The Transnational Vilna Troupe(s): A New Look at a Yiddish Theater Landmark

Debra Caplan, Ph.D. candidate, Dept. of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University

This talk considers the role of international travel, correspondence, touring, and artistic exchange in the Vilna Troupe's extraordinary rise to success. From modest beginnings in a dilapidated and unheated circus building in German-occupied Vilna during the First World War, the Vilna Troupe (in its many iterations) went on to command the attention of prominent intellectuals, journalists, theater artists, and even heads of state throughout Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and North and South America. This talk sheds light on the complex networks of artistic cross-fertilization that inspired the Vilna Troupe's theatrical innovations in landmark productions like The Dybbuk.