The COJECO BluePrint Fellowship
All Projects
Magic Streetcar
A Children’s Immersive Theater Project Based on the poetry of R. Mykha and other Jewish authors in Russian An immersive theatrical project for kids (ages 2-5 yo) in Russian. On this interactive journey kids are able to use all their senses and get to know their favorite characters from famous children’s poems. The show premiered with four […]
Alya Adelman was born in Kharkov, Ukraine and immigrated to US in 1994. Alya was fascinated with theater since her early childhood and by the age of 14 already produced her first play for the school graduation. After moving to the United States, she worked with a talented director, Simon Rivkin, who led a Russian acting studio in Boston. In New York, she continues advancing her career at HB and Terry Schreiber studios, as well as learning modern dance techniques with legendary Mary Anthony. She currently performs as part of Lost and Found Project.
Man is Not a Rock
Man is Not a Rock is a reenactment of the first interview given in the West by Joseph Brodsky, Jewish poet and Soviet dissident, after he was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1972 for “social parasitism.” The first English translation of the interview was recently published in The Baffler magazine, which gave me permission […]
Anya Khalamayzer is a writer with a homestead in New York and roots looping the world. After graduating CUNY Bernard Baruch College in 2011, she explored a variety of topics through a journalistic lens with editorial positions covering business and the arts. She is the author of a full-length screenplay, Smoke Over Paloma, set for production in 2015. She currently works with nonprofit organizations, and strives to give as much to the world through her craft as it gifts her.
Marlo: Jewish [En]Lightning
Marlo: Book One: Jewish [En]Lightning is the second book in Chicago-headquartered Urban Pop Art Projects’ publishing imprint Urban Pop Art Books. New York artist/ videographer/ author Aleks Degtyarev expertly navigates his id to deconstruct a complicated identity: that of the post-Soviet child immigrant all grown up. Navigating questions about identity often sidelined by urges to just […]
Aleks Degtyarev could be described as a story teller. Aleks has been passionately involved in the media world for over 10 years. Among a diversified skill set his main focus has always been producing, filming and editing, combined with education. As a multi-disciplinary artist, Aleks grounds all his work from a writer’s background sealing it with his knowledge of poetry and philosophy. Working with actors/talent as a director, he is not afraid to get in front of the lens and expose his own vulnerability. Aleks believes that everyone has a great story to tell and he searches out ways to inspire his collaborators to tell their stories. His major focus is honest media that has transformative potential, seeking to strengthen communities, and evolving communication.
Me and Ethel Rosenberg
Staged reading of a one-woman show, created, written, and performed by Yelena Shmulenson. April 16, 2013 at Stage Left Studio, 214 West 30th Street
Yelena Shmulenson emigrated to the U.S. with her family in 1993 from Simferopol, Ukraine. She decided to become an actress instead of getting a real job, and now spends her life making silly faces. Her theater credits include five seasons with the Folksbiene, two seasons at the Ellis Island Theatre, “Enemies: A Love Story” in Russian, Frank (‘Klezmatics’) London’s musical of “A Night In the Old Marketplace”, and “The Essence: A Yiddish Theater Dim Sum”, which was a big hit in Sweden. On film, she was a spy in Robert DeNiro’s “The Good Shepherd”, she played Lady Capulet in “Romeo & Juliet in Yiddish”, she burned in “Fire At The Triangle” (PBS), and she fought a dybbuk in the Coen Brothers’ “A Serious Man”. She can be heard in the NPR radio drama ”The Witches of Lublin” (with Tovah Feldshuh) as Leah, the bass-playing Witch. She has also recorded several audio books, winning the Earphones Award for her recordings of “Train to Trieste” and Cynthia Ozick’s “The Shawl” and “Rosa”. Recently she has appeared on Season Three of “Boardwalk Empire” (HBO) and "Orange is the New Black" (Netflix). She is fluent in five languages.
Meaning in Melody
Meaning in Melody traced the preservation of Russian Jewish identity via music, whether secret or exposed, from the late 19th century through today. The project produced an album, Crypto Jewish Melodies: Semitic Sounds of Russian Extraction, consisting of 14 tracks. The tracks were split into 5 sets: “Father and Sons”, contrasting the liturgical music of […]
Lara Traum, the daughter of Russian immigrants who came to New York in 1979, grew up in Queens. She graduated from New York University with a BA in Music, Literature, and Judaic Studies and is currently studying for a Juris Doctorate at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Before pursuing a career as a lawyer and mediator, Lara worked with the Zamir Choral Foundation as one of their choral conductors. Lara is a frequent soloist in venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.
Mishpucha Camping
Mishpucha has grown from a tent-camping weekend for Russian-speaking Jewish families in New York, to a Jewish grassroots nonprofit organization serving thousands of adventurous Russian-speaking Jews throughout the Northeast. The first Mishpucha Camping, created as part of the COJECO Blueprint Fellowship, brought together RSJ families for a weekend of informal Jewish learning and outdoor adventure, and […]
Lisa Klig is a community organizer and social entrepreneur. Born in Kiev, Ukraine and raised in NJ, she discovered her passion for Jewish community building while at college. As Program Manager at RJeneration, Lisa designed and implemented innovative engagement programs for Russian-speaking Jewish young adults. Concurrently, with the support of the COJECO Blueprint Fellowship, she founded her own nonprofit initiative, Mishpucha – providing culturally authentic, adventurous engagement for RSJ families throughout the East Coast. In 2011, Lisa joined the COJECO team as Program Director, overseeing all program development, marketing, and grant management. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their very fat cat, Yura.
Moscow to Manhattan
Young Russian Jews Take Over 92YTribeca! An evening of stories, humor, music, video, and a giant interactive hand. July 17, 2012 at 92Y Tribeca Dive headfirst into the raucous, unhinged, exuberant world that is your Russian-Jewish identity, or someone else’s. Chanteuse Mira Stroika and storyteller Ilya Khodosh take over 92YTribeca for one night only to […]
Mira Stroika is a multimedia performance artist and accordion playing singer-songwriter, with extensive training and experience in the performing arts. She studied classical piano since the age of 4 with a Russian-Jewish instructor, continued with performance and composition classes at Yale University and studied voice with Bel Canto master Nicola Verussi. She has had additional acting and playwriting training with Deb Margolin, an OBIE award winning Jewish playwright and has studied video art with Pia Lindman and Jennie Livingston (Paris is Burning).
As a professional performer, Mira Stroika has made headway in the Russian and Jewish music scene in New York having performed and collaborated with Frank London (Grammy award-winning bandleader of the Klezmatics), Metropolitan Klezmer, Slavic Soul Party, Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad and Romashka. Her playing and singing were also featured in an exhibit on Chagall and the Yiddish theater at the Jewish Museum. She has performed at the Oshman Family JCC in California including the grand opening and a sold-out show with an audience of nearly 400. As an indie cabaret artist, she has performed at numerous events and venues in non-Jewish/non-Russian settings and received media recognition including from the Huffington Post:
“Take two cups of Edith Piaf, one half cup Eartha Kitt, a sprinkle of Betty Boop plus a serious portion of that je ne sais quoi that enthralls audiences, and you have what I see as one of New York’s most exciting new cabaret singers: Mira Stroika.“Find more about Mira Stroika at www.mirastroika.com
Ilya Khodosh is a writer and performer in New York. He was a company member of the storytelling/spoken-word show Birthright Israel Monologues, which toured nationwide. He was published in the anthology, “What We Brought Back: Jewish Life After Birthright.” He recently served as the Associate Artistic Director of the United Solo Theater Festival, the largest solo performance festival in the world, where he also premiered his second one-person show. A graduate of the Columbia Publishing Course, he is a regular contributor to the Berkshire Review for the Arts. He is also a freelance Russian translator and has written for Radio Free Europe. At Williams College, he was awarded the Hutchinson Fellowship for outstanding work in theater. Read Ilya’s blog.
Musical Journey through the Jewish Diaspora
“Musical Journey through the Jewish Diaspora” is a CD recording of piano works by Jewish composers across 150 years and from around the world. The event was a CD presentation and Lecture-recital. The event took place on June 11, at 7:30 PM at The National Opera America, Marc A. Scorca Hall, 330 Seventh Avenue, NYC. The album […]
Alla Milchtein was born in Kurgan, Russia and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico. After winning a second prize at the International piano competition in Netherlands, Alla was granted a scholarship to continue her studies at the Rotterdam Conservatory where she completed her Bachelor and then Master’s degree in Piano solo and Chamber Music. After completing her studies, Alla was offered a position as a staff pianist at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Florence, Italy where she worked for several years. In 2010 Alla moved to the United States where she received a full scholarship to pursue her Professional Studies Diploma in Collaborative piano at the Mannes College of Music (2012). In the US, Alla has served as a staff pianist at Beverly Hills Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Glimmerglass Festival and the International Vocal Arts Institute in Virginia. A collaborative and solo pianist in New York, she has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Lincoln Center, Steinway Hall. Currently she is a staff pianist at the Mannes College of Music. Alla is fluent in Russian, Spanish, English, Italian and Dutch.
My Russian Jewish Family Relic
“My Russian Jewish Family Relic” is a portrait series accompanied by audio interviews, photographed and recorded by Svetlana Didorenko. These images present the stories of family heirlooms of Jewish immigrants from the former USSR living in the US. From household objects to letters and documents, these objects, passed on from generation to generation, reflect personal […]
Svetlana Didorenko was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and emigrated to the US in 1994. Her studies were in molecular biology and focused on neurology research and robotic engineering before attending Columbia Journalism School to start a career in documentary film and journalism. This past year, she has been working on a series of documentary shorts for the Russian Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, which will open in Moscow in November 2012.
New York Jewish Music Festival
The New York Jewish Music Festival (NYJMF) is an amazing opportunity for musicians, ages 4 and above, to share their talent and explore the Jewish identity and heritage in the performing arts. The NYJMF consisted of 2 parts: Audition in order to select the participants for the main event and the main event, which took […]
Eugene Plotkin was born in Belarus and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1995. He graduated from the NYU Stern School of Business with a degree in Finance and currently works as a Business Manager at one of the largest global advertising networks in the industry. Eugene is also a Vice President and Co-Founder of Forte International Music Competition and Festivals, Corp., a nonprofit organization dedicated to discovering and developing talented musicians through competitions, festivals, and other performing opportunities.
Our Journey Home
“Our Journey Home” was a photography exhibit that tracked various immigration patterns of Jews who left the former Soviet Union. The exhibit was a community event designed to raise awareness for the viewer with little or no knowledge about Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union. The photographs were taken in collaboration with Felix Lipov […]
Yelizaveta was born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1982. In 1989, she immigrated to the United States of America with her family. In 2005, after graduating Brooklyn College with dual degrees in Computer Science & Fine Art, she attended New York University’s Masters program in Digital Imaging and Design. Yelizaveta has been working as an Application Support Specialist and Project Manager for several of New York’s largest arts institutions. During which time, she has volunteered for various Jewish agencies in New York and abroad. She’s participated in various non-profit informal education programs with young adults traveling to Israel. Since 2013, she’s taught computer programming at Baruch College (CUNY).
Our Suitcase (Nash Chemodan)
Anna’s BluePrint project is a photo essay entitled Our Suitcase (Nash Chemodan). This body of work shows “portraits” of items that immigrants took with them when leaving the Soviet Union for a life in the United States. Because of censorship and the restriction on communication, many had no idea what to take and what to leave behind. […]
Anna Loshkin was born in Odessa, Ukraine, and immigrated with her family to Boston in 1988. She worked in the internet field for ten years before pursuing photography and journalism. Her work has been featured in BBC Russia, VICE, Grazia, Tablet Mag and others. Her photographs have been exhibited in the US and UK, as well at the on-line International Museum of Women. Anna’s project on influential Afghan women will be featured in the Other One Hundred, an upcoming book and travelling exhibition, and received an honorable mention in the 2014 International Photography Awards. You can see more of her work at www.annaloshkin.com.
Ping Thing
“Ping Thing” raised over $6,000 for “Save the Child’s Heart,” a nonprofit organization that helps cure kids’ hearts around the world!
Michael Girshin immigrated to the United States from Moscow in 1996 at the age of 25. He lives in New York City and currently works as an anesthesiologist at the Metropolitan Hospital. Michael created a Table Tennis fundraiser, Ping Thing, for the Israeli charity “Save A Child’s Heart.” The event raised $7,000 for charity and had over 150 participants. “Save A Child’s Heart” provides life-saving cardiac surgery and other life saving procedures for children from developing countries.
Pinsky
Rebecca Karpovsky is an actor, writer and producer originally from Boston and currently based in NYC. For her Blueprint Fellowship project, she aims to finish and release the full feature film “Pinsky” – a dark Russian-Jewish-American comedy featuring a Bechdel Test–acing number of women in front of and behind the camera. The goal of the […]
Rebecca Karpovsky is an actor, writer and producer originally from Boston and currently based in NYC. As an actor she has performed at the ZACH and Vortex Theatres in Austin, TX, as well as in feature films, shorts and commercials in Boston, Austin and NYC. Recently settled in NYC, her most recent film projects include Andrew Wagner's, Breakable You, A Lonely Woman, Pact and Strawberries. Karpovsky is trilingual and performs in Russian, Spanish and English on the screen and stage. A lot of the work she writes and produces is heavily influenced by her own Russian Jewish culture. This most recent project, PINSKY, which she starred in, co-wrote and produced, was shot this spring in Boston. Her actor training is based in the Sanford Meisner technique, which she studied under Kathryn Gately at the Gately/Poole Conservatory. She has also studied corporeal mime under Thomas Leabhart and Droznin-based movement training with the Moscow Art Theatre. She is a graduate of Scripps College, where she studied acting and film production. More information is available at www.rebeccakarpovsky.com.
Portrait of an Artist
An Evening Full of Art, Film + Music Screening of Alex Kaluzhsky’s award-winning short film ARKADYA, as well as the premiere of his latest film, THE VISITORS, an experimental short form documentary about the life of a young Russian American Jewish artist with a recognizable past. After the films, music from Lev ‘LJOVA’ Zhurbin and […]
Alex Kaluzhsky is a filmmaker who was born in Odessa, Ukraine and immigrated with his family to Brooklyn, NY in the late 80’s. Under the banner of his production company Apropos Films Alex has produced the features “The Missing Person” starring Mike Shannon and Amy Ryan, Academy Award nominees, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released in theaters across the nation in 2009 and named one of IFC top ten films of the year. And “Weakness” written and directed by Michael Melamedoff starring Bobby Canavale, Danielle Panabaker, Josh Charles and Lily Rabe, which premiered at the 2010 Austin Film Festival. As writer/ director he has made numerous short films including “Bad Moon Rising” which screened at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, and “Apropos” which screened at the New Filmmaker’s and SoHo Screening Series in New York. As actor he has worked on films such as Columbia Picture’s “The Taking of Pelham 123” starring John Travolta, Denzel Washington, and James Gandolfini, directed by Tony Scott; “Solitary Man” produced by Steven Soderbergh and starring Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Mary Louis Parker, and Danny DeVito. “You and I” directed by Roland Joffe. As well as television, stage and short film productions. He studied acting at the Actor’s Center with teachers from Juilliard, Yale, NYU and Harvard, and filmmaking at New York University and The School of Visual Arts.
Polina Barskaya was born in Cherkassy, Ukraine in 1984 when it was still part of the Soviet Union. When she was four years old, her entire family immigrated to the United States as political refugees. They left two years before the Soviet collapse in ’91.The trip took about 9 months as they moved through Slovakia, Austria, Italy, and then on to America. During this time, she was surrounded by languages she did not understand so she felt a closeness to imagery. She would draw narrative images because they could be understood no matter where she was. Learning to speak English was a stressful experience, throughout which she continued drawing. “When you are at a disadvantage in one area, as I always was with language barriers you become better at something else. I was attracted to images and storytelling so I created different stories and adventures for myself to escape into. I would tell myself entire stories without having to write any words.” To see Polina’s works, visit polinabarskaya.carbonmade.com
