The 2012 Roseanne Barr Retreat
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS RETREAT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. NEW DATES WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE NOTIFIED WHEN THE NEW DATES ARE POSTED, EMAIL REGISTRAR@ISABELLAFREEDMAN.ORG.
Join the legendary Roseanne Barr, sister Geraldine Barr, and daughter Brandi Brown for an intimate and intense weekend of meditation, kabalistic exploration, and unavoidable humor. This year's Roseanne retreat will be open to all genders!
My own grandmother, Mary Bitman, had left her town of Aborniki, Lithuania, to move to the United States after being accepted at the Salt Lake City Conservatory of Music, so she knew something about the arts!
She encouraged me to sing and dance and tell jokes every Friday night, Shabbat, in the windowsill of her living room after everyone had gorged on her brisket. She also talked about God all the time, and the importance of being honest and obedient to Him, so I figured that she was honest with me about my singing and dancing talents.
My family would laugh and clap, adoring everthing that came out of my mouth and every move I made—every twirl, every note, every word I said. I was the first grandchild, niece, and daughter in my extended family, and therefore I was spoiled rotten until I became dissociative and narcissistic enough to imagine myself to be "special" as well as "chosen."
Learn more about Roseanne's Jewish upbringing and identity in her new book, Roseannearchy: Dispatches from the Nut Farm, from which this excerpt is taken.
If you're new to Isabella Freedman, check out our Frequently Asked Questions for information about where we're located, arrival and departure times, what to bring, etc.
Roseanne Barr, an American actress, comedian, writer, television producer, director, and self-defined kabbalist and mystic meditator matriarchist, began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the sitcom Roseanne, for which she won both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. She has released children's DVDs, performed comedy specials and at festivals, hosted talent searches, and appeared in a documentary about comedy and in commercials. She currently hosts a weekly radio show in Los Angeles and is filming a reality show about her life on a Hawaiian nut farm. The granddaughter of Eurasian immigrants, Barr was the oldest of four children in a working-class Jewish Salt Lake City family.
Geraldine Barr is a writer and humorist in San Rafael California, a pursuit she is continuously trying to make a living from. She is also CEO of her homestead, where her time is spent managing, directing, and ensuring that her company of thirty years (consisting of twin 12-year-old daughters, a designer dog, and her partner) are successful, thriving members of society. Geraldine is best known to her friends and family for her wise counsel, her pumpkin no-fat, no-sugar, no-hydrogenated swimmer cookies (8 grams of protein per cookie) and her weekly commentary on the Torah portion. She sells avocados at the farmers market and creates community gardens.
Registration Information
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS RETREAT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. NEW DATES WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE NOTIFIED WHEN THE NEW DATES ARE POSTED, EMAIL REGISTRAR@ISABELLAFREEDMAN.ORG.
