S. K. Thoth

S. K. Thoth (or often just Thoth) is a New York-based "prayformance" artist known for his eclectic mix of violin, voice, and dance performance who was the subject of the Academy Award winning documentary Thoth. Thoth calls his work "prayformance", emphasizing a spiritual dimension. His motto from his website is "I heal through divine prayformance". He sings in a language he himself created, the language of the Festad, a mythical people and land in his "Solopera", his one-man opera.

Thoth was born Stephen Kaufman in New York City around 1956. His father was a Russian Jew, and his mother was from Barbados. As a mixed race child, prejudice was a problem for the young man. These experiences were a contributing factor in his creation of a fantasy world later in life as a coping mechanism, complete with its own world and mythology.

His mother was the first African-American timpani player for the New York Philharmonic, and Thoth was exposed to classical music at a young age. His mother's connections allowed him access to education from professional musicians, among them Harry Glickman, longtime violinist with the NBC Orchestra. Kaufman holds a degree in comparative literature from San Francisco State University.

Kaufman chose the name of Thoth, an ancient Egyptian deity because he perceived Egypt to historically be "the center for mixed races". Thoth invented his own world, the Festad, from which his solopera The Herma: The Life and Land of Nular-In is taken. Thoth began performing this one-man opera in San Francisco, and then New York.

...
Wikipedia