Avishai Shitrit: "This Time Tzur Is Going to Open His Heart in the Most Sensitive Places"

For 12 years now, the puppet Tzur and actor Avishai Shitrit have been working together. "Avishai has become part of me, a very part of my being... yeda arikhta," Tzur attests. However, to be the hand behind the beloved puppet, Avishai often has to demonstrate remarkable acrobatic abilities. "Usually, I raise both hands into the puppet and bend my head, this is how I work for most hours of the day," he says. "There are also more challenging times, like when Tzur is seen sitting on a bench, and I - with raised hands, lay underneath him. When lunchtime came, everyone left me there and went away, I shouted to them: 'Hey, wait, I'm here, take this bench off of me,'" he adds with a smile. 

In the new show, "Tzur's Dreams," which will air soon, Avishai requires an unusual position. "This time, I'm operating Tzur while he sits on his bed, and for this, I need to lie underneath it. The bed is closed on both sides to look realistic, so they made a small square backstage, through which I slowly crawl into the position I need to be. There I lie down and raise my hands to operate the puppet, with a small screen in front of me showing what’s being filmed. Sometimes, everyone takes a five-minute break, and I stay in my dim little nook, because just getting in and out will take all that time. At first, I felt some claustrophobia, but they set up air conditioning and a fan, so no complaints."

Feelings, Fears, Imaginations

Over the years, Tzur and Avishai have appeared in a variety of programs - "Tzur from Ours," "Good Endings," "Story with Tzur," and more, and soon "Tzur's Dreams" will air. This time, Tzur will be seen like never before. "If until now, we knew Tzur as a child who talks and does all sorts of funny things," explains Avishai. "In the new show, he's in his room, opening his heart in the most sensitive places. He talks about emotions, fears, and various imaginations that come to him and learns how to deal with them, with the help of other characters."

Who are the characters joining him?

"The first is his father, who tells him bedtime stories. The role is played by Raviv Zak, the excellent actor and screenwriter, responsible for all of Tzur's scripts since the beginning. Following the story, Tzur remembers similar events from his own life. Here, the role of Chofi enters when Tzur starts imagining, illustrating his imaginations. He jumps out of the closet, falls from the lamp, emerges from under the bed, and more. Joining them is Chirchir the cricket, expressing in words and chirps what Tzur feels. Together, they help Tzur process what he's going through and gain new insights for life."

The manner in which the stories are presented to the children is particularly experiential. "Children love to hear stories, and here they not only hear a story but discover a child, just like them - diving into imaginations, fears, and emotions, just like those they experience. For example, when Tzur is angry at a classmate and wants to take revenge, Chofi explains that revenge is not the way and brainstorms with him on how to cope. Even when Tzur wants to buy his friend a ball for 20 shekels, which is all the money he has, his father tells him a similar story, and together with Chofi, he realizes he can't spend all his money on one gift."

The goal of the program is clear. "Instead of talking to children about what they feel, something many of them are not so good at expressing, we illustrate their imaginations and feelings, and they identify and learn about them. It's a different, more engaging, funny, and interesting approach to open up for the children what happens inside their hearts. To these elements, the visual side of things is added. Tzur himself is renewed with a new puppet, after many kilometers we've walked with the previous puppet, and he has a dreamy, colorful, and joyful room, with a lego-made bed, the kind any child would want."

A Persian Soldier's Tough Voice

The amazing professionalism with which Shitrit works with Tzur is especially surprising given that he never studied the field. "I always wanted to be an actor, but I never dared," he surprises. "I wandered between different jobs, and inside I felt suffocated. Every time I needed to let it out, I would go to my son's kindergarten and perform for a few minutes for the children. I didn't believe one could make a living from the profession; I thought it would forever remain a hobby. The change came when a friend passed my phone number to a program looking for a puppet operator. When they called me, I somehow answered confidently that I knew the field. Somehow they accepted me, even though initially the puppet stood crooked and did everything it wasn't supposed to do. Over time, I learned on my own, both to operate puppets and to build them."

His first puppet was built by Shitrit for no apparent reason. "It was at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic," he recalls. "Like many stage workers, I found myself with plenty of free time, and my wife suggested I try my hand at the field. At first, I resisted; I had no reason to, but I eventually accepted her insistence, and the puppet was ready. My children, who saw the result, told me - he's so cute, kind of like 'Shoshi,' and that's the name the puppet got. A few days later, the Binyamin Regional Council called me and asked to create a short children's program for the COVID-19 period. Shoshi became the star of that program."

Photo: Elad Zagman

And as if that weren't enough, Avishai taught himself to produce a variety of voices for various dubbing and performances. "Often, I come up with particularly amusing voices," he says. "In one of the stories I dubbed, for example, the girl got a gentle and high voice, while her mother got a voice like an elderly Yemenite grandmother. Sometimes I get asked for more different voices, like that of a tough Persian soldier, and there comes the room for creativity that I love so much."

30 Seconds of Happiness

The new program of Tzur and Avishai joins a series of excellent shows on the Hidabroot children's website. In one of them, "Shlukim," Shitrit acts without a puppet. "For 'Shlukim,' I receive the most feedback. Everyone asks me when will new episodes come out, the children are really waiting for this show," he says. "One response, which I received just a few weeks ago, moved me deeply. It was from a woman who sent me a message, in which she wrote that her husband passed away, and her son - who was left orphaned - is celebrating his 9th birthday. The woman told me how much her son loves 'Shlukim,' and asked if I could send him a short video wishing him a happy birthday. Honestly, I was deeply moved because this request showed me the extent of the gift I was fortunate to receive. I can easily make children happy instantly. There are associations, for example, that operate and spend a lot of money to encourage children in difficult situations, whereas I just need to film a 30-second video, and already make a child's day. I see in this work the blessing of Hashem, to do such good for children."