Len Berkman
Shy child from Brooklyn discovers 'inner rebel' at school
Linda Lee
Issue date: 12/9/04 Section: Features
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Professor Len Berkman's office door is covered in papers advertising screenwriting classes, theaters in New York, theatre programs and basically everything related to theater. I begin to wonder if he'll greet me with a fantastically theatrical "Hello!" - it only seems appropriate given his obvious passion for theater (one can learn a lot from a door's decor). Given notice that I would be allotted only 30 minutes for this interview, I can't help but feel a sense of panic when I finally meet Professor Berkman. Clad in black shorts, a purple turtleneck underneath a gray t-shirt and huge glasses, Professor Berkman manages to exceed my expectations of what a drama professor must be like with his bright, wide smile and jumpy way of offering his hand to me. All that runs in my mind is, "I need more than 30 minutes ... I want more than 30 minutes ... Oh, god, he's just too fun and interesting ...." So I quickly dive into the interview.
Shy in Brooklyn
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Berkman experienced a childhood involving situations where "streets attacked streets." Socialized to feel wary of others, he recalls feeling very isolated. Within a "miserable" childhood, he cultivated a psyche that entailed keeping an eye out for himself and others. This may have contributed to his "enormously shy" disposition as a child, which prevented him from forming many close friendships. Or perhaps his shyness was in part due to his Russian immigrant parents who "always spoke Yiddish when they didn't want [him] to know certain things." Protected by his parents and raised with three sisters who were also shy, Berkman found the "rebel" within him at school.
Rabbi cures laughter
Confessing to have been an "unfortunately" good student at school, Berkman explains that he went to a public school and a Hebrew school, where he did well enough to complete six years worth of work in only three. But one day, he more or less cracked under the pressure to do well in school: "I had a laughing breakdown where I had to be shut in a room." Only when his mother brought a rabbi to him (while he continued to laugh) did he finally find some comfort. The "clever" rabbi suggested to the laughing student that he should be demoted - this kept him in school, at least for another year.
Shy in Brooklyn
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Berkman experienced a childhood involving situations where "streets attacked streets." Socialized to feel wary of others, he recalls feeling very isolated. Within a "miserable" childhood, he cultivated a psyche that entailed keeping an eye out for himself and others. This may have contributed to his "enormously shy" disposition as a child, which prevented him from forming many close friendships. Or perhaps his shyness was in part due to his Russian immigrant parents who "always spoke Yiddish when they didn't want [him] to know certain things." Protected by his parents and raised with three sisters who were also shy, Berkman found the "rebel" within him at school.
Rabbi cures laughter
Confessing to have been an "unfortunately" good student at school, Berkman explains that he went to a public school and a Hebrew school, where he did well enough to complete six years worth of work in only three. But one day, he more or less cracked under the pressure to do well in school: "I had a laughing breakdown where I had to be shut in a room." Only when his mother brought a rabbi to him (while he continued to laugh) did he finally find some comfort. The "clever" rabbi suggested to the laughing student that he should be demoted - this kept him in school, at least for another year.