Join us on Zoom for History, Place and Identity: Exploring Crypto-Judaism in Southern Colorado through Theatre.
Colorado playwright/dramaturg Jessica Kahkoska will discuss her research and writing process for In Her Bones, a new play exploring the legacy of crypto-Judaism in Southern Colorado. As both an oral history researcher and creative writer, she will share findings from her research and reflections from the playwriting process, exploring how theatre can be a unique tool and platform to illuminate history, place, and identity in Southern Colorado. Scenes from In Her Bones will also be read.
Synopsis of the play: Colorado’s San Luis Valley is world-renowned for its beauty, but the area holds a deeper clandestine heritage: The legacy of Sephardic Jews who fled the Spanish Inquisition five centuries ago. When Mia returns to the region for her grandmother’s funeral, she’s forced to confront a past that she is both fleeing and seeking out. As she looks back on family memories, another world creeps in — one of shadows, forgotten prayers, and secrets hiding right in plain sight. Unearth the complicated legacy of Crypto-Judaism in the Southwest through this unlikely alpine tale of faith, fear and how we pass on culture when written records are too dangerous to keep.
