by tskzIn the period from 19 to 30 August, the Babel Club at ul. Próżna 5 in Warsaw, mainly became a meeting place for very young people. Twenty-five children aged from seven to fourteen took part in The Summer in the City with Jung Warsze project this year. During the two-week half-day camp, the participants had an opportunity expand their knowledge of the Jewish culture and develop their artistic and acting skills, while enjoying their time together. They also had a chance to see a number of interesting locations across Poland. Throughout this time, the group also worked on their own theatre performance, The Dybbuk, based on a drama written by Szymon An-ski. The play was presented on stage in front of the audience on the last day of the half-day camp.
Preparation of the theatrical play was an opportunity to familiarise the children with various aspects of Jewish culture and Judaism. While having fun, the children learned such notions as Torah, synagogue and kabbalah. Participants of the camp also became familiar with the Jewish alphabet, creating drawings using potato stamps in the shape of Hebrew letters.
During the costume-making workshop, the children worked on creating Lea’s wedding dress, and the stage costume for the ghost. The children made their stage costumes using second-hand clothes, and learning the basics of tailoring. During stage design classes, they painted a large mock-up scenery representing pre-war Warsaw, where – according to the adopted script of the play – the story presented in The Dybbuk was set. While preparing the stage setting, the children took advantages of such sources of inspiration as Chagall’s paintings, or old films depicting the images of Warsaw from before 1944. Moreover, they also learned about techniques of creating objects from paper pulp. The items created during paper mâché workshops were subsequently used as props for their theatrical performance.
During the entire time of the camp, the children tried to develop and improve their acting skills and stage presence. In order to better understand the characters portrayed in the play, they created character sheets that allowed everyone to better get into their roles. Rehearsals for the show were held both at the Babel Club and in Park Saski.
The young people were also given an opportunity to take part in macramé and jewellery workshops. The following week also saw a cooking workshop, where participants learned how to make pizza and sushi. The agenda of the Summer in the City also included a training session at a springboard park, where children could practice acrobatic stunts under a guidance of a sports coach.
This year, our campers embarked on two trips i.e. to Łódź and Częstochowa. In Łódź, they followed the footsteps of the former Jewish inhabitants of the city. They visited the domicile of the Jewish Religious Community of Łódź, monuments to Julian Tuwim and Artur Rubinstein, as well as the Star of Ida Kaminska. A highlight of the trip was a visit to the countrywide famous Orientarium with its sea tunnel, monkeys and tigers.
In the following week, the children travelled to Częstochowa, where they had an opportunity to watch a play titled: And the Birds Sang Torah, which was staged by TSKŻ Branch in Częstochowa. The young people also visited the Memorial to the Jews of Czestochowa, at which everyone laid a memorial stone they had prepared. With the assistance of a local guide, the group also visited the Museum of Częstochowa Jews.
On August 30, which the last day of the half-day camp, the premiere show of the The Dybbuk drama took place, to which the parents of the participants were invited. After the 30-minute performance, the children received small gifts to thank them for their efforts, as well as “Oscar” statuettes for their achievement during the play.
The project has been co-financed by the Ministry of Interior and Administration.
