Yiddish Theater and Vaudeville Research Group

General Information

The goals of the Yiddish Theater and Vaudeville Research Group (hereafter "YTandV RG") are to:

• provide an electronic discussion group in the form of a JewishGen YTandV 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, JewishGen InfoFiles, and JewishGen databases;

• 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 sources, there are also items like song sheets, playbills, newspaper reviews, sound recordings, and movies, all of which can be valuable sources of information);

• establish YTandV databases on JewishGen if general Yiddish theater websites do not cast a net widely enough (either in terms of geography, time, or kinds of information -- for example, photographs of gravestones may not be included in the general websites 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.

Databases

YTandV's first database is http://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/YiddishTheatreAlbum.htm.  So far, it offers a name index of over 500 names, from the almost 300 photographs appearing in the 1937 book Album of the Yiddish Theater by expert Zalme Zylberzweig (elsewhere on JewishGen transliterated as Zalmen Zylbercweig).

Another YTandV project is http://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/theater/Yiddish_theater.html.  This database is part of the JewishGen Yizkor Book Project.  It offers a name index to the same author's 1967 Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre volume 5 necrology.

More information from YTandV members is available to be added to our database; however, we urgently need a volunteer webmaster in order to make any of this information available.

Contacts

• YTandV RG Founder and Coordinator:
  Jonina Duker - Jonina dot Duker at juno dot com.

• YTandV RG Mailing List Moderator:
  David W. Harris - dorsharris@verizon.net.

• YTandV RG Webmaster:
  Volunteer webmaster urgently needed.

Please remember that the coordinator, moderator, and webmaster are all volunteers.

Please note that financial contributions in support of this research group should be made directly to JewishGen Operations, since JewishGen underwrites all associated costs for YTandV RG.

Mailing List

To subscribe to the mailing list, or to manage your subscription go to https://groups.jewishgen.org/g/main and follow the online instructions.

To post e-mail to the group, send an e-mail to main@groups.jewishgen.org.

Please abide by these key rules:

• Compose posts as text/plain.
• Provide a meaningful Subject: line.
• Don't ramble off the topic.
• Sign your article with full name and e-mail address.  City or country optional but desirable.