Peninnah Schram
Peninnah Schram is an American academic, author, and folklorist focused on Jewish storytelling.
Early life and education
Schram was born and raised in New London, Connecticut. She was the second child of Samuel E. Manchester, a Lithuanian-American cantor and composer, and Dora, a Belarusian-American Yiddish enthusiast and entrepreneur. Growing up, both of her parents frequently told her stories. She attended The Williams School in New London.She earned her bachelor's degree at the University of Connecticut, and went on to obtain a master's degree at Columbia University in 1968.
Career
In 1964, Schram and one of her friends founded Theatre à la Carte, which put on plays in New York. She two began working with the Jewish Heritage Theatre at the 92nd Street Y in 1966, where they wrote musical plays for children.Schram began teaching at Iona College in 1967. After two years, she began working at Stern College for Women in their speech and drama department.
Schram became interested in Jewish storytelling in 1970, after working with the Jewish Braille Institute to record books for the blind. In 1974, Schram taught a class on Jewish storytelling for the first time; the class was the first American college course to focused on the subject. That same year, she became "storyteller-in-residence" at The Jewish Museum in Manhattan, recorded three albums, and headed two radio series on storytelling. During her time at Stern, Schram organized three Jewish Storytelling Festivals. She later founded the Jewish Storytelling Center.
Schram retired from teaching in 2015, and remains professor emerita of speech and drama at Yeshiva University.