Yiddish tales from Scott Davis, the Jewish Storyteller
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Scott's monologues, one man shows, and theater readings stem from a love of Jewish culture
I've known Scott Davis for many years and have translated Yiddish stories, memoirs, and letters for him. He's executive producer of WUNC-TV, the public tv station here in Chapel Hill NC, but he also loves to research, re-imagine, and perform stories from the shtetls of Eastern Europe, bringing hundred-year-old stories to life for modern audiences.
Scott has personally financed the translation and publication of several otherwise undiscovered books in Yiddish and is devoted to the preservation of the Ashkenazic literary tradition of the 19th and early 20th century. This lens is an appreciation.
The books Scott has produce are available for sale on his website (see the Jewish Storyteller Bookshop and there will, hopefully, be more to come.
Scott has personally financed the translation and publication of several otherwise undiscovered books in Yiddish and is devoted to the preservation of the Ashkenazic literary tradition of the 19th and early 20th century. This lens is an appreciation.
The books Scott has produce are available for sale on his website (see the Jewish Storyteller Bookshop and there will, hopefully, be more to come.
About Scott Davis, the Jewish Storyteller
Scott H. Davis is a storyteller, playwright and collector of Jewish short stories from the turn of the twentieth century.
Scott began his acting career as a child performing in Jewish skits and plays in Los Angeles, California. He now offers his stories, talks, and plays to synagogues, Jewish Community Centers, and religious school audiences across the country.
Though first introduced to Eastern European Jewish stories as a teenager, Scott's interest was re-awakened when he taught a ninth grade religious school class at his local synagogue. So taken by his students' positive response to his readings of stories by I.L. Peretz and Sholem Aleichem, Scott began exploring ways to use playwriting and storytelling to bring these beloved writers' works to new audiences.
In 2007, Scott authored Souls Are Flying! A Celebration of Jewish Stories, an anthology of ten retold Jewish tales published by Jewish Storyteller Press. He also brings these stories to life in his one-man show, "Lost and Found: Jewish Stories from the Old Country," and in his talks, "I.L. Peretz Remembered" and "Uncle Dinezon: The Forgotten Yiddish Writer."
Scott began his acting career as a child performing in Jewish skits and plays in Los Angeles, California. He now offers his stories, talks, and plays to synagogues, Jewish Community Centers, and religious school audiences across the country.
Though first introduced to Eastern European Jewish stories as a teenager, Scott's interest was re-awakened when he taught a ninth grade religious school class at his local synagogue. So taken by his students' positive response to his readings of stories by I.L. Peretz and Sholem Aleichem, Scott began exploring ways to use playwriting and storytelling to bring these beloved writers' works to new audiences.
In 2007, Scott authored Souls Are Flying! A Celebration of Jewish Stories, an anthology of ten retold Jewish tales published by Jewish Storyteller Press. He also brings these stories to life in his one-man show, "Lost and Found: Jewish Stories from the Old Country," and in his talks, "I.L. Peretz Remembered" and "Uncle Dinezon: The Forgotten Yiddish Writer."
Available at Amazon: Scott Davis's book Souls Are Flying!
Souls Are Flying! A Celebration of Jewish Stories
Amazon Price: $6.20 (as of 06/01/2012)
SOULS ARE FLYING! A Celebration of Jewish Stories is a collection of ten short stories based on the writings of beloved Jewish authors Sholem Aleichem, I.L. Peretz and Jacob Dinezon.
Collected and retold by storyteller and playwright, Scott Hilton Davis, these new adaptations celebrate Jewish heritage, culture and values. Stories include "If Not Still Higher" and "Bontshe Shvayg" by I.L. Peretz, "If I Were Rothschild" and "Elijah the Prophet" by Sholem Aleichem, and for the first time in English translation, "Motl Farber, Purimshpieler" and "Borekh the Orphan" by Jacob Dinezon.
Written to be read aloud, these Jewish stories from the late nineteenth century will make you laugh, maybe bring a tear to your eye, and fill your heart with the joy of Yiddishkayt and Jewish culture. A great gift for bar or bat mitzvah, confirmation or Chanukah!
About "Between Heaven and Earth"
BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH is an anthology of four one act plays based on the Yiddish short stories of the nineteenth century Jewish writer, I.L. Peretz. Plays are appropriate for middle school, high school and adult audiences.
Bontshe Shvayg (Bontshe the Silent). Throughout his hard and painful life on earth, Bontshe is silent; his existence insignificant. But when he dies, the Heavenly Shofar trumpets his arrival in Paradise. Offered anything his heart desires for his quiet and saintly behavior on earth, Bontshe Shvayg's humble request dismays his Defending Angel and stuns the Heavenly Court of Paradise. (4 males; 4 females)
What Is Soul? Three teachers-a stern, by-the-book Talmud teacher, a mystical khasidic rebbe, and a "freethinking" Yiddish writing tutor-compete for the heart, mind and soul of a young Jewish boy. (4 males; 3 females)
Empty Handed. (Based on Peretz's short story, "At the Head of the Dying Man".) When the White Angel arrives to escort Rivke-Beyle's soul to heaven, she is surprised to find the Dark Angel from "the other place" already waiting beside the dying woman's bed. Rivke-Beyle's choice of which angel to accompany will surprise and challenge the thinking of your audience. (1 male; 2 females)
If Not Still Higher. A Litvak-a skeptical Jew from Lithuania-is determined to find out where the Rebbe of Nemirov really goes when he disappears each year between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. What the Litvak finds out about tzedakah-good deeds-changes his life forever. (3 males; 2 females)
Adapted for the stage by Scott Hilton Davis. Published by Jewish Storyteller Press, July 2008, 66 pages.
Bontshe Shvayg (Bontshe the Silent). Throughout his hard and painful life on earth, Bontshe is silent; his existence insignificant. But when he dies, the Heavenly Shofar trumpets his arrival in Paradise. Offered anything his heart desires for his quiet and saintly behavior on earth, Bontshe Shvayg's humble request dismays his Defending Angel and stuns the Heavenly Court of Paradise. (4 males; 4 females)
What Is Soul? Three teachers-a stern, by-the-book Talmud teacher, a mystical khasidic rebbe, and a "freethinking" Yiddish writing tutor-compete for the heart, mind and soul of a young Jewish boy. (4 males; 3 females)
Empty Handed. (Based on Peretz's short story, "At the Head of the Dying Man".) When the White Angel arrives to escort Rivke-Beyle's soul to heaven, she is surprised to find the Dark Angel from "the other place" already waiting beside the dying woman's bed. Rivke-Beyle's choice of which angel to accompany will surprise and challenge the thinking of your audience. (1 male; 2 females)
If Not Still Higher. A Litvak-a skeptical Jew from Lithuania-is determined to find out where the Rebbe of Nemirov really goes when he disappears each year between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. What the Litvak finds out about tzedakah-good deeds-changes his life forever. (3 males; 2 females)
Adapted for the stage by Scott Hilton Davis. Published by Jewish Storyteller Press, July 2008, 66 pages.
Here's another Yiddish storybook for you: The Old Story
This is the first of my translations that I have published myself.
The Old Story: by Mendele Moykher-Sforim
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 06/01/2012)
I translated this when I came across it almost by accident and loved it. It's the tale of two men, one a good, quiet, wise man - the other a social-climbing, ambitious, narrow-minded bully. It was almost 150 years ago Mendele wrote that what happened next was "an old story but still true" and now, 150 years later, you'll still know exactly what he's talking about!
Release Date: 12/31/1969
Three of Scott's one-man shows are described below.
1. "Lost and Found: Jewish Stories from the Old Country"
Take a fun-filled journey back in time to the land of our great-grandparents-the tiny towns and villages of Russia and Eastern Europe at the turn of the twentieth century.Meet the melamed-the Hebrew school teacher of young children-who dreams of a better world; the orphan boy who learns how to become a mentsh (his own person); and the Litvak-the skeptic from Lithuania-who discovers the heavenly power of a simple good deed.
This one-hour solo performance of classic stories by Sholem Aleichem, Jacob Dinezon and I.L. Peretz will make you laugh, maybe bring a tear to your eye, and fill your heart with the joy of Yiddishkayt and Jewish culture.
2. I.L. Peretz Remembered
This is an entertaining and informative talk about the life and times of the renowned Jewish writer, Isaac Leib Peretz (1851-1915).Called the tate - the father - of modern Yiddish literature by contemporary scholars, Peretz rose to literary prominence in the late 1890s, prolifically producing volumes of poems, plays, essays, and short stories. By the time he died in 1915, I.L. Peretz was Eastern Europe's leading Jewish literary figure.
This lively presentation weaves together biographical information and dramatic readings from Peretz's works to provide thoughtful insights into the many facets of this brilliant, moody and powerfully influential Jewish writer.
3. Uncle Dinezon: The Forgotten Yiddish Writer
This is an exciting personal story of how a public television producer turned Jewish storyteller rediscovered the forgotten nineteenth century Yiddish writer, Jacob Dinezon (1852-1919).Once a successful and much beloved Jewish novelist in Eastern Europe, Dinezon befriended and mentored almost every major Jewish literary figure of his day, including I.L. Peretz, Sholem Aleichem, and Mendele Mocher Sforim, called the zayde-the grandfather-of modern Yiddish literature.
Though Jacob Dinezon's legacy was nearly obliterated by the demise of Yiddish following the Holocaust, his contributions to modern Jewish literature are only now being re-evaluated and celebrated almost a century after his death. This chronicle of a Jewish storyteller's exciting search for "Uncle Dinezon" is filled with original research, first-time translations, cultural discoveries, and wonderful stories.
"Yosele the Incredibly Miserable Boy"
by Jacob Dinezon
Scott commissioned me to translate this book (I just added the subtitle for you as sort of a joke) and illustrate the cover; hopefully it will be published in the not too distant future.This story, of an extremely poor boy who falls prey to many injustices, was a famous and beloved book in its day and led to a re-examination of the system of corporal punishment in the schools of the Eastern European shtetls.
Some of my Jewish lenses
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JaguarJulie Sep 11, 2010 @ 7:45 am | delete
- This was a most enjoyable and inspiring READ! Thank you.
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BarbRad Oct 14, 2009 @ 10:32 pm | delete
- You have a lot of good information here, and the books sound interesting. If I had time to read again I might try reading some of the plays in Between Heaven and Earth."
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mbgphoto Oct 14, 2009 @ 9:24 am | delete
- This is a very well done lens! His one man shows look like they'd be fun!
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