Brian Feldman marks the sabbath ... conveniently
Brian Feldman, a longtime fixture of Orlando’s avant-garde arts scene, is back in town for a one-night show.
Feldman is always interested in experiences and the passing of time as they relate to the arts. This time, there’s a religious twist. In “Wawa Shabbawa,” Feldman will host Shabbat at an Orlando convenience store. As Feldman notes: “Many people consider Wawa a sacred institution, and Jews worldwide certainly consider Shabbat to be one as well.”
He warns that there won’t be matches, wine or challah involved – but there will be LED candles, carbonated grape juice and soft pretzels. Also, note that the Shabbat blessings will be recited so BYOY (bring your own yarmulke).
Among Feldman’s best-known works are “The Feldman Dymanic,” in which he ate dinner with his family onstage in front of an audience, and “Brian Feldman Marries Anybody*,” in which he married a stranger after a game of spin-the-bottle. That piece, performed five years before same-sex marriage became legal in Florida, was in support of marriage equality.
Since 2003, he has presented more than 300 performances of more than 115 projects at close to 200 venues in 25 cities worldwide through Brian Feldman Projects. You can find out more about him and his work at brianfeldman.com.
He moved to Washington, D.C., in 2012 and has since won two Arts and Humanities Fellowships in Theatre from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. He was named best performance artist this year by Washington City Paper.
“Wawa Shabbawa” will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 26 at Wawa Store #5153, 4100 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando (near Orlando Executive Airport).
Admission is free, but you may reserve a seat at https://dinners.onetable.org/landing/others.