Luna Davidova and Klara Behar

In this picture my friend Klara Behar and I are walking in Sofia in 1946. In the background there are ruins from the bombardments of the Allies in 1944. I moved from Kazanlak to Sofia in March 1946. A friend of my father found a job for me as a teacher at the Jewish elementary school on Osogovo Street in the third district. I replaced the teachers when they were absent. I was also a secretary of the school and I paid the salaries. I enrolled in Sofia University to study French Philology but I never took great efforts so I left during the third semester and I stayed as a teacher at the school. I still regret not graduating but I do know French very well - I can read, translate and speak it. I have been five times to Paris and I've managed quite well. My mother tongue is Bulgarian; I also speak Ladino. I?m not fluent but I can read and write in Spanish. I?m fluent in Russian - I've got the feeling and the passion for this language. I can read English but very poorly. When I came to Sofia I was fascinated by the theater. I have inherited the artistic inclinations of my father. I took part in a performance at the Jewish chitalishte, Emil Shekedjiisky; it was still called Bialik at the time. I recited Nikola Vaptsarov's poetry - some of the classics of Bulgarian literature: 'Oh, Mother, Fernandez was murdered.' Then Nikolay Masalitinov [famous Russian and Bulgarian director] was staging a Jewish play by Sholem Aleichem called 'Tevye the Dairyman' starring the great Bulgarian actor Leo Konforti as Tevye. I took part in it on the stage of our chitalishte and obviously it turned out to be fine because Masalitinov was carried away by my performance. He said: 'You should go and apply at the Theatrical Academy.' It happened by chance - well probably not only by chance - I was admitted in September 1948 to VITIZ [Vissh Institut za Teatralno I Filmovo Izkustvo - Higher Institute for Theatrical and Film Arts]. I graduated in 1952 and I was immediately assigned to the Mladezhki Teatur [The Youth Theater].