|
Shifra Lerer
|
Born in the colony Santa
Catalina, Argentina, remote and isolated from the
greater Jewish communities, but thanks to the warm
attitude of her family, eyngezapt in herself from
her early childhood familiarity with Yiddish literature,
especially after the family moved to Buenos Aires.
At the age of eight years,
according to the recommendation of her sister, the
actress Miriam Lerer, she began to act in children's
roles with the guest-starring Boris Thomashefsky, and
she continued along for a certain time. So at the age of
ten she participated in Jacob Botashansky's production
of L. Melakh's "Ibergus" with a dramatic circle.
As an adolescent, she began
to study dramatic arts in a Spanish drama school, and
then acted for three years on the Spanish stage.
L., through her success in
her examinations from the Yiddish Artists Union, became
a member, and she began to act in Yiddish with the
guest-starring Miriam Karalova-Kambarov, then with
Moyshe Oysher and Florence Weiss, and she completed the
season with Zygmunt Turkow in the main dramatic roles in
the plays "Urteyl", "Hirsh Lekert", "Ivan Kruger" and
the "Glokn-tsyer fun notr-dam (Bell Ringer of Notre
Dame)". L. acted then with the guest-starring Jacob Ben
Ami and Berta Gerstin (as "Ruth" in Wolf's "Professor
Mamelok", "Babe" in Leivick's "Der poet iz blind gevorn",
and "Berta" in Strindberg's "Der foter (The Father"),
with |
|
 |
|
Samuel Goldenburg ("Hymie"
in Kalmanowitz's "Heyntike kinder") and with
Maurice Schwartz ("Malkele") in Singer's "Yoshe
Kalb", "Reyzl" in Sholem Asch's "Thilim-yid",
"Elizabeth" in Leivick's "Ver is ver", "Chava" in
Sholem Aleichem's "Tuviya (der milkhiger)", and in
Sholem Aleichem's "Sender Blank").
In 1943 L. was recommended
to Samuel Goldenburg, was engaged in Brooklyn's Parkway
Theatre through Goldberg-Jacobs, and she performed in
the play "Fun nyu york keyn berlin (From New York to
Berlin)". After acting there for a season, she took to
performing in concerts in various activities of the
Yiddish organizations, such as the Arbeter Ring, Jewish
National Arbeter Farband, and Histadrut, in the summer
of 1944 in Camp "Boyberik", and in the summer of 1945 in
the Arbeter Ring camp.
In 1946 L. traveled back to
Argentina, where she performed together with Ben Zion
Witler in the "Mitre" Theatre, and since then has
followed the same itinerant path and theatrical career
as Ben Tzion Witler with whom she married in 1957.
In 1949 L. became a member
in the Yiddish Actors Union. In 1950 L. participated in
the role of "Freydenyu" in the film "God, Man and Devil"
with Michael Michalesko and Gustave Berger.
In 1952 L. participated in
Herman Yablokoff's production of Benjamin Ressler's
"Uncle Sam in Israel" in the Public Theatre in New York.
Sh. E.
-
Jacob Botoshansky
-- Tsum heyntikn yom tov fun shifra lerer in "mitre",
"Di prese", Buenos Aires, 18 October 1951.
-
Shmuel Rozashnski
-- Shtrikhn, "Di idishe tseytung", Buenos Aires,
30 September 1953.
|
|