As If You Were There: Bringing Your Seder to Life through Imagination and Play

** Jonathan Shmidt Chapman is passionate about reimagining Jewish education through the performing arts, creative play, and multi-sensory engagement. As the founder of The K’ilu Company, he creates programming for families and schools, develops national partnerships, and aims to inspire innovation in the field of Jewish early childhood arts & education. He is the recipient of The Covenant Foundation’s inaugural 2023 Jewish Family Education Fellowship, the 2022 Pomegranate Prize, and the Jewish Education Project’s 2020 Young Pioneers Award. Prior to launching The K’ilu Company, Jonathan spent over a decade creating theater experiences for children & families at arts institutions across the country, while leading TYA/USA, the national organization for the field of professional theater for young audiences. He also served as the first Producer of Family Programming at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Jonathan has taught on the adjunct faculty at Northwestern University and New York University. Jonathan’s theatrical work as a writer and director has been performed at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Kennedy Center, Alliance Theatre, and Seattle Children’s Theatre. He is the author of two books: Let There Be Play: Bringing the Bible to Life with Young Children, and In the Beginning: My Storybook Bible, both published by Behrman House in 2024. He and his husband Rabbi David Chapman live in the Chicagoland area with their two children.

*The location and street address for Federation events will be emailed to each guest in the day(s) prior to the event, using the email address provided at registration.

Building an inclusive community is a priority. Please email [email protected] to let us know if you require an accommodation to meaningfully participate in an event. One of our Federation professionals will reach out to you to learn more.