Dedi Baron

Dedi Baron (Hebrew: דדי ברון, born on July 17, 1954) is an Israeli theatre and opera director who works and creates in Israel, Germany, Australia and teaches directing and acting.

She has completed a continuing education program on full scholarship in the “Royal Court” theatre in London (1997) and was sent by the Goethe Institute to a four-month continuing education program on top theatres on Berlin and Hamburg (2003).

Baron is in a domestic partnership with the playwright and screenwriter Shlomi Moskovitz and is a mother of four daughters.

The two have one daughter together – Omer Moskovitz, who is a songwriter and a singer, as well as three daughters from her previous marriage to Alexander Blankstein: Michal Bernshtein – theatre, film and television actress, creator and lecturer, Tal Blankstein – actress, creator and Iyengar Yoga instructor, and Dana Blankstein-Cohen, film and television director, who is the manager of the Sam Spiegel and Television School.

Baron has directed dozens of plays in Israel and around the world.

Dedi Baron is a graduate of the Tel-Aviv University, where she majored in theater arts (1998) and the higher education school of plastic arts in Zurich, Switzerland.

Since 1999 she has directed in all the repertory theatres in Tel-Aviv (Cameri, Habima, Beit Lessin), and since 2006 – also in top theatres in Germany, Austria and also in the German opera.

Since 2007 she has worked as a directing lecturer on the theatre department in Tel-Aviv University in MA program; Baron is also a coach for final productions.

• Post-trauma/Reality check - a collection of seven short plays, collaborative project of HaBima Theater and Düsseldorf Town Theater.

Featuring the director Tal Brenner.

Writers: Dana Idisys, Yariv Gottlieb, Noa Lazar Kinan, Tal Schieff, Johan Brick, Nora Mansman and Thomas Mela.

• Native tongue - Mameloshn - online audio-drama in collaboration with Gesher Theater and Goethe Institute in Israel.

By Sasha (Marianna) Zaltsman.

Starring: Rivka Michaeli, Neta Shpigelman, Neta Roth.

• "Shut-up Show" - a comic show starring Nathan Datner, Anat Waxman and Rama Messinger, HOT3, first and second season.

• "The Bet"- short drama starring Moshe Ivgy and Yasmin Kedar.

• Editorial member in "Culture Daily" show with Yael Dan.

• "Don Giovanni" by Mozart, Israeli Opera.

• "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" by Mozart, Kiel Opera.

• Directing children and youth concerts and operas in collaboration with the conductor Ronnie Porat in the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in the "HaBama" Holon Orchestra and Rishon LeZion Town Orchestra.

• Staff lecturer in the faculty of theater in Tel-Aviv University and productions instructor in preparation for master's degree.

• Acting and directing lecturer in Western Galilee College.

• Directing guest lecturer in "Mozarteum" and founder of Collaborations project with Tel-Aviv University.

• Acting teacher in Yoram Lewinstein's Acting Studio.

• Acting teacher in arts class of "Alon" Highschool in Ramat Ha-Sharon.

In her interviews, Baron has told about the differences her work in Israel vs. in Germany.

For example, in an interview for “Time Out Tel-Aviv she stated the following: “In Germany I am working while my only concern is dealing with the creation and not taking the audience into account, without any artistic compromise.

I mostly work on classic materials such as ‘Hedda Gabler’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and this is a process of studying, searching, evolving.

There is a lot of frustration on my part because of the gap between working there, with a sense of peace, and working in Israel.

Germany is a place where the theater enables you to dream and is at your service, fulfilling these dreams.

In Israel I dream differently.

Here (In Israel) I am ‘Dedi with limitations’, who is not as good as ’Dedi without limitations’, and this upsets me, I admit.

Perhaps that is because I do reach artistic satisfaction twice a year over there (In Germany), so I have lower ambitions to fight for it here.”.

Baron’s partner, playwriter Shlomi Moskovitz, says about their joint work: “I am blessed to live with Dedi Baron, who is not only my love, but also a truly tremendous director.

So I just let go.

I rarely show up at rehearsals, I seldom arrive, and I think that as the years go by I’ve learnt to let go more and more.

Because in the beginning, while working on previous plays with Dedi, it was very hard for me.

She would say: ‘Look, this sentence is redundant, we are cutting it out.’ This would stress me out enormously, I would refuse, and start getting into arguments.

I think that during the process of rehearsals for ‘A Star will Shine’ I learned to let go, to cut things out.

That play speaks about cutting things out and, suddenly, I'm telling myself: ’Come on, I am talking about cutting things out, when I can’t even do it myself!’.