Tziporela, a highly inventive comedy troupe from Israel is currently appearing in Odd Birdz at The Players Theater in Manhattan. Who is Tziporela and what is Odd Birdz? Stagebuddy chased down Tziporela members Gal Friedman, Ben Perry and Efrat Aviv to find out.

Who or what is Tziporela?

Gal: Tziporela is a group of nine actors who've created an independent company that offers a new theater experience. We met in 2002 in the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio and have been together ever since. We've created four different shows that weave together a wide variety of genres ranging from acrobatics and dance to satire, nonsense and drama, ail in fast paced shows.

Where do you come from and why are you here? 

Gal: We are coming all the way from Israel. We are actors and artists and Israel is small place with limited market. When we started we decided on our values and one of them was to develop ourselves all the time in all aspects - different skills, physical abilities, creativity and financial aspects. Israel was good starting point for us but we realize that if we want to develop and become international artists we need to do our thing in other places. For us New York is the capital of the theater and we thought that success here will help us achieve our goals.

What do you think of your audience? 

Gal:  One of our goals was to get young people into the theater, alongside the traditional theater goer. This is what so unique about our audience - you can find kids of 18 years of age, together with Hi-Tec workers in their 30s and people over 60... there are a lot of them who react to the show like it's a rock concert. Part of the show is to communicate with the audience and it's always exciting because for us people are an integral part of the show, true partners.

Is there anyone who came before you who inspired you?

Ben: Having grown up in England I had the chance to see Benny Hill on TV every day as well as Rowan Atkinson. I think that is what's so beautiful about working in a group, that each one of us is inspired by different artists and comedy groups. I also love Monty Python.

Do people receive you differently in different parts of the world?

Ben: Yes, in Japan it's Konnichiwa, and in Italy it's Bongiorno, but what's so nice about comedy is that its language is international and normally when something is funny it doesn't matter where you're from you find yourself laughing, like Charlie Chaplin.

Your pieces appear to be very well choreographed. Has any one of you suddenly done something different onstage without telling the others ahead of time?

Ben: I wouldn't deliberately do something without telling the others because I think it's not professional but in theater every evening is naturally different so we find ourselves improvising with the limit.

Has anyone ever walked out of your show, and if so, which one of you is most likely to follow them out? 

Efrat: I think it happened once or twice. You see, our show is extremely funny. Some people are laughing so hard that they can't hold it anymore and must run to the restrooms.

What would you do if you caught up with them?

Efrat: I think Ben would probably follow them out. This off course would be a funny-awkward moment - and he would make the best out of it. I'll get to know them a bit and than make them laugh.

What do each of you do backstage while you are waiting to go onstage?

Efrat: Well, the Odd Birdz show is such a fast ride for us that we don't really have time to sit and wait. We need to change our costumes so fast and many times we help each other change to make it faster. It really is like a well choreographed show going on backstage.

What would you be doing if you weren’t doing this?

Efrat: It has to be something fast, funny and strong... that's easy, I would be a cartoon.