'1,000 Faces of a Hero': The new show of violinist Ariella Zeitlin

It would not be stretching things too far to say that Ariella Zeitlin wants to change the world. While that may sound more than a little bombastic, not to say fantastical, the thirty-something violinist seems to have both feet firmly planted on solid terra firma.

The Baltimore-born mother of two is about to roll out her latest vehicle of entertainment, enlightenment, and spiritual uplifting, a show that goes by the pretty self-explanatory name of “1,000 Faces of a Hero.”

The seeds for the current project were sown along several lines. For starters, Zeitlin has an abundance of hard-earned life experience to fuel her drive and passion, as well as the subject matter of the present undertaking. She also went down an avenue initially carved over seven decades ago by American writer and literature professor Joseph Campbell. “The title comes from his book called The Hero with a Thousand Faces [first published in 1949],” Zeitlin explains. 

The tome in question is an invaluable source of information for anyone looking to delve into the backdrop of some of our contemporary accepted wisdom. “He did all this research, collecting stories from every culture all over the world – thousands of stories.” That sounds like quite a mission, and it provided Zeitlin with a referential folklore goldmine to dig into.

Campbell’s work examines comparative mythology, with the author discussing his theory of the mythological structure of the journey the archetypal hero is said to have taken. That leaves plenty of room for maneuver, and domains to roam, explore, and feed as Zeitlin crafted the show.

This is not just any old production designed solely to provide us with thrills and spills and, hopefully, allow us some downtime from our current trials and tribulations. Not that there’s anything wrong with pure entertainment.

But Zeitlin has plenty more up her artistic sleeve, and lots more to offer in the way of bottom-line benefits. She also utilizes Campbell’s line of thought, and discovery spread, to the max. “He kind of analyzed all the stories he gathered and figured out what the same things are, that every culture has in its hero story,” she observes.

Zeitlin quickly realized that a common denominator theme was there for the taking. “We need to look at what is the same in our Moshe Rabeinu [Moses] story as in the Christians’ Jesus story and the Muhammad story in Islam. Everybody has their hero of their culture.”

The answer to that is surprisingly basic and eminently encouraging for those of us who don’t feel we are endowed with superpowers, above-average abilities, or the means to put our dreams and plans into corporeal action. “Campbell found that almost every story follows a similar lineup. You have a regular kind of person, they are called to something, there is something amazing, then they refuse the call, and then they deal with challenges. Then they have to come up with tools to deal with these challenges.”

1,000 Faces of a Hero

THAT LIES at the core of the “1,000 Faces of a Hero” agenda. When she got down to devising the content of the show, Zeitlin naturally turned to music to ensure she had a multi-layered yet cohesive running order. She was looking to draw her audience in, and get us involved in the meaningful subtext, using popular theme tunes as the “bait.” 

“The main part of the show is music, and it’s music from movies,” she explains.

It also follows a defined structure that takes us on a journey of empowerment from the initial solicitation to set off, through to the actual odyssey, and along a meandering route of progress and challenges, and ultimately to a rewarding denouement.

“The first section is ‘Call to Adventure,’” says Zeitlin. “So I use the Pirates of the Caribbean theme, the theme from Mission Impossible, and from Pulp Fiction.” That should provide us with a suitably motivating and upbeat intro to the show. “That’s how I start it – very dramatic.”

Zeitlin is keen to appeal to, and inspire, all and sundry right across the generational spectrum. “This is a show for the whole family,” she notes. “For all ages.”

That seems perfectly reasonable. Why shouldn’t we all connect with something positive in these dire times, and draw some encouragement and life-affirming vibes that, hopefully, will point the way to a better personal and collective future? Let’s face it, we could all do with a shot in the arm, especially if it’s not marketed by Big Pharma.

The show agenda takes us into fairytale climes, along a Journey to a Magical World with the thematic utopian sensibilities conveyed through musical excerpts such as “When You Wish Upon a Star” from Disney’s 1940 classic Pinocchio; Hedwig’s Theme from the Harry Potter franchise; and “Concerning Hobbits” from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. That should do the stirring trick even for the most downcast of us.

As Zeitlin complements her fiddling with her own vocals, we get something of a complete performance package from the creator and star of the show. She also has the requisite accrued track record to put out the philosophical message as it dips into dark passages before emerging into the light.

The music is interspersed with speaking interludes as Zeitlin shares some of the emotional and logistical minefields she has negotiated to get where she is today. “Each time that I talk, I talk about the stage of the journey, and I talk about how I’ve seen that stage of the journey in my life.” That takes the show’s trajectory out of the domain of the idyllic, Disney-like fantasy world and into the nitty-gritty of doing the business of real life.

ZEITLIN, IT transpires, has seen her fair share of trouble and is willing and fully able to let us in on some of that with the expressed aim of encouraging us to follow our own path, come what may. She clearly has plenty of guts to go with her creative gifts. 

“That’s what we need to do right now. We need to be open and honest,” she declares. “I believe in the concept of geula, or redemption. I think the concept of higher consciousness is redemption.”

Zeitlin has been through the emotional mill a couple of times herself and appears to have come out fighting and smiling. Now she is ready to disseminate that to the rest of us and, hopefully, inspire us to take the high road back to optimism and the sunny side of life.■

• Who: Ariella Zeitlin
• What: “1,000 Faces of a Hero”
• When: May 30 at 8:30 p.m.
• Where: Nava Bibi Auditorium, Kikar Hamusika, Jerusalem
• Why: To inspire us all to a more responsible, better future

For tickets and more information: www.violinlikethat.com/1000faces