Elana Bell (Leah) has toured nationally and internationally since age twelve. New York City venues include HERE Theatre, PS 122, and The Wow Café Theater. In 2001, Elana performed at the National Black Theater Festival in MINUS ONE, an educational musical about violence in teen relationships. In 2004 Elana was selected as the winner of the Stephen Dunn Poetry Award. A resident artist with the louderARTS Project, Elana has been a featured poet at Bar 13, the NuYorican Poets Cafe, Hunter College, Teachers and Writers Collaborative, The Bowery Poetry Club, Cornelia Street Café, and at the Indian Institute for Advanced Studies in Simla, India. She is co-founder of synonymUS, a multi-disciplinary poetry based performance series. Recently, Elana appeared in the off- Broadway production of Downtown Rhythm at the Primary Stages Theater. She serves as the writer-in-residence for the Bronx Academy of Letters and sings in the a cappella trio, Saheli.

Jessica Bay Blyweiss (Leah) is thrilled to be a part of Becoming Israel. She has a B.F.A in Theater from NYU where she studied at the Playwrights Horizons Theater School. Credits: Off-Broadway: A Kid’s Life Regional: Belle Davenport/ Molly Phewclothes in The Days of ’98 Show in Skagway, Alaska, Brenda in The Pajama Game, Ginger in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Oklahoma! (Village Light Opera), Fair Fight (NYU), Anything Goes, And The World ‘Goes Round, Titanic: The Musical and numerous staged readings of new musicals around NYC. She is an associate artist with Storahtelling Theater Company, a soccer coach and a myriad of other things that keep her busy in the city. She would like to thank all the people in her life who give her infinite support and love.

Daliya Karnovsky (Rachel) holds a B.F.A. from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied both classical and experimental theatre, and went on to create, produce, and star in Everyone Else is Screaming: A New Musical Work. She is currently performing her original solo work in Birthright Israel NEXT's national tour of I.D: An evening of solo performances exploring Jewish identity. She can also be seen this April in New York Neo-Classical Ensemble's Twelfth Night (Maria). This past winter, Daliya assistant-directed the highly acclaimed Edward II off-Broadway with the Red Bull Theater. She has also toured with Chamber Theatre Productions and recently appeared off-off-Broadway in MCT's Goodnight, Moon: The Musical. Daliya performs her solo work around the NYC area, and is writing an original musical to be produced this summer.

Amichae Lau-Lavie (Concept) is the Founder and Executive Director of Storahtelling. He is an Israeli-born teacher of Judaic Literature, described as "one of the most interesting thinkers in the Jewish world" by the NY Jewish Week. Amichai is a member of the Synagogue 3000 Leadership Network, a member of the advisory council for the Six Points Fellowship and a consultant to the Reboot Network.

Annie Levy (Director) is a director, collaborative - artist and theatre educator. Regional and local directing credits include HERE Arts Center, 78th Street Theatre Lab and The Jose Quintero Theatre. International credits include The Assembly Rooms (Edinburgh, Scotland), Discoteca di Storia (Rome, Italy) and Acadia University (Nova Scotia, Canada). As the resident director for the Northwoods Theatre Company, she has directed the original adaptations of Bernard Malmud's The Jewbird and The Underwater Palace as well as the premier of Marc Goldsmith's The Hero of Kabul and Brecht's The Jewish Wife. Annie is a 2003 recipient of The Spielberg Fellowship in Theatre Arts Education, the Jewish Woman's Education Grant and the S. Rubenstein Family Foundation graduate education grant. She is the co-founder of the Six Seeds Theatre Collective. Annie is an adjunct professor at SUNY-WCC and a teaching artist with The Manhattan New Music Project and The Jamaica Center of Arts and Learning. She holds a BA from Barnard and a MFA from Sarah Lawrence.

Jonathan Riddleberger (Jake) is a recent graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He has played roles in shows such as Hecuba, What the Butler Saw, Alligator, Superheroes, The Thorn of Desire, and many others. As well as being an actor, Jon is also a puppeteer, writer, director. He recently wrote and directed The Ballad of Thimblebear in association with the Experimental Theatre Wing. He would like to thank Storahtelling for making him an honorary Jew.

David Schiller (Jake) returns to acting after a three year hiatus to study Yoga and massage, travel the world, spend all his money, return home and get one of those office jobs with health insurance and quit said job. He's much happier now and thinks you would be too, try it! David enjoys jumping from genre to genre (and career to career) and was last seen as another Jew, Sid Lipshitz in the musical, "A Stoop on Orchard St." in Florida and off-Broadway. Favorite past plays include Merchant of Venice (Shylock), Hamlet, (Rosencrantz), Jesus Christ Superstar (Herod), "A Funny Thing Happened... (Hysterium).
In addition to performing, David enjoys traveling, teaching, rooting for the NY Yankees and Giants and all University of Virginia sports or famous graduates. He's also currently promoting the greatest card game ever invented called 'Rowboat' - ask him how to play and your social life will change for the better.

Franny Silverman (Rachel) is a founding member of Storahtelling and has collaborated on over 40 original productions with the company. She served as Associate Artistic Director from 2002-2007 and is currently Director of Special Programs. Other recent credits include Dina/Leah in the premiere of Marcia Jean Kurtz's Between Two Worlds at HB Playwrights Theatre and the title role in The Jewish Wife with the Northwoods Ramah Theatre Company (WI) also directed by Annie Levy. Additionally, Franny has had the pleasure of working with Manhattan Theatre Source’s Estrogenius Festivals, The Shalimar, MultiStages, Ripple Productions, Harbor Theatre, Looking for Lilith, The Impact Theatre, The Human Race Theatre (OH) and The Phoenix Theatre (IN). As a director, Franny has worked with Brave New World Rep and Storahtelling, as well as Composer/Vocalist Ayelet Rose Gottlieb’s Song Cycle Mayim Rabim/Great Waters which has been featured at BRICstudios and PS122. Franny holds a BFA from the University of Cincinnati Conservatory (CCM). Undying love to home team.

Sarah Sokolic (Leah) is Storahtelling's Associate Executive Director. Sarah holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Teachers College Columbia University and a B.A. in Sociology and Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University. Sarah's acting credits include Off and Off-Off Broadway, numerous independent films and television on Law & Order: SVU, and Sesame Street. Sarah was the recipient of the Best Actress Award for her performance in the short film "Seder" at the 2004 Arlene's Grocery Picture Show. Sarah has spent more than a decade designing and delivering training programs for Fortune 500 companies including Viacom, Inc., MTV, Nickelodeon, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Credit Suisse First Boston. She also works with synagogues and unaffiliated families to develop and facilitate B'nai Mitzvah and educational programs that incorporate the performing arts in study, prayer, and Jewish ritual. Sarah serves on the board of Camp Ramah in the Berkshires and resides with her husband and two sons in Manhattan.

Emily Warshaw (Rachel) a performer and writer, is honored to be a part of the creative team behind Becoming Israel. Emily received her BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where she studied acting and directing at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School, and clowning and physical comedy with the Experimental Theatre Wing. New York acting credits include roles in Under Milkwood , The Suicide, …A Very Bad Idea , Terminating… or Ambivalence, as well as several workshop readings with the off-Broadway theatre company Primary Stages. Emily’s performance work has been recognized by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and the Southeastern Theatre Conference. As a Jewish educator/arts administrator, Emily has held positions in summer camps at the Jewish Community Association of Austin, the 92nd Street Y where she served as director of the fine/performing arts camp, and currently with Jewish Community Center Association of North America.

Isadore Alexander Wolfson (Jake) originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Isadore spent his college years studying theater at the University of Kansas. Favorite roles include Charlie Brown in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Speede in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Oscar Wolfe in The Royal Family. After graduation, he spent a year touring with the children’s production of Miss Nelson is Missing with the Omaha Theatre Company for Young People. Since moving to New York, Isadore has worked with Storahtelling and studied improv comedy at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theater. He recently put together a sketch comedy group that will be performing in New York City. He is excited to be involved in such a moving piece.