BETH-EL PLAYERS MOURN LOSS OF
PLAYWRIGHT-DIRECTOR CARLA SILEN
“Out, out brief candle.” Carla Silen, inaugural director and playwright for the Beth-El Players, succumbed to cancer on September 1, 2003, at age 52.
During the Players’ most active years, 1994 to 2001, Carla was prolific. In addition to being mother, spouse, and full-time employee outside of the home, she penned at least eight Jewish-flavored musical comedies. Carla authored all of the dialogue and most of the song lyrics for Hershel and the Chanukah Goblins, 1001 Chickens, Yousef’s Partner, Out of Ur, The Latke Revue, Latke Revue Too, The Pirate Princess and The Latke Rock. In the same time frame, she also wrote several thought-provoking one-act dramas showcased as part of Temple Beth-El’s High Holy Days activities, including a hard-hitting adaptation of Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich; Of Good Courage and A Time to Choose, relating ethical dilemmas posed by war; and From the Beginning, which offered a light-hearted, but not-so-serene scene of the Garden of Eden.
Artfully drawing from a rich Jewish tradition, Carla poked fun at the high and mighty, gender roles and the constellation of human foibles.
In degrees, her characters were imbued with her own well-developed cleverness, sensitivity, warmth and humor. Even the most profound and challenging of subjects were not off limits to her playful scrutiny--including God, whom she treated as a feminine presence in the Garden of Eden and for whom she scripted hilarious conversation with biblical Abraham.
The impact of Carla’s theatrical skill extended beyond the confines of Temple Beth-El. She figured prominently in yearly community-wide Chanukah entertainment held at the Jewish Community Center. In her position as Community Relations Director with Barnes & Noble, Carla innovatively supported all local theatre in San Antonio: she enabled companies to publicize their productions without charge by dramatizing a scene from their plays for the public at Barnes & Noble. In 2001, the San Antonio theatre community recognized her wordsmith talent, conferring upon her a Globe award for Best Original Script for The Pirate Princess.
Physically, Carla was slight, but her stature as a writer-director was immense, especially to her beloved cast members. At least 25 actors followed her from production to production, eagerly awaiting completion of her next work. She never turned away anyone who wanted a part in one of her plays. As she taught, Carla made theatre fun and, in the process, helped change lives for the better.
In her many key roles—coworker, writer-director, friend, wife, and mother--Carla loved well and was well loved. For those inclined, Carla’s family welcomes contributions in Carla’s honor to Temple Beth-El’s Levyson Memorial Dramatics Fund, 211 Belknap Place in San Antonio, Texas 78212. Another dramatist’s musing brings Carla to mind: “Every exit is an entrance somewhere else.”
-Michael Hardy
