Phone: +972-58-467-7974
Email: [email protected]
Languages: English (native), Hebrew (fluent since 1981), French (basic)
Teacher of acting (English or Hebrew), Gestalt therapist, musical theater director, playwright, composer, and klezmer musician.
Franklyn’s work fuses Gestalt therapy, personal myth, and awareness training with traditional actor techniques (Chekhov, Brecht, Mabou Mines).
He focuses on spirituality expressed through nature and Kabbalah—especially Breslav—within the wider tradition of dialectical philosophy.
He has created hundreds of videos, dozens of performance projects, and extensive essays on Judaism, Gestalt Therapy, the performing arts, and Kabbalah.
For over five decades, my work has combined Gestalt therapy—awareness, dreams, and personal relationships—with traditional actor-training techniques, especially those of Michael Chekhov, Bertolt Brecht, and Mabou Mines.
I focus on the performer’s inner experience: peeling away social layers, ego patterns, and unresolved personal narratives to uncover what Chekhov called “psychological gestures.” From these essences, I reconstruct character, dramatic movement, and theatrical structure.
My approach seeks spirituality in nature and creativity, drawing inspiration from Jewish mysticism, particularly Breslav Hasidism. I integrate these concepts with avant-garde musical theater and dialectical philosophy to generate authentic artistic work — not imitation.
Music is another pillar of my practice. I perform as a klezmer musician using trombone, trumpet, piano, and 12-string guitar, often incorporating live instrumentation into theatrical storytelling.
Born: 1941, New York – Age: 84
Certifiable in: Music, Chemistry, Biology, Earth Science
Musical performance: keyboard, trombone, trumpet, 12-string guitar
Computer music & video production
Directing musical theater, teaching acting & singing
Video shooting & editing
Sciences: biology, chemistry, earth science
Gestalt dreamwork sessions — performer training, creativity, spirituality
1958–1962 – Cornell University — B.A. Chemistry/Biology
1962–1963 – University of Rochester Medical School — 1st year
1965–1967 – Juilliard — Music Composition
1967–1968 – Columbia University — M.A. Musical Theater
1968–1970 – Indiana University School of Music — Composition/Theater
Additional Training
Drama Therapy — Turtle Bay Music School, NYC
Workshops: The Performance Group (NYC), Polish Laboratory Theater, Mabou Mines, Iowa Theater Lab
University of Pittsburgh — MSW Program (Year 1)
Jazz band leader & music/drama counselor at children’s camps
U.S. Army
NYC Dept. of Welfare — Caseworker
Music teacher K–8 — Newark, NJ Public Schools
Camp Catskill — Music/Drama for special needs
Lutheran School, Jersey City — Music teacher
Wright 600 School — Drama therapy for adolescents
Self-employed theater director, acting teacher, musician
Diaspora Yeshiva — Student & resident Gestalt therapist
Tel Aviv University Theater Dept — Acting via Gestalt
Efrata School, Jerusalem — Music/Drama teacher
Klezmer trombone — Jaime Bronstein Orchestra
Jan–May 2024 — Volunteer musical theater teacher, Ohr Zevulun Elementary School, Ariel
In the Morning, Jody — orchestra, soprano, dancers & film
Orientation Therapy — published in The Drama Review
Texts and music for eight original musical theater shows on Jewish themes
~150 essays on Judaism, Gestalt therapy & actor training (WordPress: “About Franklyn Wepner”)
Videos organized by category, title, and duration when provided.
1. Gestalt work with actress Bel Baca — 4 sessions (~30 min each)
2. Gestalt work with actress Svetlana Ben — Hebrew w/ English subtitles (2 parts)
3. Personal myth projects — final presentations (Svetlana Ben, Boris Gorelnik) (~15 min each)
In Those Days (Cantonists in Russia, ~100 min)
https://vimeo.com/21227936
The Cave of Machpelah and Us (Genesis → modern day, ~100 min)
https://vimeo.com/13618622
The King’s Son & The Emperor’s Daughter
(Rebbe Nachman of Breslav & Rahel Varnhagen, ~90 min)
https://vimeo.com/22220523
Bye, Bye Sh-Nuke (Purim & Iran, ~20 min)
https://vimeo.com/18116702
King David, Absalom & Us (~28 min)
https://vimeo.com/21738312
A Ghetto Dog (Holocaust) — https://vimeo.com/17810165
A Wandering Soul — https://vimeo.com/17812793
Balak/Bilam — https://vimeo.com/17636764
In the Valley — https://vimeo.com/17753722
Israel and the Enemy — https://vimeo.com/17754874
Moshiach Comes to Town — https://vimeo.com/28240939
The Cave of Mattatias — https://vimeo.com/21554252
The Cave of Temptations — https://vimeo.com/17733050
The Dance — https://vimeo.com/17808134
The Fox, The Crow & Moshiach — https://vimeo.com/14293028
The Hollow of the Sling — https://vimeo.com/22193749
The Man of the Mat — https://vimeo.com/17800947
The Ring — https://vimeo.com/17732310
The Shepherd’s Pipe — https://vimeo.com/17800033
The Sword of Moshiach — https://vimeo.com/28348560
Why Moshiach Doesn’t Come — https://vimeo.com/17802261
Genesis — https://vimeo.com/27440111
Truth Search — https://vimeo.com/18125697
The Living Room — https://vimeo.com/29520197
Walter Benjamin Live — https://vimeo.com/26796051
Matchmaker — https://vimeo.com/26613279
Scary Dream — https://vimeo.com/23401868
The Burning Bush — https://vimeo.com/22687488
Talking to God — https://vimeo.com/21402767
The Room — https://vimeo.com/42392623
The Branch — https://vimeo.com/21395947
Michael Chekhov — Psychological Gestures vs Gestalt Essences
https://vimeo.com/94641209
Actor as Creator (2 videos)
https://vimeo.com/93837069
https://vimeo.com/93839425
Exodus Decoded Philosophically
https://vimeo.com/91161556
Michael Chekhov & Leo Schaya on Creativity
https://vimeo.com/77527798
Michael Chekhov & the Zohar
https://vimeo.com/77108056
Chekhov Exercises as Gestalt Dreamwork & Ficino Neoplatonism
https://vimeo.com/61949054
Centering vs Extremes
https://vimeo.com/60847428
Chekhov Acting as Gestalt Dreamwork (2 videos)
https://vimeo.com/59552225
https://vimeo.com/59631711
Meisner Explained — Improvisation / Gestalt / Breslav
https://vimeo.com/57752412
Truth Search: Yehuda Ashlag & Mabou Mines Theater
(4 videos)
https://vimeo.com/30777170
https://vimeo.com/30781616
https://vimeo.com/30904300
https://vimeo.com/30904465
LM 1 (English, 2 videos):
https://vimeo.com/41507529
https://vimeo.com/42752138
LM 1 (Hebrew, 3 videos):
https://vimeo.com/41757570
https://vimeo.com/41760511
https://vimeo.com/41762788
LM 51 (Succot):
https://vimeo.com/51398978
LM 51–52 (English, 3 videos):
https://vimeo.com/42886949
https://vimeo.com/42898310
https://vimeo.com/42933409
LM 51–52 (Hebrew, 2 videos):
https://vimeo.com/42940653
https://vimeo.com/42940653
LM 52 (Hitbodedut, English, 2 videos):
https://vimeo.com/44506270
https://vimeo.com/42752138
LM 52 (Hitbodedut, Hebrew):
https://vimeo.com/42778929
LM 64, 22, 282 (Children who hate, 2 lectures):
https://vimeo.com/44499518
https://vimeo.com/44506270
SC1 — Lech Lecha (English):
https://vimeo.com/72255463
SC1 — Lech Lecha (Hebrew):
https://vimeo.com/72409490
SC2 — Covenant:
https://vimeo.com/72644550
~150 essays published on WordPress: “About Franklyn Wepner”
Topics include:
Performance & actor training
Gestalt therapy
Jewish philosophy
Breslav & Kabbalah
Theater & creative process
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +972-58-467-7974
“I highly recommend the director Franklyn Wepner for the actor training I received under his guidance using Gestalt therapy. The process helped me deepen my self-recognition, use my deepest emotions, and express myself with greater truth. I improved both as an actress and as a person. The training helped me build a personal show about my life and strengthened my ability to enter a character. Thank you, Franklyn!”
“Working with Franklyn is working with a true master. The process was well-organized, detailed, and deeply transformative. His vast knowledge and dedication help actors and people reach their potential. The final product is a better you.”
“Franklyn’s Gestalt work amazed me. It increased my emotional freedom and helped me see how much power I have over my thoughts and awareness. It transformed both my acting and my life.”
“For a singer used to traditional directing, working with Franklyn was a new experience—deep, internal, and powerful. This method can add important dimensions to opera performance.”
“Franklyn’s method combines Gestalt therapy with acting. It helped me connect body and emotion, uncover the essence of my monologue, and work through personal impasses that improved both my acting and my life.”
“Franklyn’s work is an original and unique combination of modern therapy and acting. It is a process not previously practiced in Israel, and I recommend it.”
“‘Merkavah,’ founded by Franklyn, is a very positive attempt to create a center for alternative theater. Based on his experience with leading experimental theater figures in New York, his work is an important and highly recommended experiment.”
“His approach is basic and in-depth. His demands are serious and uncompromising. His work is of great value for those willing to commit to deep, disciplined training.”
“Franklyn’s work deepens awareness and perception and significantly helps singers and actors develop as interpreters.”
“Highly recommended for the actor willing to invest in serious, in-depth self-study.”
“Inspiring, original, and dedicated. I witnessed instant results. Franklyn has deep insight into the potential of his students.”
“Working with Franklyn renewed my whole approach to theatrical action and increased the musicality of my work.”
“Franklyn has many years of experience in Hassidut, music, and Gestalt therapy. He worked with our students in Otniel, who were very impressed with what he offered.”
“Gestalt helped me focus on life and discover new possibilities. Franklyn worked with me, my wife, and my child with wonderful results. I highly recommend his work for personal growth.”
“Franklyn assisted us with counseling through Gestalt sessions with many members of our community. He is kind, sensitive, humane, and highly respected. His work was very successful and well-received.”
“Using his unique approach, Franklyn activated the imagination of the children and elicited their best. They loved him and enjoyed every session.”
“In our school for socially and emotionally maladjusted teenagers, Franklyn used theater and music to unlock communication in students who were otherwise unreachable. He demonstrated intelligence, creativity, and strong professional discipline.”
“Franklyn relates well to patients, works out of deep motivation, and blends compassion with technique. His creative arts therapy work for adult schizophrenic patients was valuable and effective.”
“Franklyn taught emotionally disabled boys using science integrated with music and drama. His innovative approach produced very positive results.”
“Franklyn was an excellent tenant—polite, quiet, responsible, and always paid early. I warmly recommend him.”
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +972-58-467-7974
