Open to Public
The Book of Job Project: Knox County
Free Event
Please RSVP through the link provided. The event Zoom link will be distributed via email, and available to registered attendees starting 2 days prior to the event.
Sun, Dec 06.2020
Virtual Event
The Book of Job Project presents dramatic readings by acclaimed actors of The Book of Job as a catalyst for powerful, guided conversations about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon individuals, families, and communities.The Book of Job is an ancient Hebrew poem that timelessly explores how humans behave when faced with disaster, pestilence and injustice.
Featuring performances by Bill Murray, Frankie Faison, David Strathairn, Marjolaine Goldsmtih, Kathryn Erbe, and Nyasha Hatendi.
Translated by Stephen Mitchell.
Directed, adapted, and facilitated by Bryan Doerries.
This is event, focused on the Knox County, Ohio community, is part of Theater of War Productions’ year-long virtual residency at Kenyon College. We are pleased to open this program up to the public to create the conditions for dialogue and connection during this time of isolation and division.
The event Zoom link will be distributed and available to registered attendees starting 2 days prior to the event. All of Theater of War Productions' events follow the same format:
- The actors will read the play.
- Four community panelists will kick off the discussion with their gut responses to what resonated with them across time
- We will open the discussion to the audience, facilitated by Bryan Doerries. During the discussion, please raise your hand using the button at the bottom center of the screen. If called upon, you will be promoted to speak and you will be visible and heard by the entire audience for the duration of your comments. If you would prefer not to be seen, please disable your video when entering the event.
To experience this event:
Please download Zoom to your laptop or mobile device https://zoom.us/download
About the play
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The Book of Job by Translated by Stephen Mitchell
The Book of Job is an ancient Hebrew poem that timelessly explores how humans behave when bad things happen to good people. At the beginning of the poem, Job, a righteous and prosperous man, is tested by God. In the span of one day, he loses everything—his children, his crops, his livestock, his house, and his health. Convinced of his own innocence, Job sits silently in the dirt behind what's left of his home and asks God for an explanation. But God doesn't answer. Job is visited by a group of friends who, at first, sympathize with his suffering, but when Job begins to question why he has been singled out and made to suffer, they condemn his behavior and accuse him of having done something to deserve his terrible fate. In spite of these accusations, Job clings to the belief that he has done nothing wrong and continues to shake his fists at the sky in righteous indignation. At the very end of the poem, God reveals himself to Job as a disembodied voice within a whirlwind and rebukes him for presuming to understand His will. Job covers his mouth and falls silent, and—in an enigmatic ending—God restores his health and prosperity, doubling his children, his livestock, and his crops.
Cast Members
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Bill Murray
Job
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Frankie Faison
God
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David Strathairn
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Marjolaine Goldsmith
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Kathryn Erbe
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Nyasha Hatendi
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Matthew T. Starr
Press Coverage
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Dec 06.2020
Associated Press
A unique recipe for healing: Bill Murray and a biblical text
by By ELANA SCHOR and ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
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Dec 02.2020
Knox County Pages
Bill Murray featured in “Book of Job” project in Knox County
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Nov 30.2020
Mount Vernon News
Kenyon College graduate, acclaimed actors bring healing to Knox County
by Bob Pepalis
Event Partner
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This free, public event featured a live, dramatic reading of the “Patient Griselda” story from Boccaccio's Decameron by Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Fleishman is in Trouble), Maev Beaty (Beau is Afraid, Mouthpiece), and Araya Mengesha (Tiny Pretty Things, Nobody). Then, in response, Margaret Atwood performed “Impatient Grisleda,” a story that is narrated to a group of humans in quarantine by an alien that looks like an octopus. The readings of both texts was followed by immediate responses by community panelists and culminated in a guided audience discussion, facilitated by Bryan Doerries (Artistic Director, Theater of War Productions).
Co-presented by Theater of War Productions and Toronto International Festival of Authors.
This hybrid presentation took place in person at the Toronto Harbourfront Centre Theatre and on Zoom Webinar on September 30, 2023.