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Y. was born circa 1850 in
Kamenets Podolskiy Gubernia, Ukraine. Her mother was a "grandmothe",
a brother, or another close neighbor -- she was a [fokusnik],
as it was. So Y. learned as a midwife. Attending the
guest-starring Yiddish theatre, after much effort she
finally succeeded to become a chorus singer with Sabsey,
later with Fishzon, where she also soon excelled in
small roles. Going over to the troupe of Bernstein, she
married Hershl Veysman, with whom she entered into
Kompaneyets' troupe, where she acted in the comical
character roles. Her [amtn tikun], however, she first
found, when she entered into the "United Troupe" of
Avraham Itzhak and Esther Rukhl Kaminski, where she
performed in the character roles of Gordin's repertoire,
and she soon became recognized by the Yiddish theatre
critics as the best in her genre.
Through the events of war
she was rejected from Russia, and Y. acted in 1917 in
Peterburg and Moscow with Fishzon, later in other
cities. And in 1920 she was in Minsk's "Unzer vinkl",
where she occupied a prominent place, despite her
advanced age.
On 10 October 1920, Y.
passed away in Minsk.
Dr. Mukdoyni characterized
her as such: "Therefore she was his [Veysman's] wife,
Yermolina, a phenomenon: a sinister Jew, a completely
illiterate person, with the conduct of a [sedekhe], she
used to act wonderfully in evil roles, cursing, angry,
and with grieving, charged women. |