{"value"=>"<p>Isaiah Sheffer was born in 1935 into a theatrical family in the Bronx, New York. His mother and his uncle, Zvee Scooler, both performed in New York's Yiddish theatre. Isaiah Sheffer had already begun performing in Yiddish theatre by the time he was a teenager, appearing at such theatres as the Henry Street Playhouse on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and on the radio. He studied theater at both Brooklyn College, where he got his bachelor's degree in 1956, and at Michigan State University, where he earned his master's degree in 1958.</p> <p>Sheffer continued acting as an adult, performing in summer stock and in New York. Although he would continue to perform throughout his career, he shifted his focus to writing, directing, and producing Off-Broadway plays. In 1963, he wrote and directed <span class=\"title\">The Theatre of Peretz</span>, an adaptation of the stories of I. L. Peretz, at the Gate Theatre. In 1965 he directed Eric Bentley's adaptation of Brecht's <span class=\"title\">The Exception and the Rule</span> and Langston Hughes' <span class=\"title\">The Prodigal Son</span> at the Greenwich Mews Theatre.</p> <p>Sheffer's best known writings are two Off-Broadway musicals for which he wrote the book and lyrics: <span class=\"title\">The Rise of David Levinsky</span>, a collaboration with composer Bobby Paul, which was produced at the John Houseman Theater in 1987; and <span class=\"title\">Yiddle with a Fiddle</span>, written with composer Abraham Ellstein, which was produced at the American Jewish Theatre in 1997. Sheffer's other plays and musicals include <span class=\"title\">Columbus Circle</span>, <span class=\"title\">Dreamers and Demons: The Three Worlds of Isaac Bashevis Singer</span>, <span class=\"title\">It's Hard to Be a Jew</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Last Chapter</span>, and <span class=\"title\">The Sheik of Avenue B</span>. In 1978, Sheffer and his friend and neighbor Allan Miller co-founded an Upper West Side cultural institution: Symphony Space. Sheffer's wife, urban planner and community leader Ethel Sheffer, had suggested a venue at 95th Street and Broadway, a dilapidated building that had once housed a public market, an ice skating rink, a boxing arena and a movie theatre. They launched the new organization with <span class=\"title\">Wall-to-Wall Bach</span>, the first of many free twelve-hour music marathons that would become a signature event, covering the works of composers from all musical genres, including classical, jazz, musical theatre, pop, and rock.</p> <p>In 1981, Sheffer launched another signature event at Symphony Space, <span class=\"title\">Bloomsday on Broadway</span>. This annual reading of James Joyce's <span class=\"title\">Ulysses</span> takes place on June 16th, the day in 1904 on which the action of the novel takes place. More than 100 actors and other notables take part in readings that last seven hours or more. The format of <span class=\"title\">Bloomsday on Broadwa</span>y inspired Sheffer and Kay Cattarulla, the producer of Literary Programs, to create <span class=\"title\">Selected Shorts</span>. Since its launch in 1985, <span class=\"title\">Selected Shorts</span> has been a popular weekly series of readings of short stories by a variety of actors and actresses. The event takes place live at Symphony Space and is broadcast on over 130 radio stations across the country, and via a popular podcast. Selected Shorts also went on several tours, performing in other cities in the United States. Sheffer served as the host of Selected Shorts, and often read a story himself.</p> <p>Sheffer's interest in politics inspired him to produce his first political cabaret in 1968, <span class=\"title\">The DMZ</span>, a collaboration with Sheffer's Columbia University colleague, the critic and Brecht scholar, Eric Bentley. In the years that followed, Sheffer conceived and directed cabarets that poked fun at contemporary urban life: <span class=\"title\">Urban Blight</span> (1970) and <span class=\"title\">Late City Edition</span> (1981). He contributed material to Yale Repertory Theatre's political revue, <span class=\"title\">Watergate Classics</span> (1973). Sheffer continued this trend at Symphony Space, with the <span class=\"title\">Thalia Follies</span>, an annual political cabaret, produced from 2004 to 2013.</p> <p>Isaiah Sheffer served as the artistic director of Symphony Space until 2010 and founding artistic director until his death. He also taught Theatre Arts at Columbia University's School of the Arts during the 1960s and 1970s. Sheffer was married to Ethel Shatunoff, from 1956 until his death. They had one daughter, Susannah Sheffer. Isaiah Sheffer died of a stroke on November 9, 2012.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>The Isaiah Sheffer papers (1891-2013, bulk dates: 1937-2012) consist of professional files created during his career as a writer, director, producer, actor, and administrator at Symphony Space. Although the collection has been arranged in four series, there is considerable overlap among the files. The chronological files have the broadest scope since they span all aspects of his career. The files contain professional correspondence with colleagues and collaborators, administrative files concerning his work as artistic director of Symphony Space, and production materials. Sheffer's work as a writer, producer, and director is most evident in the Productions series which primarily contains scripts and scores from his plays and musicals. Symphony Space Office Files document the day-to-day running of a non-profit arts organization and contain mainly administrative files, such as publicity material for events held there, meeting minutes, and financial records. Within the small amount of personal files, there is family correspondence, photographs, early academic records, and writings.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Isaiah Sheffer Papers are arranged in four series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/23016#c1249157'>Series I: Productions</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1937-2011</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>29 Boxes, 2.57 Megabytes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Productions consist primarily of scripts and scores, but also include other production materials and several audio and video recordings. Sheffer's writing and revision process is shown through multiple drafts, revisions, notes, and annotated scores. Sheffer consistently retained audio and video recordings, such as demo recordings and live performance recordings of works he wrote, directed, produced or appeared in. These include such plays and musicals as <span class=\"title\">Claire de Lune</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Doctor Will See You Now</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Dybbuk</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Last Chapter</span>, <span class=\"title\">Millenium</span>, <span class=\"title\">A Pair of Jokers</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Rise of David Levinsky</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Sheik of Avenue B</span>, <span class=\"title\">Yiddle with a Fiddle</span>, and the radio series <span class=\"title\">Theatre Studio on the Air</span>. Other production materials such as programs, flyers, clippings, rehearsal schedules, contracts, correspondence, photographs, posters, and notes filed with scripts are included here, though the majority of non-script and score production materials will be found in Chronological Files.</p> <p>This series does not include scripts and production materials for Symphony Space productions. These will be found in Symphony Space Office Files and Chronological Files. This series is arranged in alphabetical order by name of production.</p> <p>Audio and visual materials are unavailable pending digitization.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/23016#c1249305'>Series II: Symphony Space Office Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1978-2013</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>481.33 Megabytes, 34 Boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Symphony Space Office Files consist mainly of files on specific projects (arranged by project title or event name) and season files (arranged chronologically). Sheffer took an active role in conceiving productions, reviewing scripts, vetting submitted writings, contributing parody lyrics, writing sketches, producing, and occasionally performing at Symphony Space events. These actions are reflected through administrative files containing meeting minutes, budgets, and PowerPoint presentations; project files holding scripts, scores, and set-lists; and publicity materials, such as photographs, programs, and designs for posters and other printer matter.</p> <p>Project files contain both paper and electronic documents. The electronic records are generally organized in folders by project name, though folders are sometimes named for an individual identified with the project, rather than by the full project title. An example of this is the electronic project file for <span class=\"title\">Wall-to-Wall Balanchine</span>, which is simply titled \"Balanchine.\" There are also folders of general Symphony Space files. Researchers interested in any Symphony Space project should consult both the general and individual project files. Project files include audio and video recordings of such Symphony Space productions as <span class=\"title\">Aufwind</span>, <span class=\"title\">A More Perfect Union</span>, and various editions of <span class=\"title\">Selected Shorts</span>, <span class=\"title\">Thalia Follies</span>, and the <span class=\"title\">Wall-to-Wall</span> series.</p> <p>Season files document Sheffer's process of planning, managing, maintaining, and developing a large-scale arts organization in New York. His season files and notebooks consist of notes and information about the productions, schedules, planning, staff, and operations of Symphony Space. Notebooks are frequently separated into sections on the projects planned for the season. Major annual events are the Symphony Space projects documented most extensively in this series such as <span class=\"title\">Bloomsday on Broadway</span>, <span class=\"title\">Selected Shorts</span>, the <span class=\"title\">Thalia Follies</span>, and the <span class=\"title\">Wall-to-Wall</span> series. Symphony Space season files will also be found in Chronological Files.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/23016#c1249448'>Series III: Chronological Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1954-2010</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>10 Boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Chronological Files (1954-2010) document Isaiah Sheffer's family life and professional activities as an actor, writer, director, producer, and Columbia University professor. These files, from his home office, intellectually and chronologically overlap with the other series in this collection. The files are ordered in rough chronological chunks, reflecting Sheffer's activities at any given period. They are arranged by decade, but the date ranges are not strict. Sheffer's original folder titles, retained here, use a wide variety of designations. There are folders dedicated to a particular project, individual or subject. Other folders are titled by genre or format (such as correspondence, sketches, programs, or publicity materials). There are also folders titled by date range that often contain correspondence with a variety of individuals. All of the chronological groupings contain each of these types of files.</p> <p>The Chronological Files consist primarily of correspondence and production files. Sheffer's extensive correspondence provides insight into his personal life, professional activities, and political opinions. In his correspondence with collaborators, topics discussed include critical reception of their works, personal opinions on each other's productions, and the process through which these productions are created and presented.</p> <p>By far the most extensive correspondent is Eric Bentley. Sheffer and Bentley's correspondence documents decades of friendship and collaboration. In their letters they discuss their friends, day-to-day activities, personal lives, teaching careers, opinions about literature, and their own theatrical projects. Many of these projects were collaborations between the two, though many were also created independently. There are folders dedicated entirely to Sheffer's correspondence with or about the Belgian playwright Michel de Ghelderode. Sheffer's correspondence with Ghelderode shows his interest in avant-garde theatre and his active dedication to producing the works of important European playwrights in America. Most of the letters are in French and pertain to American productions of Ghelderode's works. Other correspondents whose letters are contained in the Ghelderode folders include Ghelderode's wife, Jeanne-François Gérard, and sociologist Renée Claire Fox.</p> <p>There are also many letters between Sheffer and his mother, Esther Scooler Sheffer, his father Samuel Sheffer, and his daughter Susannah Sheffer. Family correspondence is sometimes filed with general correspondence, and sometimes separated into its own folders.</p> <p>Letters from other prominent correspondents will be found in folders of general correspondence as well as in folders titled by project or production. Sheffer's correspondence with other authors, performers, producers and directors pertains to existing or potential collaborations, adaptations, productions, or appearances. These correspondents include Isaac Bashevis-Singer, Herbert Blau, Robert Brustein, Lou Carter, Joseph Chaikin, Édouard Chambon, Grover Dale, Jules Feiffer, Robert A. Freedman, E. Y. \"Yip\" Harburg, Langston Hughes, Betty Judkins, Louise Kerz, Lotte Lenya, Lucille Lortel, Louise Manning, Artie Morey, Lew Palter, Bobby Paul, J. I (Jerry) Rodale, and Marc Rosenberg. The correspondence between Sheffer and Langston Hughes concerns a dispute over the premature closing of Sheffer's Off-Broadway production of Hughes' <span class=\"title\">The Prodigal Son</span> and the resulting financial loss.</p> <p>The production materials included in Chronological Files can be differentiated from the materials found in Series I: Productions in that they tend to focus more on the logistical process of casting, directing, negotiating contracts, producing, and publicizing of these works and less on their writing. While some of Sheffer's works from the 1990s and later are documented here, Chronological Files tend to cover the productions he worked on in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.</p> <p>Sheffer's many different roles within the New York theatre world are documented in the production materials found in Chronological Files. Script drafts, song excerpts, and letters and notes from the political revues Sheffer wrote, directed and produced during the 1960s and 1970s (<span class=\"title\">The DMZ</span>, <span class=\"title\">Urban Blight</span>, <span class=\"title\">Watergate Classics</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Some of My Best Friends Are Women</span>) show his early development of the model for the political cabaret series he would later produce regularly at Symphony Space: the <span class=\"title\">Thalia Follies</span>.</p> <p>Sheffer was also developing his skill as a writer during this period. The files on <span class=\"title\">The Rise of David Levinsky</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Sheik of Avenue B</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Theatre of Peretz</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Yiddle with a Fiddle</span> document his writing process with script drafts, notes on revisions, song lyrics, and scores. Sheffer's teaching career at Columbia University is documented in Chronological Files through his correspondence, particularly with Eric Bentley, as well as through materials on productions like <span class=\"title\">The DMZ</span>, which, while not officially produced by Columbia was associated with the University though Sheffer's position there and the participation of his students.</p> <p>Sheffer kept some of his files on Symphony Space at home, and these are included in his Chronological Files. Their content and dates overlap with the files found in Series II: Symphony Space Office Files. Symphony Space files included here consist primarily of logistical documents pertaining to the management of the organization, such as board meeting minutes, financial statements, and planning notes. Other Symphony Space materials Sheffer retained in the Chronological Files include printed matter, such as press releases, clippings, flyers, posters, photographs, gala benefit invitations, and programs.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/23016#c1249563'>Series IV: Personal Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1891-2011</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>3 Boxes</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series IV consists of childhood photographs, clippings, degrees and honorary degrees, and a small amount of personal correspondence. The bulk of Sheffer's correspondence as well as a small amount of additional personal materials will be found in Chronological Files and, to a much lesser extent, in Symphony Space Office Files.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}