Yiddish Acting Workshop

with Rafael Goldwaser

This eight session workshop invited us to become Yiddish actors. Students read Ahron Lutzki’s “Di khasene” and worked on intonation, intention, incarnation, and interpretation. Lutzki’s work incorporates themes of adversity, creation, and destruction. I.L. Peretz admired Lutzki’s work, and well-known Yiddish actors, such as Herz Grossbard, recited his poems. Lutzki died in 1957 and has left behind his masterful works.

Songs from the Dark Side of the Yiddish Stage

We joined Daniel Kahn for a 90-minute song workshop, as he taught a variety of songs, from Yiddish versions of Brecht to Perchik’s lost revolutionary anthem in Fidler afn Dakh. These songs are a long way from the glitz and shmaltz of Second Avenue.

Songs of the Yiddish Theatre

with Cindy Paley

The American Yiddish musical theatre was a powerful force in the turn-of-the-century immigrant experience. The theatre brought to life the immigrant’s dreams, their difficulties in the new world and the nostalgia for their old country. We’ll sing songs by Molly Picon. Aaron Lebedeff, and the great composers – Alexander Olshanetsky, Abraham Ellstein, Joseph Rumsinsky, Sholom Secunda and others. Lomir Zingen.

We hope you enjoyed celebrating Purim in Yiddishland! The special musical guests, Yale Strom and Elizabeth Schwartz of Hot Pstromi, performed Purim songs to entertain the crowd. The hilarious Goldie Hoffman, who came all the way from Los Angeles, emceed the event with her Purim humor, trivia, and a costume contest that offered prizes to the lucky winners. DJ RJ (Ron Jones) kept the music going all night long. For those who couldn’t make it in person, the event was simulcast on Zoom.

Advanced Intonation Workshop

with Daniel Galay

In this eight-session workshop, students learned how to improve their Yiddish intonation skills. They worked on pronouncing single words, questions, different grammatical cases, and negations. Additionally, students learned about the influence of foreign intonations and boosted their self-confidence when speaking Yiddish. Good intonation is the first step to become a Yiddish actor!

Shabes in Anatevke 

with Lisa Fishman and Yael Chanukov

We were honored to introduce you to Yiddishland’s very special guests from NYC – cast members of the exceedingly popular off-Broadway production of “Fiddler on the Roof” in Yiddish, directed by Joel Grey. Performers Lisa Fishman and Yael Chanukov shared a few songs and stories from behind the scenes of that critically acclaimed production. We got a taste of “Fidler afn dakh” here in San Diego!

Yiddish Theater for All Generations

with Naomi Miller

Yidish teater far ale doyres [Yiddish theater for all generations] is a course taught by Naomi Miller that focuses on collaboratively creating Yiddish theater skits together. Multigenerational families enjoyed, played and created together.

Pre-Chanukkah Simche

We enjoyed a Simche celebrating the freilach Festival of Light. Our special performers, Eva Beim and Bracha Crayk, brought unique interpretations of our beloved Chanukkah songs in Hebrew, Yiddish, English and Ladino. It was a heimish evening filled with music, humor, and Chanukkah rituals.

Yiddish Music in Latin American Film and Theater Productions

with Alejandra Czarny

This workshop explored the many Yiddish-language songs that have featured in Latin American movies and plays, with a special focus on Argentine productions. The songs we sang touch on diverse and powerful themes. They include love stories, children’s songs, and classic poems set to music. Some tunes reminisce on bygone days, and others celebrate the rich inner life of the Jewish community.

“Serkele” : A Peek into the World of 1820s Polish Jewry

with David Shafir

Considered a pioneer and a classic of Yiddish theater, this satirical play was written by the talented Dr. Ettinger in his twenties. It was almost a miracle that a decent copy of the text survived, and we are very lucky to have it — because it preserved for posterity a rich sample of everyday Polish Yiddish of the early 19th century. Carefully exploring and savoring every phrase and sentence of this important source helped us get the feel of life and mentality of the “hostages of the Pale” of that period. 

Tevye the Milkman Sang in Yiddish: Songs from Fiddler on the Roof

with Elisheva Edelson

Can you believe that Sholem Aleikhem’s Tevye the Milkman spoke Yiddish and sang in Yiddish? In this workshop, we learned some of the beautiful songs from the musical Fiddler on the Roof, in Yiddish, as they were sung in the first production outside the United States in Israel, “A fidler afn dakh.” Participants had the lyrics in Yiddish (phonetics) and were able to sing along.

SHA UN SHTIL! A New Yiddish Theater Experiment 

with Sasha Hoffman

This innovative Yiddish theater class series built a bridge between the academic and the artistic worlds and featured Itzik Manger’s “Megile lider.” This play of poems was performed all over the world, often as a musical. In 2021, Congress for Jewish Culture produced the poem cycle via Zoom. Giving students the opportunity to learn from the experts, our program hosted special guests such as Avi Hoffman, Yelena Shmulenson, Eleanor Reissa, and Uri Schreter, all participants of the recent production, which can be viewed on youtube.

Many engaging events took place in Yiddishland

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