Helen Zelinskaya

Lives in the Yiddish Theatre
SHORT BIOGRAPHIES OF THOSE INVOLVED IN THE Yiddish THEATRE
aS DESCRIBED IN zALMEN zYLBERCWEIG'S "lEKSIKON FUN YIDISHN TEATER"
1931-1969

Helen Zelinskaya

Z. was born on 28 January (A. S.) 1894 in Yekaterinoslav, Ukraine.

Her father was a conductor in the Russian theatre and in the Symphony Orchestra.

She graduated from the government gymnasium in Kiev and Professor Puchalski's Conservatory as a pianist.

All children five years of age began to play children's roles in a Russian troupe directed by Nikolin, and later they participated in school performances; in 1912 they were engaged in larger roles.

Until 1921 she acted with the important Russian provincial troupes throughout Russia, having the opportunity to play with the important guest-starring actors of the Russian stage.

In 1921 she immigrated to Germany and acted there for two seasons, participating in Russian and German in the miniature theatre "Vanka stanka."

In 1923 she toured with the same theatre throughout England and Holland.

From 1924-5 she acted throughout western Galicia with the German miniature theatre "Der yidishe shpigel (The Yiddish Mirror)."

For the 1926-27 theatre season she was brought in by Leonid Snegov for Max R. Wilner's and Jacob Ben-Ami's Irving Place Art Theatre in New York, where she debuted as "The Captain's Daughter" in "Di shif mit tzadikim (The Ship of Saints.)"

During the 1927-28 season, she participated with the Yiddish Art Theatre as "Ranievskaya" in Chekov's "The Cherry Orchard."

From 1928-9, she acted with the Vilna Troupe in "intimate" theatre.

She studied written Yiddish in America.

M. E.

Jacob Kirschenbaum -- New Faces on our Stage, "Morning Journal," N.Y., 22 October 1926.

Adapted from the original Yiddish text found within the "Lexicon of the Yiddish Theatre" by Zalmen Zylbercweig, Volume 1, page 794.