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George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center
Fenwick Library, MS2FLAmanda Menjivar
Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.
There are no access restrictions.
Morak Sisters vaudeville photo album, C0405, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Purchased by Lynn Eaton from Caroliniana books in July 2020.
Processing completed by Amanda Menjivar in August 2022. Finding aid completed by Amanda Menjivar in August 2022.
The Morak Sisters (sometimes spelled Morok) were a Belgian vaudeville aerial and dance troupe that toured Canada and the United States in the late 1910s and 1920s, performing as early as 1918 and as late as 1927. The troupe was sometimes billed as the "Four Morak Sisters" or "Morak Sisters & Co." Three of the sisters were named Therese, Louise, and Anna, with one sister likely being named Sadie. The sisters were managed by Fernand Morak. By 1927, the act reduced to three sisters.
A January 1, 1921 edition of "The Billboard" described the Morak Sisters' act: ""[T]he Morok [sic] Sisters, a quartet of personally attractive girls, performed hazardous aerial feats while hanging by the teeth from aerial rotating swinging bars, interspersing their aerial swings with stage poses that were admirable."
A photo album of the Morak Sisters aerial and dance troupe, featuring their tour across Canada in 1918, created circa 1926. The follow locations were visited: Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta; Brandon, Manitoba; and Weyburn and Regina, Saskatchewan. The album was presumably created by one of the sisters, based off of the more personal tone of the photos. The album features photos of the sisters and their entourage as they toured Canada. Subjects include: outdoor performances of their aerial show, the sisters in costume and every day dress, as well as many traveling group shots. The album also has some newsclippings about the sisters and their performances.
This is a single item collection.
The Special Collections Research Center holds many other collections related to the performing arts.
The Brooklyn Public Library holds the Brooklyn Theater Playbills and Programs Collection, which contains a playbill from a performance of the Morak Sisters (https://www.bklynlibrary.org/sites/default/files/documents/brooklyn-collection/Brooklyn%20Theater%20Playbills%20and%20Programs.pdf).
University of Arizona Special Collections hosts the American Vaudeville Museum Digital Archive.
"Burlesque Reviews[.]" The Broadside. January 1, 1921. http://ia800908.us.archive.org/18/items/billboard33-1921-01/billboard33-1921-01.pdf. Accessed August 4, 2022.
"Dance Review to be Seen at Palace[.]" Indianapolis Times. January 22, 1927. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=IPT19270122.1.7&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------. Accessed August 4, 2022.
"The Four Morak Sisters[.]" Vaudeville America. http://vaudevilleamerica.org/performance/the-four-morak-sisters/. Accessed August 4, 2022.
"Guide to the Brooklyn Theater Playbills and Programs Collection[.]" Brooklyn Public Library. https://www.bklynlibrary.org/sites/default/files/documents/brooklyn-collection/Brooklyn%20Theater%20Playbills%20and%20Programs.pdf. Accessed August 4, 2022.