“He who hasn’t told a story from his time, it’s as if he wasn’t born.”
“He who did not leave a story behind, as if he had never lived.”
“He who hasn’t told a story from his time, it’s as if he wasn’t born.”
“He who did not leave a story behind, as if he had never lived.”
Yossi Alfi is a well-known Israeli storyteller, author and director. he is the founder and artistic director of the annual Israeli international storytelling festival, a high profile event that draws a large Israeli audience for the past 21 years.
Yossi performs and lectures both in English and Hebrew and has a repertoire that attracts versatile audiences around the world. Yossi Alfi has a sweeping repertoire of stories and his performances address a broad range of topics, such as identity, personal narratives, travel, peace and many more. Yossi Alfi has a unique life story that reflects in his stories, beginning in a voyage of a three year old child in 1949 fleeing to Israel from Iraq with his grandmother. Yossi has been a performer from a young age. at the early age of 16 he already directed and taught theatre at schools. he studied at lamda – the london academy of music and dramatic arts, and since then has been a known Israeli actor, director and storyteller.
Yossi is a prominent storyteller, author and poet whose storytelling television shows are broadcasted in israel and on the “Israeli channel” in the u.s and europe. Yossi has published over 20 books of non-fiction, poetry, prose and childrens books and is a writer of stories, plays and screenplays. Yossi flavors his stories with comedy and humor that characterize his unique storytelling style. audiences of young and old have identified with the colorful characters that populate Yossi’s world. the stories are characterized by moving deions and universal humor that bridges all cultures.
Yossi has performed around the world; in thailand, singapore, europe and the united states. Yossis stories are humorous and enlightening. Be prepared for a twist at the end!
“In every Sukkot there is a taxi on the way to Givatayim, to the Storytelling Festival – a magnificent enterprise founded by one sharp, funny and wise man, Yossi Alfi – a storyteller with grace but not only a storyteller, he is actually a psychologist, a magician of listening and discourse who always manages to make people want to tell their stories and to do it in the most fascinating way possible.”
2014 Acted in “Farewell Baghdad”, Israeli Film.
1993–today Founded the Israel International Storytelling Festival, acting as its Artistic Director.
1990-today Performing as a storyteller in Israel and abroad (Europe, USA, Thailand & Singapore)
2005-today Performing as a storyteller before 350 groups of schoolchildren all over Israel, part of a project aimed at raising literacy levels.
2006 Acted in the Israeli film Secrets.
2006 Acted in Israeli/French film Live & Let Live.
2006 Acted in the Israeli film Blind Eye.
2005 Wrote and acted in Stories on the Road, a 6-part television series for Channel 2, Israel.
2004 Producer and Artistic Director of the Jazzeuropa Festival.
2004 Produced and performed in Public Storytelling, a new project.
2003 Acted in the Israeli film The Silence of the Sirens.
2003-2004 Directed The Open Couple, a play by Dario Fo.
1998-2003 Founder and first Managing Director of the Givatayim Theater.
1997 Wrote, directed, and performed Dream in Blue and White, an opera for storyteller and orchestra, at the Israel Festival.
1995–today Produces, edits, and participates in a storytelling TV series for Israeli television’s Channel 2.
1995 Produced the play 100 Apples Including VAT.
1994 Directed and produced Storytelling Marathons.
1993 Directed and produced The King Who Made Aliyah for the Jewish Agency.
1992 Directed, wrote, and produced One Way Ticket.
1992 Directed Love Letters at the Cameri Theater of Tel Aviv.
1992 directed and produced he who laughs.
1991 wrote elias’s suitcase, a one person play.
1990 translated alan aykborn’s family business for the national theater.
1989 Wrote and Directed Divorced Couple.
1988 Directed an Israeli play at the Habima National Theater.
1988 Directed Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell.
1988 Directed Theater Trip, a grand production in the Negev desert .
1987 Directed The King and I at the Cameri Theater.
1987 Wrote The National Play Of Mr. Fox.
1987 Directed an adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice.
1987 Wrote Jaish, a play for the Cameri Theater.
1986 Directed Open Couple, a play by Dario Fo.
1985 Wrote and performed his own weekly radio program.
1984-1985 A Personal Hour with Yossi Alfi, a weekly one hour show on the Israel radio.
1984 Wrote The Children From Schunat Hayim, a children’s television series.
1973 Wrote and directed several plays for children.
1972-1973 Directed and wrote plays for prisoners at Maasiyahu Prison, Ramla.
1974 Wrote and directed The Golden Path, Bar-Ilan University .
1974-1980 Wrote and directed several scripts for the Israel Educational Television, included a series of thirty episodes.
1970-1987 Wrote, directed and produced community theater plays.
1968 Acted with the Steven Berkoff Group, London .
1967-1970 Acted on British television.
(Honorary member) 1961-1963 directed drama workshops for children.
From 1965 Acted on stage and screen in numerous plays and films.
1963-1965 Actor and singer with the Army Theater Entertainment Group.
Wrote and directed for theater and television.
2006 “Tips For The Storyteller,” Yedioth Ahronoth.
1992 Nine Points In A Play, Bar-Ilan University Press.
1992 The Political Speech (a one-person play).
1986-1990 Articles in various professional journals.
1986 Community Theater in the Diaspora.
1985 Community Theater–Methods and Tactics.
1983 “Community Theater,” Domino Publication (currently translated into English).
1975 “What Is Community Theater,” Bar-Ilan University Press.
2005–today Storytelling workshops for companies and institutions.
2007 Guest lecturer at New York University’s Hebrew language program.
2007 Guest lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania’s Hebrew language program.
2007 Storytelling courses at the Writers’ House in Tel Aviv.
2006 Storytelling courses at the Z.O.A. House in Tel Aviv.
2003 Guest lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania’s Hebrew language program.
2003 Founder of the Social Theater program at Tel Aviv University’s Department of Theater Arts.
2002 Guest lecturer in Philadelphia — the art of storytelling.
1998-2000 Lecturer at Tel Aviv University — the community story.
1996-1998 Lecturer at the Open University — storytelling course.
1980-1996 Lecturer on community theater at the Department of Theater Arts at Tel Aviv University; head of community theater projects.
1995–today Storytelling courses at the Z.O.A. House in Tel Aviv.
1995 Invited to Singapore to give a workshop on drama in education.
1995 Invited to Bangkok to give a workshop on drama in education.
1991 Invited to teach a course and workshop in Glasgow, Scotland,
under the auspices of Glasgow University.
1990 Bar-Ilan University — course on “leadership through drama”–unique training for community activists and political leaders.
1989 Bar-Ilan University — course director — community theater management.
1988 Official visit to the United States as a guest of the American Culture Dept.
1984-1985 Lecturer on community theater at the University of Haifa Department of Theater.
1984-1985 Principal of the diploma course for community theater directors at Kalmania under the auspices of Israel’s Ministry Of Education (first course of its kind in Israel).
1975-1980 Assistant to the Head of the Theater Studies program at Bar-Ilan University. Taught acting, directing, visual aspects of the theater, community and educational drama.
1975-1994 Conducted courses, seminars, conferences and workshops in community theater.
1974-1975 Taught acting, modern theater, and community theater at the Hebrew University Drama Department.
1969-1970 Founded and managed the Actors’ Studio with the Cameri theater, teaching acting.
2007-today Edited and broadcasted Storytelling Festival programs
2004 Acted as storyteller, writer, and presenter on Night Story; was editor and presenter on Night Birds
2003 Performed on various radio programs.
1994-2002 Edited and broadcasted a weekly two-hour Storyteller Marathon .
1990-1993 Daily two-hour program Vacation.
1984-2002 Wrote, edited, and broadcasted a weekly personal hour.
2014 One Out of Ten, Hakibbutz Hameuchad
2013 Gravity, Sifriat Hapoalim
2011 The Burga Baby, Reclaiming Judaism Press
2010 Poems for Sue, Tsivonim Press.
2009 Like Partings, Carmel Press.
2007 Mother’s Fingerprints, Carmel Press.
2006 Two Side Of Transit Camp by Loba Eliav and Yossi Alfi, Maariv Press.
2004 The King Is Looking For A Friend (young readers), Am Oved Press.
1997 Late Childhood Stories, Bitan Press.
1995 How To Stop The Sun (young readers), Graph Ore Press.
1994 The Last Restraint Poems, Tamuz Press.
1994 One Way Ticket (poetry), Sifriat Poalim Press.
1991 The King Who Made Aliyah (young readers), Kinneret Press.
1990 The King Is Marrying A Woman (young readers), Kinneret Press.
1989 Pressures (poems), Sifriat Poalim Press.
1986 The King Who Went To Sleep (young readers), Sifriat Poalim Press.
1984 Israeli Passport (poems), Sifriat Poalim Press.
1983 I’m Joseph, The Grocer’s Son (young readers), Sifriat Poalim Press.
1981 How To Make An Iraqi (poems), Sifriat Poalim Press.
Hebrew, English: fluent.
Arabic: Colloquial Arabic only.
1945 Born in Basra, Iraq.
1949 Immigrated to Israel.
Family status
Married to Sue (originally from England).
Three children (Ben, Gur, Sari). 9 grandchildren.
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