THE SEGAL CENTRE
FOR PERFORMING ARTS
in partnership with the City of Montreal
IS PROUD TO PRESENT
THE MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL YIDDISH THEATRE FESTIVAL
THE DORA WASSERMAN YIDDISH THEATRE
Presented by The Tauben Family Foundation
YAYA - YOUNG ACTORS FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
Presented with the support of Susan & Harry Baikowitz and
Nina & Harry Hart
IS THE AWARD-WINNING YOUTH WING OF THE DORA WASSERMAN YIDDISH THEATRE
IS A POWERFUL, PIONEERING THEATRE PROJECT OF YOUTH REACHING OUT TO YOUTH TO COMBAT RACISM AND TO PROMOTE TOLERANCE
YAYA productions feature a large group of students ages 9 to
18, who have gone through a two year
training programme in theatre, heritage,
history, Yiddish and leadership.
YAYA'S
| NO MORE RAISINS, NO MORE ALMONDS | Saturday, June 20, 9:30 PM |
by Batia Bettman, Directed by Bryna Wasserman
No More Raisins, No More Almonds is an original play about youth during the Holocaust that parallels the fate of too many young people in our world today. It is a powerful demonstration of the core of racism and prejudice, of what happens to innocent children who are mistreated, not for what they do, but for who they are.
Professionally directed and designed, No More Raisins, No More Almonds is performed by youth, for youth and about youth who were trapped in an Eastern European ghetto during the Holocaust. It is based on songs about children and teenagers that were written and sung in the ghettos. Drawn from historical documents, the play tells the story of a group of young people from their point of view. They lived in a ghetto and had to learn to survive from day to day.
Post-performance discussions deal with the impact of bigotry and solutions.
This dialogue between actors and audiences is an integral part of the theatre learning experience.
The dialogue of the play is in English with the songs in their original Yiddish, translated through supertitles.
Allan Sandler and Family have dedicated this YAYA production of No More Raisins, No More Almonds to the memory of our children, taken too soon.
| Todd Sandler | |
| Sarah Gonshor | Robert Strauber |
| Trudy Saxe | Irwin Zoltak |
 | |
THE DORA WASSERMAN YIDDISH THEATRE'S
| THOSE WERE the DAYS | Thursday, June 25, 8 PM |
by Zalmen Mlotek and Moishe Rosenfeld, directed by Bryna Wasserman
This play follows the Jewish experience from the late 19th century up to the late 1930's.
Act l takes place in Eastern Europe and Act ll in America.
The play starts with a theatrical troupe in the villages and small towns of Eastern Europe and it follows their migration to North America. It was a very different time from our own. In Those Were The Days, life appeared to be simpler. It portrays a "World of Yiddish", a time when Jews lived their whole lives in Yiddish. We meet the different characters from the small towns and learn about their lives. Life wasn't easy at the best of times. They had to wash their laundry by the river and bring drinking water from the well. There was also poverty. "People didn't have much but what little they had, they shared with one another."(The Storyteller, Act I) In addition, there were problems of discrimination, pogroms and expulsions. Yet, there was closeness and devotion and on occasion, even JOY! We remember that way of life and sometimes we long for it. At times, it seems like a dream. Although we know that, "there is no more street, no more home and the girl I loved is no longer there" (Song: "Where is the Street?"), nevertheless,"…we'll always remember our old home, the trees, and our dreams"(The Storyteller,(Act ll ) Though that life is gone, it continues to live when we retell the story.( from the e-guide to Those Were the Days by Batia Bettman.