Roger Grunwald was on a roll. For years, he had been touring the globe with his Holocaust-themed, one-man, multiple-character play, performing it at synagogues throughout North America, Israel and the U.K. and at universities such as Oxford, Penn State and Ben-Gurion.
But right when he was all set to take the expanded version of that play on a major 2020 tour, the pandemic hit and Grunwald had to quickly rethink his career strategy.
The gist of his new plan? Goodbye live theater, hello Zoom.
For several months, the San Francisco native has been offering a program called “The Mitzvah Project” to high schools. This new online version includes a filmed version of his one-man play, “The Mitzvah,” as a jumping-off point to teach teens about the Holocaust. He’ll be presenting the project to schools in Marin, Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties at various dates in January and February, scheduled around International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27.