Two months ago, Dafna Dekel received an urgent phone call.
On the line was Shuki Wagner, her director in the play "The Market of Reality" at the Haifa Theater.
Wagner wanted to find out if Dekel would agree to switch, from moment to moment, a star in another play he directed, which was forced to retire at the rehearsal stage, one month before taking the stage.
The star that Dekel was asked to replace in the new Israeli musical "The Station" was none other than the veteran singer and actress Miri Aloni, who was hospitalized for emergency surgery to treat an infection in her right leg, at the end of which the doctors had to amputate part of her.
"I did not know about what happened to Miri," Dekel recalls.
"Shuki told me, 'We need you urgently,' and I immediately replied that I was coming to save the production - provided that as soon as Miri recovers, I will vacate her place again."
How do you prepare for a show so quickly?
"They were in rehearsals for a month and a half, and there was a certain amount of hysteria. I did not want to cause unnecessary delays, so I sat down to memorize the texts, with his brother, my husband, helping me.
It is not easy to join a stage team that has already been formed.
"Usually, when I get into something, it's to the end. I have not read a single word of the play before. these.
"This time I was told, 'We need you,' and I immediately said yes. My intention was to keep Miri's place until she returned. Unfortunately, within a day or two I realized that it would not happen so quickly, and that there was a long rehabilitation process before Miri. I admit I did not know that I would enter such a dizzying period, with five roles that I do at the same time. "
Did you talk to Miri about the replacement?
"I did not want to bother her, but I conveyed to her wishes of recovery through everyone I can. Shortly before we went to the first show I wrote to her that I hoped she would come back, and that she was always there with us, but she did not answer. Her and we'll talk.
"Miri and I did not know each other before. I passed her by in various shows we attended, but we never spoke. I have admired her since childhood. She is one of the rare singers we have, with impressive vocal ability."
The musical "The Station", written by Dafna Engel and Shai Lahav, and directed by Wagner, embodies the story of a group of soldiers who complete a coveted military correspondent stationing course, sink into gray office work and the disengagement event from Gush Katif is sent to report from the dramatic terrain.
Dekel plays the character of Livna, a veteran broadcaster who is already sometimes perceived as irrelevant, and who has to deal with her young colleagues, changing technology and generational gaps.
As a veteran broadcaster in the play "The Station" at the Haifa Theater.
"I do not feel a gap with the young people, on the contrary," Photo: Yossi Tzabker
The 71-year-old Valoni is not exactly the same generation as the character.
"Because there was no time to change, we did not manage to make an adjustment from the character she played to my character, even though we are very different. Over time I had to bring the character closer to me.
"This is a broadcaster whose place in the station is being undermined, and she is trying to keep it. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's touching, and in Miri's case it was taken right at the beginning of Alzheimer's, as a physiological condition. "She changes systems, and she does not know what to do with herself."
Is there anything in all this that you, at your age, identify with?
"Fortunately, as I get older I get more kicking roles and full of energy. So in front of the youngsters I do not feel a gap, on the contrary."
Speaking of a military station, what do you think about all the storms around the IDF waves?
"The truth is that I do not listen to the radio so much. In the past I was more on CDs, today on Spotify. I know there are storms, but until 'the station' I was not involved in the details, and even today I am not really."
In the play, Livna sings "The Ballad of Hedva and Shlomik," which is identified with Aloni and is intended for her on stage.
"At first, when I sang the song, I felt like I was immediately suffocating, just thinking that Miri should have been there. But on stage you release it. There's nothing to do, it's part of the job. We insisted on leaving the song, because it was clear to all of us that Miri's presence should remain "I still hope that someday she will come back and become a double on the job."
Miri Aloni.
"Admires her", Photo: Moshe Shai
• • •
Until a decade ago, Dekel (55) was mostly associated with the world of children, where she ruled for 15 years with "Daphne and Dudido", "Wonderland", "Gum Seeds", "Blue and White", numerous shows and festivals.
But then she decided to leave everything and navigate the career ship to the theater stage and to adult music.
"In 2009 I participated in 'Baby of the Festival', and after a year in the Children's Song Festival, which then returned in the blink of an eye. And this is where I knew I was quitting. Already in 2007 I began to feel a dissonance between my activities in the world of children and adults."
Why did you not choose to combine the two worlds?
"I could not combine. The field of children always attracted me more. When a parent sees you jumping on stages in Shefayim, then in the evening you want to sell him tickets to a show in Zappa - it's a little less appropriate. At some point in my career I told Shlomo Tzach (Eternal Personal Manager; MK) , That when I reach the age of 40 I will stop running after dolls.
All these years I gave my all and enjoyed every second, but I stopped as soon as I felt I was starting to suffer.
Why did you suffer?
"Because I started to feel that something was changing in this area and it was already talking less to me. At the same time, I had a great sense of accomplishment."
In recent years, Dekel has moved to star in the Repertory Theater.
She participated in the musical "Billy Elliott", which premiered at Cinema City, was cast in the musical "Road Signs" on stage, about the life of Naomi Shemer, starred in the musical "Chaplin", which staged at the Tel Aviv Theater, and during the Corona period was commissioned to the "Reality Market" A musical cabaret of songs by Natan Alterman composed by Moshe Wilensky and Sasha Argov, in which she and Alon Ofir step into the big shoes of the late Yona Atari and Eili Gurlitzky.
She also participates in the musical "Od Hozer Hanigun" on stage, about Alterman's life, in which she shares two roles alternately - with Ricky Gal his mistress, the painter Tzila Binder, and with Shlomit Aharon his wife, the actress Rachel Marcus.
Add to all this the new series "Playing and Singing", which aired and aired on yes and STINGTV, and the show from its hits over the years - and you will understand why it "feels like now is my time".
Explain.
"When I made the cut from the children's field, I said I had to make the choice, hard as it may be, and that it could have a price. And there really was a price: I sat at home for three years."
What do you do at home for three years?
"Preparing the ground for the future, looking for materials, recording, making plans ahead. Obviously there were also difficult moments and low points. The feeling that maybe what I want will not happen flooded me more than once, and it is not easy. Contrary to the recommendations around me And there were moments when I felt like I was diving into abysses that were hard to get out of. "
How did you overcome anyway?
"Because I am a naturally optimistic optimist, and do not tend to stay in these places for long, I have adapted a skill to see what is good."
Was there a moment when you thought you might have to look for a livelihood in another field?
"Absolutely not, but I knew it took patience, patience and also a financial investment, because all of a sudden you cut off the industry you are sitting on. And no, I did not get rich from it as one tends to think. It kept me on a good standard of living, but to this day I pay a mortgage. Alongside the profits was a lot of investment, and when you invest like me in the best writers, directors, actors and creators, the profit is not as big as you think.
"So during the time I was sitting at home nothing else came, and besides using the savings I had accumulated, I had to invest further - in the album, in the songs, in the PR. Towards the end of the period the savings were already significantly reduced, and that kept me busy."
As mentioned, Dekel is currently appearing in an exposed role in the TV drama "Playing and Singing", centered on a young musician from Rosh HaAyin, Gili Hadad (Bar Tsabari), who grew up as a child prodigy and performed in his father's clubs, leaving the family behind.
Dekel plays the mother of the family, who is dealing with the death of her husband, raising her three children and a complex emotional charge in touching scenes, in which she is filmed with almost no makeup.
The series, which was shot mostly in Rosh HaAyin, directed by Yevgeny Roman, a resident of the place (along with the creator of the series Oded Noy, who co-wrote with Kinneret Peled), also stars Sasson Gabay, Joy Rieger, Kim Or Azulai, Yoav Levy, Lake Ozelbo, Einat Shroff, Raymond Amsalem, and with them anchors from the Mediterranean singer - Yehuda Caesar, Yishai Levy, Yoav Yitzhak, Yaron Ilan, Assaf Etadegi and Eden Hasson.
Without makeup in front of a camera? You? I'm used to seeing you always golden.
"Yeah, in that sense it was really hard. It was a place I had to let go, and I let go. Someone once told me not to define 'discovery of the year' but 'discovery of the years' because a lot of things I did along the way said to me,' Wow, you're We have not seen it with you yet, here's a surprise. '
"Indeed, I asked not to see any of my frames during the filming, because I did not want to get stuck on the matter of makeup. I gave myself up. This is a character that must be walked with to the end, and I enjoyed. All life, and entering the set without preparation.It was challenging.
"I get very strong reactions to my role and the series. Today someone wrote to me 'I feel like if I were walking around in Rosh HaAyin, I would meet this family,' and that's the biggest compliment you can get, which for him is almost documentary."
As the mother of the family in the series "playing and singing".
"This is a character that must be walked with to the end," Photo: Vered Adir
You're never really touched on the Mediterranean genre, despite your Yemeni roots.
"At home we heard a lot of oriental and Mediterranean music, Zohar Argov, Boaz Sharabi, the Hatikva neighborhood workshop, the sounds of the vineyard, the sounds of the oud. I'm very connected there, but it turned out that from the beginning of my career Today I did not get any song from the genre that I said about, "Walla, the one I want to record."
• • •
She was born and raised in Ashdod, the daughter of the late Aviva, a senior secretary at a chemical fiber plant, and the late Yosef, a former senior police officer.
Her two younger brothers are Ohad (50), a music and sound producer, and Valeran (45), lead singer of the band Fankenstein ("We Are Best Friends").
She has lived in Beit Dagan for 23 years with Acho Cohen (56), the administrative director of the Holon Puppet Theater Center, her first partner, since 1984, whom she married in 1993.
Together they are raising three sons: Tomer (25), who works in the field of education for children at risk, Sol (18), a twelfth-grader, and Noam (13 and a half), who is in the eighth grade.
Even before her military service in the Nahal band, she sang in a youth band in Ashdod, and in 1987, a year after her release, she was a member of Shlomo Tzach.
I was 20 when I got to his office, and there were just auditions for the character of a puppet in the musical 'Saleh Shabti' on stage.
In the middle of our meeting, Nurit Hirsch called Shlomo and told him that they could not find a suitable puppet.
He replied, 'She is sitting in front of me now.'
I met Nurit and Ephraim Kishon, and they loved me very much.
That's how it started. "
In 1992, she was chosen to represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden, with the song "It's just a sport", which is also remembered for the legal battle waged against him by Anat Atzmon, who came in second place in the pre-competition.
Atzmon complained that Dekel's song was 17 seconds longer than allowed in the rules.
The Eurovision has changed a lot from your time, and today the Israeli representative was chosen in reality.
"These programs have advantages and disadvantages, but spectacular talents have come out of it. Neta Barzilai is a natural phenomenon."
Would you like to judge there?
"No, because it's hard for me to give reviews. I see the problems and know right away what they are, but am not able to tell them to a person in the face."
Does the phrase "it's just a sport" characterize you at all?
"Very, and not just in my career, but in general. From a very young age I realized, with the things life has summoned for me, that I have to carefully choose what to do drama, why I get sucked in, where I fall. Most of the time there is no point in being frustrated and angry. Today, about everything What happens to me is I say 'thank you, this is probably what it should have been - and next' '.
What are the hard things life has summoned for you?
"My mother passed away at the age of 62, and we went through difficult years of cancer with her. This year we will mark 20 years since her death. My father passed away two years ago with dementia, and we also had very difficult years with him. All of these made me focus on the important things. "
• • •
The return to the theater, in productions that deal with the greats of Israeli culture for generations, she celebrates, she says, with a great sense of mission.
"We have morning plays for schools and plays for soldiers, alongside the older audience. When I see all the young people coming and being exposed for the first time to these basics, I understand that this is really a mission. These are cultural materials that must not disappear and fade away."
Next month, at the end of a two-year break, Dekel will return to the musical "Road Signs", which returned to the stage after the financial dispute between the Habima Theater and the family of Naomi Shemer and the creators of the musical came to an end.
The play was written by Oren Yaakobi and Giora Yahalom, and directed by Moshe Kaftan.
"It's producing a soul full of magic, and through it I rediscovered Naomi Shemer as a stormy woman, so different from her aunt at the piano that she seemed to us," says Dekel.
"I play her in her 50s, the more political, right-wing Naomi, what she kidnapped because of him. Her need to say what she feels and thinks without taking into account and paying the price."
Are you similar to her in any of these?
"My tendency is to define myself as apolitical, but it's mostly a lack of in-depth knowledge. I don't like to make decisions about anything in my life that I do not understand enough, so I will not go out in public and talk about politics."
On her mobile monitor flashes the name Amit Tzach (Shlomo's son), her other half in music in recent years.
Amit, a musician living in New York, writes and composes her singles.
“In the last few years I have released seven singles, a song every ten months, and I guess in the end they will be incorporated into a digital album,” she explains.
The latest single, "What Are You Saying," released two months ago, is accompanied by a parody clip that deals with the culture of filters, social networks and instant.
The bold and colorful clip, in which Dekel replaces pompous and exaggerated looks befitting the digital generation, was directed by Amit Tzach himself, and also features Dror Keren and Roni Nadler.
"It started when my talent, which is my friend, participated in the 'New Love' reality show, in which love is sought. Amit and I watched it and talked about how hard it is today to find love. I have no doubt that if I had to find the love of my life today, it would not happen. "The sentence 'what do you say' came, which Roni told her partner on the show. After two days a colleague called me with a song ready, and I immediately fell in love with it."
With the clip you went completely crazy.
"We wanted to take him to things that are happening today, and we decided to go wild until the end. I admit there were some people who warned me it was excessive, but I went for it. By the way, the clip is not a critique of Instagram culture, because in the end I'm part of it."
Speaking of Instagram, have you seen the new page opened in your name, "Dafna Dekel Archive Page", which in less than a month has already gained hundreds of followers?
"Yes, he was brought up by Yishai Kreidelman, who started out as a die-hard fan of mine and today we are in a relationship with friends. He decided to open the page as a gift, and there is magic, a crazy archive of things I did not remember happening at all. "Atzmon or me. I never understood the preoccupation with my appearance. I think I look fine, not pretty on such a scale. Anyway, people respond with excitement, saying the page brings them back to childhood.
• • •
How was your corona period?
"Oddly enough, just fine, even though she gave Brex to the tour I did with my musicians. "It's terrible, and it still is. Although there is some improvement, many people from the circle that surrounds the talents, from the system that surrounds them, have not returned. Lots have fallen."
The cultural world has been hit hardest by the epidemic.
"I really hope they don't shut us down anymore, and that people understand that you can not kick culture and bring it down to the bottom of the list. It was done so rudely, that it hurt. I'm not offended, but it was insulting. I could not contain it. I looked away and did not believe people "Treat culture as a marginal and unimportant thing, while they sat at home, watched series, listened to music and read books."
It is impossible not to address today the issue of sexual harassment and the Mei Tu revolution in culture. Have you ever experienced something like this?
"Not much, but there was one experience at the beginning of my career as a young actress. I did not define it as sexual harassment, because it was not continuous. It was the experience of a man I told 'no', and when he tried for the second time on stage - he got a ringing slap in front of the audience." .
what happened there?
"It was in a show. He was a veteran actor, who in the scene had to give me a tiny kiss on the lips. In the first show he tried harder, and right after that I came to him and told him it was inappropriate, not acceptable to me and that it would not happen again.
"We had to go to the second show, and again - the same thing. This time without thinking I slapped him. He was in the market, and I do not know how the audience reacted, because I was so focused. Then he refused to talk to me for years. We continued to play together, but we did not talk. "And of course he did not dare go on stage anymore."
Did not complain about it in real time?
"I did not talk about it and I did not report, because for me I finished the matter at that moment."
You do not want to reveal his name?
"No, because he has a family and children and grandchildren. I find no point in harming the environment close to him today. I do not want his grandchildren to know and hear about their grandfather."
The experience left no scar on you?
"It did not bother me later on at all. For me, it was one experience, that I did not experience like it again. I just stopped and cut it sharply. But it is clear to me that not everyone can stop, and I am very happy about Mi Tu, which is one of the most important things that happened. "I'm glad it's floating and being taken care of today. There's no doubt a revolution is taking place here, but I believe we're not yet got to where we need to be. There's a lot of work to be done, and we're in a place that's not yet balanced, and needs to be balanced."
Maya19.10@gmail.com
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