Proceedings of a May 1994 symposium held to present cutting edge multidisciplinary work on the characterization of ancient materials; the technologies of selection, production, and usage by which materials are transformed into the objects and artifacts we find today; the science underlying their deterioration, preservation, and conservation; and sociocultural interpretation derived from an empirical methodology of observation, measurement, and experimentation. Over 70 contributions discuss topics that include the visual appearance and the imitation of one material by another; stable protective coatings and materials stability; resource surveying, source characterization, and cultural implications; and process reconstruction as essential to understanding of condition and conservation. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Yiddish Theater Stage as a Temporary Home takes us through the fascinating life and career of the most important comic duo in Yiddish Theater, Shimen Dzigan and Isroel Shumacher. Spanning over the course of half a century – from the beginning of their work at the Ararat avant-garde Yiddish theater in Łodz, Poland to their Warsaw theatre – they produced bold, groundbreaking political satire. The book further discusses their wanderings through the Soviet Union during the Second World War and their attempt to revive Jewish culture in Poland after the Holocaust. It finally describes their time in Israel, first as guest performers and later as permanent residents. Despite the restrictions on Yiddish actors in Israel, the duo insisted on performing in their language and succeeded in translating the new Israeli reality into unique and timely satire. In the 1950s, they voiced a unique – among the Hebrew stages – political and cultural critique. Dzigan continued to perform on his own and with other Israeli artists until his death in 1980.

Collects leading scholars' insight on the plays, production, music, audiences, and political and aesthetic concerns of modern Yiddish theater. While Yiddish theater is best known as popular entertainment, it has been shaped by its creators' responses to changing social and political conditions. Inventing the Modern Yiddish Stage: Essays in Drama, Performance, and Show Business showcases the diversity of modern Yiddish theater by focusing on the relentless and far-ranging capacity of its performers, producers, critics, and audiences for self-invention. Editors Joel Berkowitz and Barbara Henry have assembled essays from leading scholars that trace the roots of modern Yiddish drama and performance in nineteenth-century Eastern Europe and span a century and a half and three continents, beyond the heyday of a Yiddish stage that was nearly eradicated by the Holocaust, to its post-war life in Western Europe and Israel. Each chapter takes its own distinct approach to its subject and is accompanied by an appendix consisting of primary material, much of it available in English translation for the first time, to enrich readers' appreciation of the issues explored and also to serve as supplementary classroom texts. Chapters explore Yiddish theater across a broad geographical span--from Poland and Russia to France, the United States, Argentina, and Israel and Palestine. Readers will spend time with notable individuals and troupes; meet creators, critics, and audiences; sample different dramatic genres; and learn about issues that preoccupied both artists and audiences. The final section presents an extensive bibliography of book-length works and scholarly articles on Yiddish drama and theater, the most comprehensive resource of its kind. Collectively these essays illuminate the modern Yiddish stage as a phenomenon that was constantly reinventing itself and simultaneously examining and questioning that very process. Scholars of Jewish performance and those interested in theater history will appreciate this wide-ranging volume.

CONTENTS.- D. Pinski: Abigail, Forgotten souls.- S.J. Rabinowitsch: She must marry a doctor.- S. Ash: Winter, The sinner.- P. Hirschbein: In the dark.

This book presents a contextualised volume of memoirs penned by the pioneering Polish-Yiddish actor Ester-Rokhl Kaminska. Originally appearing in instalments in Yiddish in the Warsaw Jewish daily 'Der Moment', the memoirs are introduced and translated into English here for the first time. They cover Kaminska's life and work, reflecting on her childhood, how she navigated the move from shtetl to city, and staged underground Yiddish performances, first in the Russian Empire and, after World War One, openly and to great acclaim in independent Poland. The memoirs are little known, despite Kaminska's high standing in the Yiddish theater world, and yet they richly disclose the texture of everyday life for working Jewish women and the benefits and perils of their move from rural shtetls to more urban environments. The introduction offers a concise biographical background to Kaminska and points to further sources for all aspects of her career, her life, and the life of her children and important protégés. The result is the most definitive volume available on this towering figure and a significant contribution to our understanding of this little-known period of Yiddish theater (1890-1920) and the lives of female cultural producers in Russia and Poland at the turn of the 20th century.

While a frequently used term, Jewish Theatre has become a contested concept that defies precise definition. Is it theatre by Jews? For Jews? About Jews? Though there are no easy answers for these questions, "Jewish Theatre: A Global View," contributes greatly to the conversation by offering an impressive collection of original essays written by an international cadre of noted scholars from Europe, the United States, and Israel. The essays discuss historical and current texts and performance practices, covering a wide gamut of genres and traditions.