ACT: Ashkelon Community Theater Presents in English
“SHTETL SCHTICKS”
Comedic Tales from the old country
Performed on Thursday December 19, 2024 at Netzach Israel in Ashkelon
What Exactly Was a Shtetl?
The word “shtetl” is Yiddish, and it means “little town.” Shtetls were small market towns in Russia and Poland that shared a unique socio-cultural community pattern during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Shtetls ranged in size from several hundred to several thousand residents. Forests and fields often surrounded these small towns. Gentiles tended to live outside of the town, while Jews lived in the town proper. The streets were, for the most part, unpaved, the houses constructed of wood. Public spaces included synagogues (often wooden), the beit midrash (study house), shtiblekh (smaller, residential houses of prayer), a Jewish cemetery, bathhouses, and, of course, the marketplace.
The Jewish community was typically governed by a community council, a kahal. The kahal oversaw civil and religious affairs, from collecting taxes to dispensing charity. While religion guided daily life, it was not, as is often portrayed, the sole occupation of Jewish males. In reality, the scholarly class was a small, elite segment of society. A majority of shtetl Jews, both men and women, worked to support their families, usually in commercial or artisanal trades, and then, more commonly, as time and industrialization marched on, in factories.
Modernization, migration, emigration, and revolution contributed to the decline of the shtetl. The Holocaust destroyed any remaining vestiges of shtetl life.
What Exactly is a Schtick?
A shtick is a comic theme or gimmick. The word entered the English language from the Yiddish shtik (שטיק).
THE CAST
(in alphabetical order)
Steve Baker
Rafi Freeman
Mirah Halperin
Mark Lazar
Ashton Faith Murcia
Geoff Roland
Lorna Szefler
Written, Directed & Produced
Mark Lazar
Lights
Geoff Roland
Sound
Lucy Myers
Sets & Properties
Geoff Roland & Lorna Szefler
If you are interest in participating in future productions or workshops, please contact Mark Lazar at marklazarseminars@gmail.com or 053-701-0932.
