MONDAY: Voice Actors (FREE online class)
Hank Azaria (Apu); Mel Blanc (Bugs Bunny); June Foray (Witch Hazel); and more
On Monday, October 5, Jewish Culture 101 will look at an under-studied art form Jews have contributed to extensively: voice acting. Standouts like June Foray (Rocky) and Mel Blanc (Elmer Fudd) have created a host of individual characters of all shapes and sizes, colors and species. And today, stars like Hank Azaria (Apu) and Matt Stone (Butters) continue the tradition. What do you think about white characters doing black voices? Can you tell voice artists apart just by ear? Would you be a good voice actor? (Yes, you’ll have a chance to try.) Register: bitly.com/BenkofVoice
There are five days left to sign up for Judaism 101, a broad survey of the faith and people. We have 16 students so far in this intimate and interactive class and there’s room to comfortably add about a dozen more. The course is appropriate for Jewish beginners and not-so-beginners and non-Jews alike. Tuition $125, and sign-ups are at bitly.com/Benkof101.
The other FREE October classes are:
• Women Poets (Oct. 12)
• Disney’s Jews (Oct. 19)
• Rodgers & Hammerstein 101 (Oct. 26)
Mondays in November form a FREE 5-part course on Jewish Singer-Songwriters. Schedule: Bob Dylan (Nov. 2); Simon & Garfunkel (Nov. 9); Peter, Paul, & Mary (Nov. 16); Carole King (Nov. 23); and Billy Joel (Nov. 30). Sign up at bitly.com/BenkofSingers
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel here: bitly.com/BenkofChannel. You’ll find dozens of American Jewish culture videos, including a new nine-minute video about the Holocaust and American Jews based on our class on that topic last month; and this seven-minute video about whether Willy Loman is Jewish, based on our recent “Arthur Miller 101” class.
I’m booking Zoom talks for individual organizations, and eventually in-person classes. Here’s a demonstration of my in-person teaching and this one-minute intro shows how Jewish Culture 101 works.
My entire upcoming schedule, with links, is below.
Monday, October 5 Voice Actors (Noon EDT)
Wednesday, October 7 Judaism 101 course begins
Monday, October 12 Women Poets (Noon EDT)
Monday, October 19 Disney’s Jews (Noon EDT)
Monday, October 26 Rodgers & Hammerstein 101 (Noon EDT)
Monday, November 2 Bob Dylan 101
Thursday, November 5 SPECIAL REPEAT CLASS (topic to be announced)
Monday, November 9 Simon & Garfunkel 101
Monday, November 16 Peter, Paul, & Mary 101
Monday, November 23 Carole King 101
Monday, November 30 Billy Joel 10