Dybbuk Marathon Conference
The Dybbuk Marathon conference, "Dybbuks in the 21st Century: Why Are We Still Possessed?", the first of its kind unique combination of academic and artistic events devoted to the iconic Yiddish play, The Dybbuk, Or Between Two Worlds (1912-1914) by S. An-sky, will bring together established academic experts on dybbuks from the US and Israel, a new generation of scholars, students, artists involved in the ongoing revival of interest in dybbuks (souls of the dead possessing the living bodies) in the twenty-first century, as well as Jewish communities of the area, and general public.This most famous Yiddish play, the Jewish version of The Exorcist meets Romeo and Juliet, has been metaphorically possessing audiences worldwide and inspired numerous productions and extensive research. One of the objectives of the Dybbuk Marathon is to explore the reasons underlying the current dybbuk-mania manifested by the growing number of productions inspired by S. An-sky's Dybbuk. (In 2011 alone there were seven different productions of the play).The Dybbuk Marathon will feature:
- academic panels on the Dybbuk, featuring Professors Yossi Chajes, Michael Steinlauf, and Gabriela Safran among the speakers;
- a UMD student reading of selected scenes from An-sky's play in English and in Yiddish;
- a panel of artists fascinated with the Dybbuk, including Avia Moore, director of the 2011 all-female production of The Dybbuk, and Solomon Epstein, the composer of the Dybbuk opera in Yiddish, among others;
- a screening of Michal Waszynski's iconic 1937 film adaptation of The Dybbuk;
- and the highlight of the event: the highly acclaimed puppet show "Dybbuk: Between Two Worlds," created and directed by Shmuel Shohat for the Habima National Theater of Israel.
