Rent strike

rent strike

Jewish Currents recently shared this short play "Rent Strike" written by sweatshop poet Morris Rosenfeld (we have sung a few of his poems, including Mayn Rue Plats, Mayn Yingele, and Ikh Ver a Mashin). The play was written in Yiddish in 1908 and you can still hear its echoes in today's world. This English translation is by Eddy Portnoy, author of Bad Rabbi: strange but true stories from the Yiddish press.

I have also sent a note to the Yiddish Committee about making it a bilingual reading! Fun to get ABV folks and Yiddish folks together!

How about 11/15 to allow some time to decompress post-election and organize the reading? I am working on a bilingual script and figuring out how to address some of the differences between the English and the Yiddish. Would you like me to create a Google Doc with a list of characters for folks to sign up for each character in English or Yiddish? Thanks.

Sure. For the English readers, keeping it informal is good. No need to pre-read, just experience it straight through without any interruptions. (that was my philosophy when I taught humanities, we did 3-4 plays a year like that). Do you think we read the english line, followed by the yiddish?

Hi Tim, I agree that we should just read it straight through without interruption, with the English/Yiddish alternating by line. I am not sure what you mean by pre-read, but I would like to encourage all readers (English and Yiddish) to get comfortable with their lines on their own. Also fun to encourage including a prop or bit of costume consistent with their character (e.g., gavel, big hat, oversized coat, shawl, worker's cap, gaudy jewelry, etc.).

I have completed the bilingual script, which includes a sign-up sheet at the top:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fz4wqCTQVHz7rz7cgE6Jwvj_nt15pi4h_vVjkkzvk6U/edit?usp=sharing

Ready to send a notice about the date and sign-up for roles? Would you like me to do that?

I guess we need to settle on a date and time. I prefer November 15 to give folks more time to decompress post-election, but if you still prefer November 8, that's OK with me. 3 pm?

Thanks.

Hi Linda,

There is so much I do not know. To me, that translation looks like Hebrew. Is it? I was thinking it would be the kind of Yiddish that we see in chorus.

November 15th is fine with me.

When I was teaching at West Roxbury High we went through a lot of iterations on how to experience a play. The one that never worked was having the kids read it ahead of time and then come in for a read-through. I came to believe that plays (and poetry) should be experienced out-loud. My students were already into rap and spoken word but they never read anything. Out-loud plays and poetry became the link to reading and writing. It was exciting. Urban kids who averaged 450 on their SAT's were performing Shakespeare and Arthur Miller and August Wilson in read-throughs and racing to be the first to class each day to choose their parts (some trying for starring roles, some looking for the easiest part possible). Each May I had them write and perform their own plays.

That excitement and chaos was why I replied to your initial email about Rent Strike. I am sure that practicing and bringing "gavel, big hat, oversized coat, shawl, worker's cap, gaudy jewelry, etc" will be fun for a lot of people. But I am not really interested in that. In a way it is similar to my reason for not wanting to lip-synch to our old songs. I want to hear our voices, even the mistakes.

It is great to come up with things like Rent Strike to help keep us connected as a community. You have already done a lot of work and it has taken on a life of its own. Perhaps it is better that I bow out. I am fine with that.

https://jewishcurrents.org/rent-strike/

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

Yankel Schwartz

A rich landlord, about 50 years old with a rotund body and a common facewe di

Mrs. Lempel

His sister, a poor widow

Bobe Gitele

Their mother; an old, sick, and poor woman

Leybe Gaytz

A tall, thin Jew; a real estate agent

Mrs. Tchotchke1

A wealthy landlady

Mrs. Knup

Mrs. Tchotchke’s housekeeper

Boodle2

A judge

Others

Landlords, strikers, people, police, etc.

intro

stage directions