Gwynne B. Sigel

Gwynne will conduct interviews with members of the Sholom Aleichem Club, one of the last surviving organizations within Philadelphia's Jewish left community, for a multidisciplinary and multiyear project. Using oral histories, Gwynne will create an oral history-based solo theater performance. She will interweave the Club members’ personal stories with dramatizations of historical events that influenced the political context of these stories. The interviews and performances will provide the basis for a writing course she will create for youth, which will teach participants how to use oral history to document and perform stories of community and social change. Finally, Gwynne will write a book that documents the Club’s oral history, the solo-performance work, and the youth project.

Gwynne will begin work on a performance piece based on interviews with members of the Sholom Aleichum Club, founded 50 years ago and one of the last surviving organizations within Philadelphia’s old Jewish left community. Many of the members are passing away and it is important to capture this history so the connection, experiences and insight are not lost. The interviews are part of a multi year oral history project that Gwynne will use to inform future activist efforts of progressive Jews. Gwynne will use new technology to digitally save and index the interviews, so they can be easily referenced during performances and for research purposes. This project will provide the basis for a writing course Gwynne will create for youth which will teach participants how to use oral history to document and perform stories of community and social change.

Gwynne will interview members of the Sholom Aleichem Club, one of the last surviving organizations in Philadelphia's old Jewish left community, for a multi-year oral history project to share with a younger progressive Jewish community the lessons learned from the organization's 50-year history. She will focus on various themes, such as the relationship between Jewish ethnicity and political identity and activism. From these interviews, Gwynne will create a theatre piece that interweaves the Club members' personal stories with dramatizations of historical events that share the political context of their stories.