There are several strands to our loose work this June: the story of GOSET (the leading Soviet Yiddish theater) and its star actor/director Solomon Mikhoels; Mikhoels’ legendary performance as King Lear; the artistic explosion of Yiddish theater in myriad movements and experiments. All of this unfolded in the early twentieth century. This is the moment that first got me excited about Yiddish theater and the workshop continues ideas I set in motion on my Fellowship at the American Academy in Jerusalem.

But of course I actually have no clue what I am doing. I have just introduced a few ideas, a few pages of text, a few images and, with the patient help of some generous performers, fabricated a few sketches. A workshop is my way of reading, writing and thinking, in the sloppy and formless fashion of an early draft. It is quite likely that none of this stuff will actually be performed in front of audiences—but it will lead to other good things, and that is success to me.