PRIVATE MOMENTS by Daphne Macy

Private Moments is a coming-of-age story of Mika, an 18-year-old female Israeli soldier. It strives to break certain misconceptions about what it is like to serve in the Israeli army, and to explore what it is like to be a soldier from a female perspective.

 

The story begins when Mika, a poet and a sensitive soul, first arrives at the base where she will serve for the next two years. At her unit, she meets Vicki, who couldnt take her service less seriously, and her new supervisor Shosh, who couldn't take her work more seriously. She finds an instant liking in Dan, a fellow artist in soul, whose aspirations to walk in his father's footsteps force him to grow up.

 

The base initially and paradoxically serves as a haven from adulthood and from the security threats in the country, which are constantly announced in the news. However, as the play progresses, adulthood, dangers and the real world close in on Mika more and more.

 

Not one of the characters in the play is rambo, even though they are all soldiers in the IDF. If viewers are able to set aside what they think they know about Israel, it is my hope that they might be able to see their own 18-year-old selves through this realistic portrayal of the Israeli army.