Alumni Spotlight: Theo Canter '18
“Israelis are a nation of storytellers. And our job is to amplify voices and shine a spotlight on the small and large dramas that make up Israeli life.” So says Israel Story, a podcast based in Jerusalem which makes episodes in Hebrew and English in acts similar to the structure of This American Life. Theo Canter (HS ’18), currently a senior at Oberlin majoring in cinema studies, comparative literature, and middle eastern studies, tells us about his experience as a Production Intern in summer 2022 and the act he produced in an episode.
“Hello Operator” is about different stories of 'first' phones. The three stories covered are 1) how an Israeli teenager wanted nothing more than to not have a cellphone, 2) an excerpt from Amos Oz' memoir about the days when telephone use in Israel was a rare and surreal luxury, and finally, 3) the story I recorded, about a man with the first phone in his town in Israel, who earned both respect and jealousy.
The production process began with pitching the story to the show's producers. From there, I did some historical research and pre-interviewing to understand the story before I went into the field. I went to visit the story's subjects Tova and Doron Tzali (great grandparents of fellow Heschel classmate Gidon Kaminer) in their house in Israel, microphone in hand, and recorded our many hours of conversation. I then wrote and recorded my own narration of the story, weaving in selected moments from the interview, and added sound effects and music. There were many drafts, revisions, edits at every step of the way. I’m grateful to have worked with such a talented, patient, kind team of people at Israel Story in Jerusalem. I learned the ground skills of recording in a studio and on the street, how to get meaningful answers out of subjects, and above all how to tell a story.
I first got to know Israel Story when they spoke at Heschel for Yom Haatzmaut in 2015 as part of their first live tour of the US. They’d been around in Hebrew for a few years and had just begun producing episodes in English. They shared of their greatest hits—I especially remember the Israeli buffalo farmer in Wisconsin who calls himself the first Israeli redneck—and gave a glimpse into why and how they produce this show. I was instantly hooked, and kept in touch with Mishy and Yochai, the producers. In my senior fall, with friends Gidon Kaminer, Kevin Chaikelson, and Elana Nussbaum-Cohen (all ’18), I created Pod In Search of Man, a five episode podcast of interesting stories from students, teachers, and our community. I went on to work for Tablet Magazine's podcast Unorthodox for my senior internship. Later, building on my knowledge and experience from Shmuel Afek's senior elective and trip to Poland, I found work at Culture-PL, a Warsaw-based history and culture podcast.
I credit Heschel as being a place where I felt encouraged to take creative risks, the kind that helped me succeed this past summer in Israel. I look back warmly on Arts Night, performing with the Harmonizers, in the musical, taking music theory class and band class, and performing original songs I wrote for Hebrew class. Through the editing process in this project and others, I was very happy to share and get feedback from former Heschel teachers and friends I've stayed in contact with, and I felt grateful to be able to come back and visit and proudly share my work.
