Meiseleh – is Yiddish for short stories, and that’s what our Machers recorded this year – coming from more than a dozen countries around the world, they recorded an audiobook with their version of Eliezer Shtejnbarg’s story about the great bird Bar Yuchne – in English and French.
The Machers did this during a week-long workshop with Justyna Biernat, founder of the Spaces of Memory Foundation, which was coordinated by FKŻ volunteer Lucie Villenave. The audiobook premiere took place as part of the 33rd Jewish Culture Festival, in the High Synagogue (June 24, 2 pm).
Below you can listen to both versions of the audiobook, as well as read a report on the realization of this project and see photos of the various stages.
English version
French version
The Meiseleh storytelling workshop, led by Justyna Biernat, assistant professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences (Institute of Arts) and founder of the Spaces of Memory Foundation, took place from June 3-7, 2024. All meetings with the participants were supported by Lucie Villenave, a long-term FKŻ volunteer who was deeply involved in the process of creating the audiobook as project coordinator.
The first meeting began with a team-building activity: to get to know each other better and to tame the space in which they were to work. Justyna Biernat prepared a presentation describing the rich Jewish storytelling tradition: she showed different types of Yiddish stories, as well as their professional collections, and talked about the field expeditions of Szymon Anski and the YIVO Institute staff to write down the stories. In the photos we saw both themselves and the villagers who shared their stories and music, and even the equipment that was used in collecting them.
The next stage was to learn about the works of Eliezer Shtejnbarg, a Yiddishist and writer. The participants were tasked with reading and analyzing one of the mejseleh from a volume of Jewish stories from Chernivtsi, which also became the material for an audiobook recording.
In accordance with Jewish tradition, the Machers worked on the interpretation of the tale in small groups. They then discussed the plot, structure and themes of the story together. The next step was to make drawings of the story’s main character, Bar Yuchne, a giant bird. Drawing on Plexiglas started with the whole group working, but with only one black marker. In the second stage, volunteers were given colored markers to fill in the outlines with color, combining all group members’ ideas of what it should eventually look like. For the finale, each group presented a performance centered on a painted portrait of the story’s protagonist. The author of the music was one of the Machers – Sad from Israel. This workshop allowed the Machers to understand Jewish narrative and folklore, stimulated their creativity and imagination. It was also an excellent exercise in voice emission, very useful for recording.
The final stage was a visit to the recording studio. After various tasks and voice exercises, the Machers were ready to record the story.
Justyna Biernat, photo: Michał Ramus
Workshop, photo: Michał Ramus
Workshop, photo: Michał Ramus
Workshop, photo: Michał Ramus
Reading the stories at the Vistula Boulevards, photo: Michał Ramus
Rehearsal in festival's Cheder Cafe, photo: Michał Ramus
Recording of the audiobook, photo: Michał Ramus
Recording of the audiobook, photo: Michał Ramus
Premiere of the audiobook, photo: Michał Ramus
For Lucie, who coordinated the project as a volunteer, the entire week of workshops with Justyna was intense and emotional, a mix of stress and excitement – after all, she was co-hosting the workshops. “I love having these responsibilities and I love the duo that Justyna and I have created! I had a lot of fun this week and was able to discover and improve my skills in managing a group, overcoming stress and working together to complete a creative project.”
According to Justyna, the workshop was full of amazing ideas. The volunteers were engaged in the tasks, focused on the exercises and cooperated perfectly. Sometimes they felt uncomfortable doing the acting tasks, but she always encouraged them to present themselves as they pleased. As a result, each participant played his or her part, and the atmosphere was not only friendly but also supportive. The volunteers became friends with each other and it was wonderful to watch them interact and, most importantly, to see Lucie’s commitment to the workshop and to the group.
But most importantly for the workshop leader – the participants became a real community.
