Yiddish Theatre Forum
Joel Berkowitz, Editor
______________________________________________________
Contents of Vol. 02.005
14 August 2003
1) Letter from the Editor: Yiddish Theatre Online (Joel Berkowitz)
2) Stempenyu (Jan Lisa Huttner)
3) Yiddish Theater and Vaudeville Research Group (David Harris)
4) All About Jewish Theatre [Website] (Moti Sandak)
5) In Future Issues (Joel Berkowitz)
1)------------------------------------------------------
Date: 30 July 2003
From: Joel Berkowitz
Subject: Yiddish Theatre Online
Past issues of the YTF have periodically touched upon Web-based resources for
Yiddish theatre. In the Forum's first feature article, Leonard Prager
examined Louis Kramer's _Di amerikane kinder_, a copy of which can be found
among the 77 Yiddish plays from the Lawrence Marwick Collection posted on the
Library of Congress website .
The subsequent issue of the YTF included a description of the index to Zalmen
Zylbercweig's _Leksikon fun yidishn teater_, prepared by Faith Jones of the
New York Public Library's Jewish Division, and posted on the Library's
website: . YTF 2.001 included Zachary Baker's
overview of the Lawrence Marwick Collection, as well as a guide to the YIVO
Institute's online library database contributed by YIVO's Dean of the Library,
Brad Sabin Hill.
The current issue features descriptions of different sorts of internet
resources: one from the booming world of genealogical research, the other from
the world of contemporary theatre practice. The YTF is grateful for the
support and interest expressed by both David Harris of the Yiddish Theater and
Vaudeville Research Group and Moti Sandak of the All About Jewish Theatre
website. Many YTF readers will have interests overlapping with both the
ytandv list and with Sandak's website, and the YTF encourages its readers to
explore these Web-based resources.
One might think that a survey of Yiddish theatre resources on the Web would
turn up many sites worth mentioning, but sadly, that is not the case. Indeed,
at times it seems as if internet resources in our field are shrinking rather
than expanding. A case in point is the disappearance of Second Avenue Online,
a site hosted by New York University that many readers of this page
undoubtedly visited with some interest. While the site had its shortcomings,
it was on the whole accurate and informative, and brought together a wider
variety of background information and audio-visual materials on the Yiddish
theatre than any other website has done. Second Avenue Online is sadly no
longer accessible, however, and the circumstances surrounding its demise
remain a mystery even to some of those who worked on it. Nothing similar has
yet arisen to fill the void it left.
Comparing the state of Yiddish-theatre-related websites to those available
among the "umes ha'oylem" -- the other nations of the world -- is a humbling
experience. A brief survey of such sites offers a wealth of resources in many
different media (though as usual, one must wade through a great deal of dross
in order to reach the gold): photographs and floor plans of Roman theatres and
amphitheatres; computerized reconstructions of Renaissance scene designs;
repositories of vaudeville sound recordings; high-quality scans of Victorian
and Edwardian posters and programs; and on and on. Our field could greatly
benefit from thoughtfully conceived websites helping to bring to life the
history of the Yiddish theatre. Such a site might benefit not only `Moyshe'
(in our day and age, the ordinary Web surfer), but theatre scholars and
practitioners as well.
The largely bleak picture within the Yiddish world is not without its bright
spots. The Jewish Museum of London, for example, hosts an online exhibit on
Yiddish Theatre in London, featuring an informative text and some interesting
photographs. See .
Zylbercweig's _Leksikon_ finds new life elsewhere on the Web with Steven
Weiss's index to volume 5, the so-called "kedoyshim-band" dedicated to Yiddish
theatre personnel murdered by Hitler and Stalin; see
. Such sites,
and others profiled in this issue, offer glimmers of hope in the
cyber-wilderness. The YTF would love to hear about others, whether actual, in
progress, or simply such stuff as dreams are made on.
2)------------------------------------------------------
Date: 30 July 2003
From: Jan Lisa (Tzivi) Huttner
Subject: Stempenyu
I am working on a book comparing the stage and screen versions of FIDDLER ON
THE ROOF. Please contact me directly if you have any opinions &/or
recollections to share. I am particularly interested in learning more about
Maurice Schwartz's 1929 production of STEMPENYU (with sets by Boris Aronson).
3) ----------------------------------------------------
Date: 13 April 2003
From: David Harris
Subject: Yiddish Theater and Vaudeville Research Group (a JewishGen InfoFile)
I. General Information
The initial goals of the Yiddish Theater and Vaudeville Research Group
(hereafter YtandVRG) are to:
* provide an electronic discussion group in the form of a JewishGen Ytand V
mailing list for those genealogists tracing relatives who were involved in
Yiddish theater and/or vaudeville in any capacity, in any location, and in
any time period;
* record the combined expertise of genealogists working to trace relatives in
this Jewish "micro world" through JewishGen YtandV discussion group archives
and JewishGen InfoFiles;
* develop a primer in the form of a JewishGen InfoFile on what sources still
exist for this Jewish "micro world" given the unique richness of the extant
artifacts of physical culture (in addition to the more usual textual source
items like song sheets, playbills, newspaper reviews, sound recordings, and
movies, all sources of information);
* establish YTandV databases, if appropriate, on JewishGen if general Yiddish
theater web sites do not cast a wide enough net (either in terms of geography,
time, or kinds of information -- for example photographs of gravestones may
not be included in the general web sites focusing on Yiddish [theater as a
subject itself rather than as the milieu in which relatives left a paper trail
to be followed);
* facilitate members' access to information in Yiddish language sources --
whether by help in learning to read the orthography, translation exchange,
formal mentor relationships, template documents, or any mode of instruction
and assistance members find helpful through JewishGen InfoFiles, the YTandV
mailing list and YtandV databases if appropriate.
CONTACTS:
YTandV Research Group Coordinator:
Jonina Duker
YTandV Research Group Mailing List Moderator:
David W. Harris
Please remember that the coordinator, moderator, and webmaster are all
volunteers.
II. Subscription Primer:
Should you wish to participate...
A. Go to the JewishGen WebForm to manage your subscription:
http://www.jewishgen.org/listserv/sigs.htm;
B. Via Email.
Send change-of-status messages to:
To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ytandv (first name) (last name); e.g.
subscribe ytandv Jane Lavin
4)-------------------------------------------------------
Date: 21 July 2003
From: Moti Sandak
Subject: All About Jewish Theatre
All About Jewish Theatre is a global website that aims to promote and enhance
Jewish theatre and performing arts worldwide.
Vision: Recollect our past; understand the present, plan for the future.
Mission Statement: We put the production & research capabilities of The World
Jewish Theatre at your fingertips. Objectives:
*To provide a user-friendly platform for intercultural dialogue between Jewish
communities worldwide and the State of Israel through artistic exploration via
the Internet.
*To provide an interactive global network for professionals in The Theater and
Performing Arts.
How it all started:
In December 2001, thirty Jewish theatre Directors and academics from around
the world met in Tel Aviv at a conference "Towards a Vibrant and Coherent
Theatre of the Jewish People," hosted by the Jewish Agency's People to People
center. They concluded with the decision to establish a Jewish Theatre Network
on the Web. Following the conference, the Jewish Agency asked Moti Sandak to
plan and design this Jewish World Theatre Website, to be based on his own
initiative and ten years of research in Jewish theatre, rare collections of
plays and professional articles, connections with leading libraries and
databases around the world, and three years of accumulated research in
Internet information technology together with European R&D institutions.
Products and Services:
Who has the time to search all over the Internet to find the information you
need in a timely fashion? This website is specially designed to provide a
unifying environment designed to bring together all available information
about the international world of Jewish Theater and performing arts expertly
linked, displayed and easily accessible to anyone. All About Jewish Theatre is
the comprehensive and targeted coverage of the international community of
Jewish Theater and the leading source of industry news in the world. Tens of
thousands of professionals, educators, students and enthusiasts will stay in
touch with All About Jewish Theatre to get the facts, figures & dates of what,
when, where and how in-depth coverage they haven't been able to get till now
anywhere else. Through All About Jewish Theatre, people worldwide will have a
single source for a vast array of information pertaining to all facets of the
Jewish Theater manufacturers to consumers.
What's on the site?
*A worldwide directory of theatre professionals, Jewish theatres,
institutions, and organizations.
*News about all aspects of Jewish theatrical production and research around
the world.
*A calendar of conferences, workshops, festivals, symposia, exhibitions,
premiŠres, international tours, etc.
*An information center covering books, plays, magazines, articles and studies,
films, and recommended websites.
*Shobiz: A professional events arena where you can search for available
auditoriums, find compatible dates for international tours, search for grants
and scholarships, and find partners for professional projects and festivals.
*Forums and special-interest groups led by top professionals.
*Success stories of Jewish theatres and artists around the world, for you to
read - and post your own success story.
*A virtual gallery with exhibits about plays, actors, set and costume design,
posters, and historic events, for you to view - and post from your own
productions.
*And all this free of charge at an interactive meeting-place for the Jewish
and Israeli theatrical community, providing a chance for exposure, for
exchanging opinions, for professional study and enrichment - all under one
roof and at one address: www.jewish-theatre.com
You are invited to contribute articles,moderate forums and suggest ideas .
Please contact: Moti Sandak -- Chief Editor
e-mail : ncmisrael@bezeqint.net
post: P.O.BOX 11818 Tel Aviv 61116 Israel
Website : http://www.jewish-theatre.com
Phone: 972-3-6512223
5)--------------------------------------
Date: 31 July 2003
From: Joel Berkowitz
Subject: In Future Issues
The Forum will soon introduce a newly constituted Editorial Board. In coming
months, the YTF will introduce new features, including book reviews of
individual publications as well as bibliographic essays surveying recent
scholarship in several languages. Of course, we will continue to welcome your
contributions and queries on any relevant subjects.
_______________________________________________________________
End of Yiddish Theatre Forum 02.005
Yiddish Theatre Forum
Joel Berkowitz, Editor
Honorary Board
Raphael Goldwasser, Shifra Lerer, Bernard Mendelovich, Joseph Schein
Advisory Council
Leonard Prager, Senior Advisor
Dror Abend-David, Jean Baumgarten, Helen Beer, Paola Bertolone, Mendy
Cahan, Jeremy Dauber, Jerold Frakes, Ben Furnish, Itsik Gottesman,
Avraham Greenbaum, Nina Hein, Barbara Henry, Dov-Ber Kerler, John Klier,
David Mazower, Laura Mincer, Edna Nahshon, Yitskhok Niborski, Leonard
Prager, Alyssa Quint, Ron Robboy, Nahma Sandrow, Vassili Schedrin,
Joseph Schein, Jutta Strauss, Jeffrey Veidlinger, Nina Warnke, Seth
Wolitz, Moshe Yassur
Subscribers to Mendele (see below) automatically receive The Mendele
Review and the Yiddish Theatre Forum.
Send "to subscribe" or change-of-status messages to:
listproc@lists.yale.edu
a. For a temporary stop: set mendele mail postpone
b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail ack
c. To subscribe: sub mendele firstname lastname
d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele