UMS in the Classroom: Bubble Schmeisis

By UMS

Interested in using a UMS performance in your university classroom? For each performance on the season, we provide suggested curricular connections, links to contextual material online, citations for scholarly material, and prompts for classroom discussion. For additional resources and individualized curricular support, please contact Shannon Fitzsimons Moen, UMS Campus Engagement Specialist, at skfitz@umich.edu or (734) 764-3903.

UMS is also committed to making our performances an affordable part of the academic experience. Our Classroom Ticket Program provides $15 tickets to students and faculty for performances that are a course requirement. Please email umsclasstickets@umich.edu to set up a group order.

Connect:

This performance may connect meaningfully with courses in the following schools and disciplines:

Anthropology
American Culture
Global and Intercultural Study
History
Intergroup Relations
Judaic Studies
Screen Arts and Cultures
Political Science
Sociology
Theatre & Drama
Business
Education
Social Work

Explore:

Follow Cassenbaum on his international tour and receive updates on his latest projects through his “schmeiss blog.”
Commissioned by the Royal Court Tottenham Festival, Cassenbaum compiled interviews of Jewish community members in Stamford Hill, England. Explore stories of Jewish heritage with this compelling string of snapshots from everyday life.
Read another perspective on the bath house tradition with journalist Bryon MacWilliams’ With Light Steam: A Personal Journey Through the Russian Baths (2014, Northern Illinois University Press).

Reflect:

The title of the performance is a play on the Yiddish expression “Bubbemeises,” which translates as “a grandmother’s story, a tall story, an old wives’ tale.” How does the play incorporate these kinds of storytelling?
Bubble Schmeisis celebrates the vanishing cultural tradition of the Jewish bathhouse. What are some traditions from your own culture that have become, or are becoming, obsolete? What functions did these traditions serve? Have new traditions or habits emerged to serve a similar function?