Naava Piatka thinks of herself as a messenger.

Following her Sunday afternoon performance, Piatka, both playwright and actress, is surrounded by fans. She has been backstage for a short time and is now dressed more casually.

She moves about the crowd and embraces men and women she has never met.

One man holds her hand and tells her that he has just seen one of the most moving things of his life.

Another tells Piatka she wishes her grandchildren were there; yet another tells the playwright she could see her mother.
"You brought them all back to life," she said.
"Thank you for embracing the faith," Piatka says.

Piatka stars in and wrote a one-woman musical, Better Don’t Talk!, presented this week at the Schacht Fine Arts Theatre on the Russell Sage College campus in Troy.

She said the production is a dream come true.

Better Don’t Talk! is a musical tribute to Piatka’s mother, Chayela Rosenthal, who was known as the "Star of the Vilna Ghetto" in war-torn Lithuania during the Holocaust.

To combat the atrocities surrounding her, Rosenthal and her brother, Layb, made music.

Playing both her mother (Chayela) and herself, Piatka tells the story her mother couldn’t. She tells of her mother’s way of dealing with horrific events, the pains her mother didn’t wish to re-live, and her own personal journey.
"I have three children — my small contribution to the 6 million," Naava says of the Jewish population killed during the Holocaust.

With few props, and no other actors to interact with, Piatka is armed on stage only with her charismatic personality and the determination to keep her audience’s attention. She tells her story convincingly.

Her only props are a wooden chair, a small table, and a suitcase.

Behind her, an elaborate backdrop containing large photographs, musical scores, and newspaper clippings, lights up as she narrates.
During the musical number, "Yisroilik," dressed in a long, gray overcoat with a yellow Star of David, the symbol Nazis forced Jews to wear, Piatka is accompanied by a carefree puppet wearing the same outfit.

The puppet, Piatka told The Enterprise, was made by the daughter of a Nazi.

Through the performance, Piatka interjects Yiddish humor, alternates from the modern Naava to the more traditional Chayela, and casually converses with her audience.

Naava uses a suitcase she found in her parents’ home, containing old pictures, musical scores, and first-hand accounts.

Along the way, she discovers her mother’s and Uncle Layb’s, past.

Her character, through discovery, moves from ignorance to a greater awareness of the impact of the Holocaust on her mother.

At the beginning of the production, a resentful Naava tells the audience that her mother always needed Naava to be perfect.

Chayela, she says, was also superstitious.
Imitating her mother, Naava beckons the audience to come in close for what she is about to say. When she finally musters the courage to speak, she speaks quietly, suspicious and fearful someone or some higher being might overhear her, or that her words will bring about disastrous consequences. Whenever her mother thinks she’s said the "wrong" thing or said too much, she spits over her shoulder three times.

After discovering more about her mother and the tragedies which surrounded her daily, Naava is less critical and ultimately more understanding.

A more mature character emerges after Naava gains insight about the atrocities that befell her, and what she had to do to fight against their effects.

Very picky
"It’s a perfect production," Piatka told The Enterprise. "From the lighting, to the scenery, to the staff""

Piatka has performed Better Don’t Talk! since 1998 all over the world — in her native South Africa, where she began her career; in Australia, Canada, England, and Scotland; at the Holocaust Museum; in synagogues; on Broadway; and on the same stage her mother performed on in Lithuania.

Piatka described herself as somewhat of a gypsy. She is also an artist and a writer. Her living area is a bit untidy. When it comes to theater, she has a different approach.
"I’m very picky," she said.

The musical, Piatka told The Enterprise, took eight years to write, and came together piece by piece; she added more and more to it throughout the process.

She wanted to make a personal story people could identify with.
Theater, she said, is powerful. In theater, she said, an actor has a personal relationship with the audience. "It fosters empathy, and tolerance is about empathy," she said.

Piatka said that she felt she was guided from above, and that she was a messenger because of her unique upbringing.
"It’s been a great journey for me," she said.

***

Better Don’t Talk! is running this week and weekend. It will be showing Thursday and Friday, Oct. 26 and 27, at 2 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 28, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Sunday’s performance will be a sign language-interpreted performance.

Performances are at the Schacht Fine Arts Center on the Russell Sage Campus in Troy.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $16 for senior citizens and students, and $10 for children to age 12.

For more information, call (518) 274-3256.