truth is that it was difficult for me to return to the closed halls."
Maya19.10@gmail.com
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