"How to Live" – a theatrical reading, featuring Polish and American actors | Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN w Warszawie

Maria Pfeffer Orwid, one of Poland's leading psychiatrists, lived through the Holocaust with family trauma she never fully acknowledged. Years later, she finds herself face to face with a man, a doctor who worked a Sonderkommando at Auschwitz. She treats him, and in the process, learns that her own experience has made her who she is – in ways far deeper than she ever realized.

"How to Live" is based on the life of Maria Pfeffer Orwid and inspired by the story of Miklos Nyiszli, It is a meditation on grief, courage, and in choosing life after insurmountable odds. Fact and fiction intertwine in this tale of survival, forgiveness, and learning from the past to move forward. "How to Live" recently premiered in New York City.

July, 7 (Monday), 7PM
Free admission
Event in English with Polish subtitles

Written by: Mindy Pfeffer

Starring: Mindy Pfeffer and Sebastian Florek-Paszkowski

Consulted and directed by: Patrycja Dołowy

Playwright statement:

It started with an idea. A spark. It’s not just that she had my last name. (And I still don’t know if we’re related, but that’s another story…)
While visiting the Old Jewish Cemetery in Krakow a number of years ago, I saw the grave of Maria Pfeffer Orwid. I looked her up – and found a story of resilience, hope, and heart. I knew I had to write a play about it. The resulting play mixes fact and fiction, using Ms. Orwid’s story as a starting point…

Something pulled me towards this work. Questions I ponder, as an artist, yes, but also as a human living in the 21st century. How do we live? How do we connect with others? Can we recover from what may seem like insurmountable odds? In the world of today, this feels like more and more of a challenge, but we must ask these questions, individually, societally, globally, if we are to survive, and thrive.

Mindy Pfeffer is an actress, playwright, and educator based in New York City. She is thrilled to be working in Poland again. An earlier version of "How To Live" was presented as part of the 2023 Jewish Culture Festival, and she taught theatre at a summer camp as part of the Kosciuszko Foundation’s "Teaching English in Poland" program in 2022 and 2023. In her home country, Mindy’s plays have been produced in various theaters in and around New York City and she has acted in over 60 plays both in and out of New York. Mindy is co-director of NYC Kids Project, creating and presenting puppet shows about respect and inclusion for schoolchildren. She has a BFA in theatre and has studied both acting and writing professionally in New York City. She is a member of the professional actors union and professional playwrights guild in the USA.

Sebastian Florek-Paszkowski was born in Warsaw but at home in many cultures, Sebastian has lived across Europe, Africa, and South America – an experience that has shaped his open, curious, and deeply empathetic worldview. Though he never attended acting school, he has been performing since his secondary school days, and continues to explore the stage as an amateur actor, most recently as part of performances at Łaźnia Nowa in Kraków. By profession, Sebastian is an English teacher, trainer, and therapist, and his fascination with human behavior, cultural nuance, and group dynamics is reflected both in his work and his love for literature, psychology, and the performing arts. His approach to acting – much like his approach to life – is holistic, rooted in authenticity, self-discovery, and a commitment to lifelong learning.

Patrycja Dołowy is a Polish Jewish writer, artist and activist. She is interested in the problems of difficult memory and heritage. She based her art and work on oral stories of minorities and herstories. She is the author and co-author of several books as well as short stories, essays, theatre plays and performances. A winner of (ia): the Karol Sabath Award, 2011, honorable award Kontrapunkt, 2015 for her drama "Hideout," The Warsaw Literary Premiere Award of August 2019, European Jewish Writers in Translation 2021, Warsaw Ghetto Uprising medal, awarded by the Association of Jewish Combatants and Victims of the WWII. Stipendist of the Polish Ministry of Culture, Asylum Arts and Tarbut Fellowship.

An event accompanying the exhibition "1945. Not the End, Not the Beginning."