The Author and Director of Wooden Wars

 

Jana Mazurkiewicz is a PhD student at the Slavic Department at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. As a Yiddishist, she is devoted to rescuing the dying Yiddish language and culture. She would like to demonstrate that Yiddish can be revived not only in academia but also in the arts, and strives to encourage a discussion about a revival of Yiddish as a stage language and as a means of exploring the current state of Polish-Jewish relations.

 

The Story

 

“Wooden Wars” focuses on the lives of four young Catholics from modern Poland, each of whom changes forever when they discover that they might have Jewish roots. Sisters Zosia and Ania separate as one travels to America, converts to reform Judaism, and embraces her lesbian sexuality, while the other stays behind in Poland and marries a Chabadnik. Both come to speak Yiddish at home. Their stories are intertwined with those of their friends Jakub and Tadek, two young men whose own relationships with Jewish identity and Yiddish language are troubled. Neither as children nor as adults do the characters have control of their fates. Various paranormal forces are involved in the action, and Jesus appears to sing in Yiddish.

 

The Title

 

The title “Wooden Wars” refers to a cultural battle in contemporary Poland that’s highlighted in the play by two symbolic wooden artifacts: wooden crosses, and wooden figurines of Jews. These figurines, made of wood or clay, are a part of contemporary Polish culture. People buy them as amulets believing that they will bring happiness to their households. This article explains their meaning:

 

http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/hey-poland-whats-up-with-those-lucky-jew-statues

 

The Languages

 

“Wooden Wars” starts in English and Polish, but gradually includes more Yiddish so that by the second act almost all of the performance is in Yiddish. This structure asks us to reflect: Is Yiddish the key to understanding the Polish-Jewish past? For the audience’s ease, an English translation will also be projected as subtitles.