Some Israeli Troupes March in Different Theater

There are those in the Israeli army who drill to be just as adept at shaking a tambourine as they are at shooting a gun.

They belong to the army entertainment troupes, and are “the whole backbone of the Israeli theater,” said Chaim Topol, Israel’s best-known actor and the star of the 1971 film “Fiddler on the Roof.”

In a telephone interview from his home in London, Topol said the troupes provide stage experience that’s even better than some acting schools in training young performers.

Gave Topol the Bug

“There’s no doubt that the troupe put the germ of theater into me and it later developed into a serious disease,” said Topol, a 1950s graduate of the Nahal Troupe, one of five army entertainment troupes in the Israel Defense Forces.

The four female and six male soldiers who make up the current Nahal Troupe had to fend off dozens of fans after a recent outdoor performance for soldiers and residents of Kiryat Shemona, a town near Israel’s border with Lebanon.

“I don’t much like the fans, but it’s good practice for later, when I hope to be doing this professionally,” said Rinat Emanuel, 19, a singing soldier who had been asked for an autograph.

Several Hit Songs

The Nahal Troupe has had several hit songs in Israel, including “Sarit the Hairdresser.”

The entertainers are conscripts doing their mandatory military service of two years for women and three for men. After basic military training, they go on the road, performing in their olive drab uniforms.

The Nahal Troupe crisscrosses the country in a dilapidated military bus, performing the same one-hour show almost every night on makeshift stages in front-line encampments or professional theaters. The road shows offer a blend of popular songs and mildly absurd skits peppered with jokes about military life.

‘Gray, Hard Work’

“It’s a lot of gray, hard work. People think it’s all glamour,” said Bentzi Atar, a three-year veteran of the Nahal Troupe.

Becoming one of the 60 full-time troupers is not easy. Army officials say there were 300 applicants for the current Nahal Troupe and auditions were held over a six-month period.

Seven years ago, the troupes were disbanded because military brass said that they had become expensive and that performers were too interested in seeking personal fame.

However, Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon brought a change. Troops in the field demanded entertainment and the singing soldiers were back in business.

Fewer Troupes Now

There are fewer entertainment troupes than before, and they are subject to more military discipline than their predecessors.

Nahal Troupe leader Sasson Eyal said commanders have been ordered to limit the troupes’ television performances, and being 30 minutes late for rehearsal recently earned one of the performers a court martial.

Though the army entertainers have won praise from graduates such as Topol and Yardena Arazi, one of Israel’s top female singers and a former commander of the Nahal Troupe, they also have had their critics.

There have been complaints of censorship--that the troupes can’t criticize military operations with which they disagree or be too tough on the army.