Greta Friedman - Inspiration of an Actress
by Donavan Barrier
Greta Friedman recites the words of Sala Kirshner (nee Garncarz), a holocaust survivor who endured hard labor in seven different labor camps. In the face of extermination, Sala Kirshner wrote and received hundreds of letters from friends and family over the course of the Second World War. The play is titled “Letters to Sala,” a retelling of Sala's hardships and the later conflict between her daughter Ann and her granddaughters over what to do with the letters.
Tears stream down her face as Greta Friedman listens to the words written on the paper. Words that were written a long time ago but resonate now. These words translated from Yiddish into English convey a message of resiliency in the face of systematic oppression, totalitarian regimes, and unjust blame for political and societal ills. She repeats these same words back to an invested audience in an equally quiet theater, some shedding tears as she tells her story.
Friedman has been involved in Northwest Indiana’s community theater scene for over twenty-five years. She has played various roles in different productions, from Sala to Peter Pan. She brings a kind of respect to her roles that every professional actor and actress must have to play their part correctly. Even if it means flying across the stage (she conquered a fear of heights to portray the role of the Boy Who Never Grew Up.
Mrs. Friedman became interested in the arts when she was a little girl. “My parents were both musicians,’ she said, ‘My father was an organist and a pianist, my mother taught elementary music and they did theater. They were down here (LaPorte Little Theater) all the time and did every musical known to man in the fifties, sixties, and seventies. So, I just sort of tagged along.” Her first play ever at the Little Theater was the Sound of Music, where she played Gretel.
As she grew up, over time, theater took a back seat to her other interests. In high school, she was involved in both the high school band and the debate team. In the back of her mind, Mrs. Friedman had one goal for a future career; one where she helped others. She recalled a trip to Jamaica when she was young, where her desire to help others became cemented.
“We were at a very lovely hotel. Being people who went to church every single week…we went to a church on Sunday there. The children were all dressed in white; they were gorgeous, they were happy, and everyone was having a great time! But, it was in the most impoverished neighborhood that I had ever seen! So, it just sort of struck me. This doesn’t seem right! How can some people have so much, and some people have so little? What can I do to change that?”
That question led to her to pursue law. Her interest in law was inspired by her father. “My father taught history, government, and civics,” she said with a reverent twinkle in her eye. “He was just such a believer in the rule of law and democracy.”
The experience in Jamaica prompted her to have a conversation with him. She was debating on which career path to choose where she could be most helpful. Should she follow in his footsteps and be a teacher, to educate young people about law and government? Or should she be a part of it and practice law herself? She ultimately decided to become a lawyer. “I didn’t think I had what it took to be a teacher. So, I decided to go to law school.” She went on to study at Bates College, gaining her undergraduate degree in Political Science with a minor in Philosophy and Religion, and, in 1984, gained her law degree from Valparaiso University Law School. For six years, she worked with the Legal Services Program of Northern Indiana as an attorney for abused and neglected kids before settling into her own private practice. In 2009, she became the magistrate for La Porte County’s Superior Court 4, working for Judge William J. Boklund before leaving in 2014 to run for Judge, a position which she now currently occupies.
Eventually, the arts found their way back into her life. When her children became interested in participating, she found herself back in the spotlight at LaPorte Little Theater. But it wasn’t only in the theater where she expressed herself artistically. She has found herself judging the regional talent contest Hoosier Star as well as working as a member of the Praise Team in the First United Methodist Church.
In both law and in the arts, Friedman has discovered a plethora of new skills that have crossed over into each other. “Never let them see you sweat,” she said with a sweet smile. “Patience, reading, and studying are all skills that I’ve brought as a lawyer I have brought to the stage. She cites community theater as helping her better empathize with her clients. “Being able to put yourself in another person’s shoes and put myself in their place, that is one of the things I really love watching a good lawyer. They are, at their core, a good storyteller. That’s what we do in the arts.”
Greta does not solely look at what she does with the arts as just a hobby but as an essential part of a community and to the development of a growing person. She talked scientifically about how having the arts as constants in life can be very beneficial to a person. “Visual arts can calm you down. Music feeds your soul. This community theater tells stories and transports you. All these things help us develop our humanity. When we are exposed to this sort of thing, we can get out of ourselves and can be kinder, more relatable.” As she explained this, she recalled vividly examples of how artistic endeavors have helped others who were going down the wrong track in life. She recalled with a mix of wonder and sadness about a young talented singer who used singing to walk away from a rough spot in life. “Things went out of control, and she went down a bad path. But she got back to singing, and she absolutely blossomed! She got asked to sing in certain places, which built her confidence. She ultimately got back involved with her church.”
Nobody needs to be a professional artist to appreciate art and to be involved with the arts. But it takes a special kind of person to really understand how applicable they can be to help someone. Judge Greta Friedman is the kind of person that sees the importance of art not just as a tool of expression but to build up better people, which in turn builds up a better community. While the sorrow of listening to the pains of a holocaust survivor may be painful to bear, Greta bears it with the hope that by sharing this story, her community will both learn from the horrid effects of hatred and discrimination and use what they’ve learned to lead better, more harmonious lives.