Ashkelon Community Theater
In 2011, Ashkelon’s then-mayor Beni Vaknin spearheaded new arts initiatives within the city’s community centers, launching the “Kedem-Ashkelon” theater project alongside citywide choir programs . Kedem-Ashkelon operates within local multipurpose centers (‘matnasim’), offering rehearsal spaces, administrative support, and stage equipment—ensuring grassroots theatrical activity has a professional home from which to grow.
ACT: Ashkelon Community Theater (English Speaking) is a local community theater group serving the Ashkelon and neighboring communities. This incarnation of the group started in January 2023 with Mark Lazar as its director.
ACT 1 Enter Mark Lazar
ACT’s first performance was on Yom HaShoa 2023 with the performance of the radio play “The Day of the Shadow”. Since then, ACT has created various zoom productions, run ongoing improvisation workshops and performed the successful “Shtetl Schticks” last December to a full house. In April 2025 ACT presented “A Vanished World” in honor of the world that once was.
The group performed the production of the original comedy “G-d Therapy” which was performed locally in Ashkelon on June 5th and then taken on the road to Modi’in, Rehovot, Kvar Saba, Beersheva and Jerusalem. A December 2025 production is in the works!
If you are interested in becoming involved in ACT, whether in the ongoing improvisational workshops or upcoming play productions, please contact Mark Lazar at 053-701-0932. There are no costs to your involvement as ACT is dedicated to the concept of community involvement and creativity.
