The Art of the Yiddish Monologue
Tuition: $240 | YIVO members: $180**
This is a live, online course held twice a week on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 25 students. All course details (Zoom link, syllabus, handouts, assignments, etc.) will be posted to Canvas. Students will be granted access to the class on Canvas after registering for the class here on the YIVO website. This class will be conducted in Yiddish.
Instructor: Shane Baker
Over the course of four sessions spent examining Yiddish works by Sholem Aleichem, I.L. Peretz, Der Tunkeler, B. Kovner, Moishe Nadir, Rokhl Brokhes, and Isaac Bashevis Singer, we will explore the nature of the monologue in Yiddish literature and performance. Where possible, links to performances will be given, as well as to English translations. In particular, we will work at understanding both the literary elements and the psychological underpinnings of these pieces. Discussion will also include the history of the monologue and of the solo performer in Yiddish theater.
Yiddish Level:
This course is appropriate for Yiddish students at the intermediate level and above.
Course Materials:
All course materials will be provided digitally on Canvas.
Questions? Read our 2026 Winter Yiddish Seminars FAQ.
Shane Baker serves as Executive Director of the Congress for Jewish Culture, a Yiddish arts organization based in New York. His Yiddish translation of Waiting for Godot, in which he also played Vladimir, has played Off-Broadway and internationally to critical acclaim. In 2020, he received the Adrienne Cooper Dreaming in Yiddish Award.
**Become a member today, starting at $54 for one year, and pay the member price for classes! You’ll save on tuition for this course and more on future classes and public programs tickets.