The Play "Sea of Friends": Raises Awareness of Violence and Social Bullying

In her youth, Neta found herself experiencing social bullying as a child, which caused her to withdraw. Today, she is an actress and a mother herself, teaching children and their parents how to deal with this cruel phenomenon, in a new children's play "Sea of Friends."

Neta Plotnik, 42, married + 3 children, currently lives in Jaffa but originally from Moshav Avihil in the Sharon. From a young age, the only thing she managed to persevere in was acting and playing the flute. She auditioned for the IDF theater, even though she was afraid she wouldn't be accepted, and when they asked her to prepare 2 monologues from well-known plays to test her, she chose to bring original things she wrote, and that's how she found herself being accepted into the theater.

Neta is a fan of children's plays, and especially the impact a play has on children: "We, as actors, need an audience and I like to feel that I am influencing. The gift I can give in a play is to convey an experience and make people laugh, and when you stand in front of children, you really feel how the children enter the play and how they leave it differently, with a different thought and with a different emotion."

In her youth, she found herself experiencing social bullying as a child, which caused her to withdraw and choose her friends carefully. "I don't think there is anyone who hasn't experienced bullying or group violence in the world. It made me very withdrawn and turned me into a person who chooses his friends individually and not in groups. It was a very difficult experience for me. There were years when I avoided studying in a group or hanging out in groups, a kind of social anxiety but it passed with age." Therefore, when she received the role of "Yam's" mother, in the new children's play from the Israeli Hour Theater, "Sea of Friends", which deals with a child's coping with social bullying - she was very happy for the opportunity to influence and raise awareness about such an important issue.

The message that Neta conveys in the play together with her fellow actors, including Amir Banai and Gali Frank, is that you don't have to feel alone and there is someone to talk to about it. At the end of the launch and premiere performances, children who had experienced bullying came to meet Neta and the other actors. It was important for them to talk to them about the play and what it did for them. In addition, mothers and teachers also approached her, noting that the play is a must-see for every parent in Israel, because there is a lot to learn from it. "Even children who don't have social difficulties, or haven't experienced bullying in the past, look at things differently thanks to the play, and for me it's an honor and a mission to give this gift," says Neta.

"Sea of Friends" raises awareness of the phenomenon of social bullying and violence common among Israeli children. This is an elaborate and authentic production of a children's play from the Israeli Hour Theater, which deals with social issues related to all of our children - that will not leave a single child indifferent. The play, which premiered in the summer, will be included in the Culture Basket after its exposure to school principals, teachers, Ministry of Education officials, Culture Basket managers, and more. The play is based on a true story from which the "Sea of Friends" association was born, which provides a safe and embracing place for every boy and girl experiencing bullying or social violence, and today has dozens of branches and hundreds of volunteers throughout the country.

For tickets: https://teatron-hashaa.smarticket.co.il/

Photograph = The cast of the play "Sea of Friends." Photo: PR Israeli Hour Theater