Staff

Rachel Factor - Artistic Director

Rachel Factor is a Torah-observant mother who makes her home in Eretz Israel. Her journey from Hawaii, where she was born, to Los Angeles and then New York as a singer, dancer and actress and finally to her home in Yerushalayim is chronicled in the acclaimed one-woman show entitled “J.A.P.” which has been touring worldwide. Her extensive experience as a professional performer for over 20 years has included 8 years on Broadway, over 40 television and print commercial clients, numerous MTV music videos, television and film appearances, and performances at the Radio City Music Hall as a World Famous Rockette. She founded a writing/performance group in New York which played to sold-out crowds, starred in several Shakespearean classics and directed plays and readings in the Off-Off Broadway realm.

She is currently creating a sequel to “J.A.P.” called “Not Even Normal” which details her unusual journey from her introduction to Judaism whilst entrenched in a “normal”, secular existence, to a Torah observant lifestyle and what her choices meant for her career, her identity and her family. Mrs. Factor will teach, direct and develop new works in addition to overseeing the day-to-day affairs and overall direction of the Center.

A Note from Rachel

As a young girl, limited by my own inability to express myself, I struggled to deal with my emotions unsuccessfully. It was not until I discovered the incredible mediums of dance and theater that I learned to express and heal myself. Through these powerful mediums I continue the process of self-examination and healing to this very day. The show “J.A.P.” was a way for me to process the feelings and emotions that arose during those difficult days in my struggle to reclaim my identity and my eventual conversion to Judaism. Originally presented to a mainstream audience, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it had overwhelming appeal to a religious crowd as well. Over the course of these performances I have been approached by many women, both young and more mature, who long to express and heal their souls as well. With moving words they tell me their own stories of struggle and pain, and their longing to express their artistic natures with out compromising their religious ideals. It is the Jewish Woman who nurtures the souls of our future. It is our goal that B'nos Miriam will be a place for the nurturing of the Jewish woman’s own soul.