Bryna Wasserman
Bryna Wasserman says her childhood makes her feel connected to the latest musical production she's directing, Lies My Father Told Me, which opened last Thursday at Montreal's Segal Centre.
"This show feels like a dedication to our beginnings as immigrants," says the director, who grew up in Montreal's Jewish district. The show is the latest incarnation of the celebrated 1948 Ted Allan short story, which depicts life in the Jewish neighbourhood of Montreal in the 1920s through the eyes of a child.
But while the show has been getting solid reviews, Wasserman is unapologetically shedding a tear or two during interviews with the press. This marks her last show at the Segal Centre, after 13 years as artistic director (and previously executive director) of the theatre institution previously known as the Saidye Bronfman Centre.
Wasserman is moving to New York, where she has been appointed executive director of the 96-year-old Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre, the oldest theatre company (Yiddish or English) in New York.
"When people who have acted in productions here, or people who've been in the audience, when they tell you that you really made a difference, that's very powerful," says Wasserman. "I felt like I was able to plant some seeds. It's been lovely to build a legacy."
Wasserman was born in Vienna in a Displaced Persons camp, and her parents emigrated to Canada in 1950. In 1958, Wasserman's mother, Dora, founded the Montreal Yiddish Theatre, which would ultimately be named after its creator. Dora Wasserman directed and produced numerous critically acclaimed shows, by the likes of such literary heavyweights as Isaac Bashevis Singer.
"We were poor when we were growing up, but we never felt deprived," Wasserman remembers. "We weren't really aware that we didn't have material goods. Dora, my father, they were full of hope. There were writers and poets around - it was a very creative time."
In 1996, Dora Wasserman fell ill and asked her daughter -- who had completed her MA in directing at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University - to return to Montreal to take over managing the theatre.
Since that time, Wasserman has successfully fundraised to expand the Segal Centre to two stages, while mounting several landmark productions. In 2001, she made international headlines when she produced the first-ever Yiddish production of The Threepenny Opera.
She also took the Dora Wasserman theatre company on tours to Vienna. "This was a city that had been a major cultural centre of Jewish life prior to the Third Reich," notes Wasserman. "I felt it very important for us to perform plays in the Yiddish language there."
Wasserman says she is most proud of "creating a sense of mentorship. This is a theatre where young people are introduced to the working methods of very experienced artists. Over the years we brought in Uta Hagen, R.H. Thomson and Martha Henry, among many others, and they were able to mentor younger actors and artists. Those moments were thrilling."
The Segal Centre's second stage means that younger theatre groups can mount their productions there. "Creating a place where people feel freer to experiment has been very important. When you're taking risks like that, you need support. Now, some of our older subscribers might take a risk and cross the lobby to see something different. And it's helped us to bring in younger audiences."
Patsy Gallant, who stars in Lies My Father Told Me, says part of Wasserman's talent is her generosity of spirit. "There are a lot of crazy people in the theatre, but Bryna is very grounded and extremely kind. She is focused in rehearsals and guides the cast and crew very carefully."
Wasserman will return to Montreal in 2012 to direct a production of Kazablan in Hebrew for the Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre. In the meantime, she's looking forward to other challenges.
"Leaving is very bittersweet. But now I have to find a place to live in Manhattan."
Lies My Father Told Me runs until May 29 at Montreal's Segal Centre ( www.segalcentre.org ).
Special to The Globe and Mail