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Alec "Leizer" Burko was born in 1978 and grew up in New York City. He studied Medieval Studies and Germanic Philology at New York University and the University of Minnesota. Burko first began learning Yiddish in order to be able to speak with his grandparents in Israel, who speak no English. Since September 2004 he has worked at the Forverts as a type-setter (typist) and assistant to the editor-in-chief. His articles appear in the Forverts as well as in the student publication Vayter. Leizer is an original member of Di Folksbiene Trupe and is a active participant in several Yiddish organization.

Matthew "Motl" Didner serves The National Yiddish Theatre - Folkbsiene as Associate Artistic Director and Outreach Director. Folksbiene directing credits include Di Pushkart Pedlers in Shpeil! Shpiel! Shpiel: 3 Short Plays by Murray Schisgal!, Di Ksube (The Marriage Contract), Mama's Loshn Kugel, Makht a Tsimes (Make a Fuss) and Purim in Khelm. He has appeared on stage in Gimpl Tam (Gimpel the Fool) and with Fyvush Finkel and Theodore Bikel in Di Komediantn (Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys in Yiddish). Motl is a member of the National Executive Board of The Workmen's Circle and on the board of directors of The Yiddish Artists and Friends Actors Club.

Danielle "Elize-Rokhl" Dorter has been performing with the Folksbiene Troupe since early 2006. Danielle received a Bachelor's degree in Music from the State University of New York at New Paltz. Musical theater credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Narrator), Sweeney Todd (ensemble), and Yeoman of the Guard (Kate). Opera appearances throughout the New York area include The Magic Flute (Papagena), The Old Maid and the Thief (Miss Pinkerton), Carmen, Il Trovatore, and Madama Butterfly. Danielle began studying Yiddish with Nikolai Borodulin through classes at the Workmen's Ci.rcle in New York City in 2006. She is married to Troupe member Motl Didner.

Richard "Ruvn" Kass was born, raised and still lives in Brooklyn, NY. He has been acting ever since his second grade class' presentation of Hello Dolly. He received his MFA in Acting in May 2006 from The New School for Drama, and is currently a member of the Bat Company at The Flea Theatre in New York City. Richard has been studying Yiddish since the fall of 2006 through the generosity of the Milton and Miriam Rosenberg Memorial Scholarship for Yiddish Studies at The Workmen's Circle. He made his debut performance on the Yiddish stage in The Folksbiene's production of Purim in Khelm this past February and March.

Rebecca “Rivkele” Keren is a Jewish Artist and Educator. New York credits; The Dybbuk and Atonement (both Directed by Elizabeth Swados), A Bright Room Called Day (Mint Theater 5), Stempenyu (Folksbeine/CUNY), Bryant in the Park (Art.Party.Theater.Co). Film credits: Watching TV With the Red Chinese (Shimon Dotan), Fashion Kills! (Indie Memphis Film Festival Finalist, Starring Zach Gallighan). She graduated with honors from NYU Tisch school of the Arts having trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, The Experimental Theater Wing, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Rebecca works as an actress, singer, writer and producer and has collaborated on several projects with The National Yiddish Theater. She is currently writing a new musical with her mentor, 5 time Tony Award Nominatee Elizabeth Swados, and the troupe's very own Daniella Rabbani. For more information: www.rebeccakeren.com

Daniella Rabbani is a recent graduate of the Stella Adler Studio at New York University: Tisch. Recent credits include: Jihad the Musical (Edinburgh Fringe), Spectaculo! (La Pietra; Florence, Italy), Twelfth Night (Vermont Shakespeare Company) and multiple roles in American Drama Pocket Edition (Minnesota Fringe). Thanks to the The National Yiddish Theatre - Folksbiene and the Milton and Miriam Rosenberg Memorial Scholarship for Yiddish Studies, Daniella has had the honor to study Yiddish with Nikolai Borodulin through classes at the Workmen's Circle. She is excited by the Yiddish community, culture and language. Makht a Tsimes marks Daniella's debut performance with the Folksbiene Troupe.

Amanda "Miryem-Khaye" Seigel is a Yiddishist and a Yiddish singer, songwriter and performer. She is An original member of the Folksbiene Troupe and co-creator (with Motl Didner) of the Yiddish musical comedy Purim in Khelm (Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre). Miryem-Khaye is a graduate of Hampshire College and of the YIVO summer Yiddish program. Her work appears in Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal, Naye Vegn, Yugntruf-Zhurnal, and Yedies fun YIVO. http://www.amks.wordpress.com

Dmitri Slepovitch is an ethnomusicologist, clarinetist, pianist, composer, conductor, and Yiddish singer, a founding member of the Minsker Kapelye (Minsk) and Tamevate Kapelye (New York) ensembles. In his professional activities Dmitri Slepovitch combines performance, teaching, and research of Ashkenazi Jewish music and other Eastern and Central European musical traditions. Having moved to the US in 2008, Dmitri Slepovitch brought with him his collection of Litvak musical folklore containing dozens of hours of interviews and region-specific musical material. He published over 20 articles and co-authored a book, "Traditional Jewish Music in Eastern Europe" (2007). He holds a Ph.D. degree in musicology (Jewish music) from Belarusian State Academy of Music (2006).

Dmitri Slepovitch is known as a music consultant in the movies Defiance (2009) and The Burning Land (2003); in both films he also appears on the camera; a co-producer of the KlezmerShock! International Festival (Minsk, 2005). He served as a co-arranger, stage musician and actor in theater productions Ish Hasid Haya / Once There Was a Righteous Man (National Belarusian Drama Theater, 2001), Gimpel Tam (Folksbiene, 2008), Mama Loshn’s Kugl (Folksbiene, 2008-2009). He taught courses in music history and ethnomusicology at the Belarusian State Academy of Music, National Music College in Minsk, workshops and seminars in Yiddish music and Jewish studies in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. As singer and clarinetist, Dmitri Slepovitch can be heard on 3 Minsker Kapelye’s albums, 4 CDs recorded by the Simcha Jewish Youth Music Theater (Minsk), CD appendix to the "Upward Flight" book on An-ski’s heritage, award-winning album "Kalyhanki" (Lullabies) produced by the UNESCO, TV and radio programs in Europe, former USSR and the US.