Jewish Theatre Committee of Toronto

Physical Description: 30 cm of textual records; 24 photographs : b&w and col. ; 13 x 18 cm and 10 x 12 cm

Scope and Content: Accession consists of records documenting the activities of the Jewish Theatre Committee. Included is correspondence, press releases, theatre programs and handbills, scripts, meeting minutes and agendas and photographs of members of the committee.

Custodial History: The records were in the possession of Ralph Wintrob, chair of the Jewish Theatre Committee during the late 1980s and 1990s.

Administrative History: The Jewish Theatre Committee was founded in 1984 as a standing committee of the Toronto Jewish Cultural Council of the Toronto Jewish Congress. Its goal was to promote dramatic activities as a medium of Jewish cultural programming by encourageing new theatre groups, offering guidance in Jewish drama programming, to promote and develop new talent and scripts, and to work towards a Jewish Drama Festival. In 1984, a series of developmental workshops resulted in the formation of the Medina Theatre Ensemble, which presented creative theatrical programmes of Jewish content. The committee also organized workshops, school programmes, symposiums, lectures and readings and a yearly playwriting competition. The Jewish Theatre Committee disbanded sometime in the early 2000s.