372 | Jennifer Lieberman is here to teachyou how to be a BOSS WOMAN!

0:00  
This is a production of kN media dot Pro. Welcome back to positive talk radio. Our goal is simple to explore evolving ideas, one conversation at a time. So come on over into our world. I know you'll like it. Because on today's show, we've got an extraordinary young lady with us today. And she is a performer. She is a producer. She is a writer. And she's written her own book. And she's here to tell us how you can do all of those things, if you choose to. And her name is Jennifer Lieberman. But first, Eric, how are you doing today? Sir? I'm doing great. How are you? I'm doing awesome. Thank you. It's a it's a beautiful day and well, okay. It's not it's, it's just I can't get used to. It's December. It's dark at 430. I hate that.

1:00  
I'm with you there. But you know, the days will be getting longer fairly soon. And, you know, today was pretty reasonable weather wise, in my estimation, you know,

1:10  
we're in the 40s. You know, we're not getting tons of snow or sleet or any of that stuff. So I'm not complaining.

1:19  
Not Not me either. Because in our part of the world, we last week, we had snow on which you hardly ever do. And I can't remember where our guest is. Jennifer. Well, first of all, Jennifer, welcome to the show. It is beyond my pleasure to have you here today.

1:37  
Thank you so much. It is my pleasure to be here. Kevin, thank you so much for having me. So I live outside of Toronto in a small town called maple. But I am currently in New York City,

1:51  
New York City. What are you doing in New York City?

1:54  
Since the middle visit?

1:57  
Oh, very good. Are you visiting Broadway by chance?

2:01  
I actually have seen a couple of Broadway shows since I've been here.

2:07  
Have you haven't produced any? Pardon? Have you produced any yet that are on Broadway yet?

2:14  
Not yet. But hopefully one day? Yes, my way towards Broadway.

2:20  
So what were the shows that you saw.

2:23  
So I saw a play by August Wilson called the piano lesson, starring Samuel L. Jackson. And that was phenomenal. A friend of mine came in from out of town, we went together. And we're both performers. And we were just talking about how just energetically in the stamina it takes to do a Broadway show and to do on eight shows a week, and just be on every time for the audience and have as much energy as it requires. So we were just like, in awe of all the performers. So that was that was amazing. And then I also saw a play called cost of living, which won a Pulitzer Prize I believe in 2018.

3:13  
Cool, you know, I learned something valuable today. I had no idea that Samuel L Jackson could actually act by T IPS on Broadway. If he started on Broadway he is. I have gained a whole new respect for him. For what he can do.

3:32  
He was phenomenal. It was a really great production. I'm really, I'm really happy that I went.

3:39  
Well, I'm glad you did too. And you're getting out and enjoying stuff. But that's not why we're here. We're here to talk. First of all, if you want to follow along, you can do that by going to make your own break.wordpress.com. And you can follow along and look at her. All the things that she's done. It which includes and I had the I had to get clearance from the boss, sir Eric, which was there's a word in a play that you actually had to change the title of when it went to production in a book form. But the original title was called, well, I'll let you say it because I'm not allowed. My mother will wash my mouth out with soap. So you're the one woman play?

4:26  
Yes, I had a one woman play and it was called year of the slit. And basically, it was coming of age, sex positive feminists piece. And I adapted it into a novel and initially, I came across a lot of roadblocks when I first published it, because I could sell it on Amazon but I could not purchase any ads on Amazon and getting flagged because of the word slut and the same thing kept happening on all the social media platforms that I was on. So I was like grappling with this idea I like, do I change the title in order to try and give the book a shot in the marketplace. Because as anybody out there knows, if you're trying to sell anything, it doesn't matter what it is, you know, it doesn't matter if you have a restaurant, or if you have a book, or you know, whatever you're selling, if you're just relying on friends and family, or whoever's already in your social media circle, you're not going to get very far as an entrepreneur. So I grappled with that decision. And ultimately, I decided to change the title. And it proved to be a good idea because the book has kind of found its way out of obscurity. So that's been a positive experience.

5:55  
It actually is an award winning book. It won a gold medal of the 2022 Global Book Awards for coming of age books, and the 2022 SP ISP, or IPP, why bronze medal for romantic erotica ebooks, among several other international awards, congratulations, that's got to be a big deal.

6:20  
Yeah, you know, it is a big deal. It also hit number one on Amazon about a year ago, which was also pretty crazy and surreal. Especially because by the time I changed the title, and I launched it again, I had already kind of given up on it, if that makes any sense. So I was just kind of like, you know, whatever, I'll just kind of change the title and throw it back out there. So at least I can, you know, buy some ads. And but at that point, I didn't expect it to go very far. So everything just seems kind of like it's not real. You know, in the fact that it got recognized for any awards, let alone as many as it has. It's just like, wow, you know, it's like, I mean, that could, because not just changing the title, but the book itself, I gave up on at least three different times over many years. Because I get a, you know, I get a fire lit under me, and I get really jazzed about something, you know, like the new draft or whatever. And then I'd submit it to agents and publishers and just different people in the industry and wouldn't hear back wouldn't hear anything. And, you know, you go through a cycle of being really motivated for a few months, and you don't get the results you're hoping for, it's easy to get unmotivated. I guess my saving grace is that I might have gotten unmotivated with this particular project. But I never got unmotivated enough to stop being a creative altogether, which I guess has been lucky for me. Because in the in terms of giving up on the book, and giving up on trying to get published, I focused on a different creative endeavor each time. So whether it was a web series or short film, or a poetry book or doing a play, there was always something else creatively that I, number one had an outlet. And number two, I had something to focus my energy on, and still staying inspired and still stay in a creative state. Because it's when you're in that creative state, you can maneuver from one project to the next project and another project and have a few projects you know developing at the same time. It's when you're at this like standstill, when you haven't done anything for an extended period of time, like months, or years that you feel that like trepidation to take that first step forward. But when you're already in motion, it's just a pivot here, a pivot there. And you're already moving.

9:35  
What was it about you that? Because in addition, by the way, I should probably finish your bio a little bit, too so that people can get an idea of who you are, and what you've been doing when in between deciding whether or not you are going to publish and or republish the book. You've also appeared in 30 international stage productions you've hosted or you've produced over 40 independent films. In theater productions, you've helped over 100 creatives make their own break through your coaching and your consulting and stuff. So you are really dynamic at what you're doing and who you are. Did you recognize that? Um, well, I know, that's a terrible place to put that person. There's like, of course, I recognize and I'm dang near perfect. But yeah, I'm you know, but

10:34  
I always realized it was good problem solver, you know, and I can see ways into and out of situations that other people don't necessarily see. And I've always had confidence to lead and delegate. And, you know, I've always, I guess, I've just been kind of decisive, as opposed to, you know, wishy washy when it comes to having to make decisions. You know, I think part of being a good leader, or entrepreneur, or just in general is, you have to be able to make a decision and back it up. And sometimes it's the right decision, sometimes it's the wrong decision. But making no decision at all is just as bad as making the wrong decision. So, you know, and then you find out, it's the wrong decision. And you're like, Okay, fine, that was the wrong decision, not going to make that mistake again, and how do we move forward? How do we fix it? How do we make it better? And so I guess the other thing, too, is not being afraid, you know, to make those mistakes? And I think, I think the combination of the two is what's helped me move forward.

11:56  
Well, you have, you're also working as a coach, you're helping other people, other creative people get past those things, you know, we did on our Instagram page, we did a short based upon the last interview that we did. And I don't know if you've seen it or not. But if you go to positive talk radio on Instagram, and I asked you the question, and so I'll ask it again, here, because you're an answer was just was just phenomenal. And the question was, I'm sure that somebody in your life somewhere in the past, maybe even currently, is saying, you know, Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer, you know, I mean, you got your eyes and pie in the sky, in the middle of, it's gonna, you know, you need to get a job, you need to, really, you know, you could do this as a hobby, being a producer doing what you're doing, and just kind of do it on the side. But, but has anybody ever said that to you?

12:53  
Yes, of course. And I think the cycle of being creative, it's feast or famine, a lot of the time, it's, you know, you'll go through several months of not really having much work going on. And then within like, a, you know, four month period, it's all going to come flooding at once, and you're going to be juggling, and, you know, it's it's going to be a little crazy, but it's not wrong for people who care about you to try and convince you towards a path of stability, you know, and a path that to them seems safe, but they don't understand because they're not creative people, that for creative, the most dangerous choice you can make is to take the safe route.

13:48  
I'm right there with you, sister, because it's the safe route, doesn't have the doesn't provide the amount of juice that that some of us need to get to really keep going and to, and to really be dynamically involved with what we're doing. And it's doing the same thing everyday just doesn't work for me.

14:08  
And also, if we're living a life that everybody else is living, you know, how are we supposed to conjure, you know, creative stories and different characters and show like, a different side of life or a different side of the world that, you know, most people don't see. It's like, you know, if you just take the same path as everybody else, you're just gonna see what they see. And you're not going to really have like a rich kind of library of experience to draw on. Like, I'm grateful for where I grew up and how I was raised. But I'm also grateful that I moved to New York and kind of broke out of the bubble that I was raised in and have lived in LA and have traveled, you know, not as much as I would like to, but they ain't over yet. But but that's the thing. It's like I've, I've seen so many other things. Um, you know, but more than just being on a vacation, because it's different seeing something in terms of being on a vacation, as opposed to just literally moving somewhere where you don't know anybody, you have no family, you have no friends, and just being like, I'm here, you know, and just kind of like finding a job and finding a place and making a group of friends and making, you know, like choosing your own adventure type of thing.

15:45  
I'm always amazed that people have it in them, like, like you like moving to LA, or even going to New York. And you and you have an in you that you know that it's going to be okay. And you're just going to go do it and see what happens. That that takes a lot of intestinal fortitude?

16:04  
Well, the whole thing is, it's like, if you never go, you're going to spend the rest of your life wondering, you know, what if, but, if you go and decide, like, I tried, and this isn't really for me, I don't really love it, then you can go anywhere else in the world, you know, you can go home, or you can go try something else, you can try another city, you can try, you know, going to a different school in another country and taking something else like that, you know, there's always there's always the freedom to change. It's like, I feel like a lot of people think when you make this decision to be a creative, that you're locked to it for the rest of your life. And that means that's the only hat you'll ever wear again, as opposed to like me starting a consulting business and realizing like, oh, wow, when I started creating my own projects for myself, I was number one, fill, fulfill creatively. And number two, I'm starting to create a body of work for myself. And I'm starting to make contacts and connections that I wouldn't have made had I not got the ball rolling myself, you know, so I realized I can help other people do that. That wasn't really what I envisioned when I was 16 years old, and decided, like, I'm going to be an actor, and I'm gonna be a writer and create my own, you know, and like, you know, sell scripts and be an actor, I didn't realize it was creating my own projects and producing my own vehicles. Like, I didn't have enough experience to put that together. But once I did, I realized I can help other people do that same thing. And, you know, I think the first thing people need is somebody to just give them permission, and be like, yeah, just do it. Just do it, don't spend a lot of money, figure out what resources you have, figure out the bare minimum you need to spend, you know how you can save up that money over the course of a few months, as you're putting your team together and working towards things and preparing the logistics. And, you know, do it once and you either hate it and never do it again. Or you realize, oh, you know what, this wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be. And it's actually a little better, it turned out a little better than I thought it was going to be also, hey, you know, this isn't like the be all and end all but it was a good step in the right direction. Let's do another one. And then you do another one. And then after that you do another one, and you keep growing and you keep getting better. And you know, 10 years down the road, 20 years down the road, you might even have a career.

18:48  
That's the epitome of an overnight success. When when somebody says suddenly comes out of nowhere, and they're all of a sudden everywhere. And and it's like that overnight success may have taken 10 or 15 years to get there. Right. Exactly. And that's that's what's the important is to never quit.

19:09  
Well, except Well, I don't I don't think to never quit is the right way to say it. Because you can decide something is not for you. And I think a lot of people thinking like quitting is, you know, because they're not willing to work hard enough. And the reality is, we're only willing to work hard enough for the things that mean enough to us. And if it doesn't mean enough to you to work that hard, then do something else. You know, do something else that means more. And I don't know. So many people try different vocations. They'll go to school, they'll get a degree for sure. something in particular, they'll work in that field for a year to decide it's not for them, they'll get another job somewhere else. And nobody thinks anything of it. Nobody thinks it's a big deal for somebody to start out on the path going in one direction, and then turn into another direction, and end up in a completely different field than they ever dreamed of. But why is it with the creative when somebody has the courage to say, you know, I'm a creative person, I'm a writer, I'm an actor, I'm a director, I'm a painter, I am this and I'm going to, you know, pursue this. Why is it if you know, three years, five years down the line, maybe even 10 years down the line? If we decide it's not for us any more? Like, why does there have to be so much shame around it? Then if I started off as an accountant, and I decided I wanted to go into insurance?

21:04  
Yeah, no, you're right. Because there is, there seems to be kind of a stigma around. Folks, if you're, if you're having a measure of success, and then you decide that you're going to go do something else. And they say, Yeah, but look what you've already got. But in my world is not enough. If you look at my resume, it looks like I can't keep a job. Because I keep on going from place to place, and doing different things. Because that's what I really enjoy doing. And what I really enjoy doing is talking to people like you, by the way we're talking with, gently, like how I did that Jennifer Lieberman is our guest and go to her website, which is make your own break.wordpress.com. And make your own break. That is, where did you come up with that? And what's it mean to you? Um,

21:57  
so I actually decided to take some business classes when I decided that maybe I could start a business

22:04  
be much, no, my foolish heart, you really, you, you just didn't jump off, you've took some business classes, good for you.

22:11  
Yeah, that's how I came up with it. Because, you know, I had reached a point in my life, I studied philosophy and English Lit. And I was like, these aren't really that effective in my future. So I decided to take some business classes. And in one of the classes, they were talking about how everyone's an expert at something. And, you know, everybody was, had the assignment to like, kind of figure out what they would be an expert at. And also that in order to be an expert, you don't have to be the best in the whole world, you just have to be a few steps ahead of the people that you're going to be helping, you know, because your level of expertise is that much more advanced than theirs. And I realized that I was pretty much an expert in low budget, film and theater production. And basically kind of making something happen out of nothing with a limited budget, limited resources, and just going out in any way. Because the first thing you make isn't going to be your best thing. It's just, it's just a jumping off point. And you're just going to keep getting better from there. And the less resources you spend, when you're first getting started, the less guilty you feel, when things don't turn out the way you want them to because they're not going to the first time.

23:55  
Anyway, well, go ahead.

23:57  
Yeah, so anyway, so I was in these business classes. And then, you know, we had to kind of come up with like a slogan for our business. And, you know, the proverbial, like, all these actors are waiting tables waiting for their big break. So I thought, you know, living between Toronto and New York and LA and abundant and working in restaurants and, you know, there's a bunch of creatives, whether it's musicians, actors, writers, painters, you know, and I just realized, like, Stop waiting, start creating and make your own break, make it your for yourself, don't wait for anyone to give you a big break or handed to you or whatever, you know, work begets work momentum, you know, begets more momentum. So just start it start moving forward. And, you know, with each step be put in front of the next you get closer to where you're going Weighing and the momentum speeds up like the pace picks up as you go.

25:07  
No, I agree. And you know what I said that you only fail when you quit? What I meant by that, let me clarify, was it was that when we are when you have a dream, and the dream is hard, and sometimes it doesn't work out perfectly the first time, you know that, or the second time, but it's an evolutionary process. And it becomes easier, the more experience you have, because you've already, you know, what was it? Edison failed, developing the light bulb like 1000 times. And he's hailed as a great artist, or a great scientist for developing the light bulb, but he failed 999 times. So you know, in that happens, but you just got to keep going. Follow your heart. Keep going.

25:56  
Yeah, exactly. It's easy to give up. It's easy.

26:03  
Yeah, most people tell you to give up and then verify and validate. When you say, I don't know, if I'm gonna make this work. There's a yeah, you're probably right. It's not gonna work. But it's important to have somebody in your corner that understands where you are, because you've been there. And you can then guide them along the way to create what you've already created. Because you're you're sitting farther down in that process. Would you say that? That's fair?

26:33  
Yes, definitely. And also, because I produce for other people, like produced for myself, you know, just the amount of experience I have. Just share it for the sheer fact that I've been through it a few dozen times. You know, it just, there's just stuff you're going to learn along the way that you're never going to learn, unless you're like in the trenches, you know, you're just never going to there's always going to be different things that come up, dealing with combating egos, you know, technical issues, there's always so much drama behind the scene.

27:24  
Oh, no, come on, those performers don't have any ego.

27:28  
You know, well, not if not just performers, it's just everybody. In general, when you're in a creative atmosphere, everybody feels like they have ownership over what they're doing. And, you know, people are gonna fight for their, for their vision. And I don't mean it as a bad thing. I just mean it is, you learn how to deal with all of that, you learn to take it in stride, you learn that it's not ego, because if you just jumped to the conclusion that it's about ego, it's very easy to lose patience with everybody very quickly. But you need to have patience, and you need to have compassion from everybody's point of view. Because generally, everybody is fighting for the best show. And like, once you realize that, and once you're able to just kind of process it, then you're able to deal with each individual. You know, as an artist who wants to be heard, and wants to be respected, whether or not you're going to use their what they're trying to contribute.

28:34  
You know, you have a real nice, soft spoken voice, we have a nice, easy way about you. But I suspect that there are moments in time when you can, a little bit of New York comes out of you and you can and you can make make what you need to have happen happen.

28:50  
Yes, of course. But I feel like if you communicate clearly, if everybody's on the same page, if everyone knows what the expectations are, everybody knows what the timeframe is. Like, I don't believe in fostering an environment where I have to raise my voice. My number one rule when you work with me is if you're not having fun, you're fired. Because these days are too long, what we're trying to do is too hard. There has to be some sort of levity, there has to be some sort of, you know, sense of, of fun in the creative process, even when it gets hard, because sure these days get grueling, but if we're rooted in the fact that like we get to make make believe for money, like that alone has to be like the baseline of like, we have to at least enjoy it a little bit, you know, compared to what a lot of other people are doing to put food on the table where you

29:59  
know, in the And just the very well, first of all, we're talking with Jennifer Lieberman, she is a coach. And she is a actress, she is a are an actor, depending on how you like to do that. And she's a production and producer, and she has got a website and go to make your own break.wordpress.com, you can find out all about her. You can also contact her through that site as well. And she's got some client testimonials and stuff. When we come back, I want to ask you what it's like to put on a one woman show and to stand up there for I don't know, 90 minutes or whatever it is all by yourself, because you've got no one to blame but yourself if it sucks or if it's great, or whatever it is. So we're going to take a real quick break. It's just a couple of mobile folks who just stay put, would you please and we'll be right back with Jennifer Lieberman.

30:54  
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32:23  
add all come back everybody to positive talk radio on KK and w 11:50am. My name is Kevin McDonald. I'm your host, we are here at three o'clock on Mondays. And today of course being four o'clock we're here at four o'clock on Wednesdays and then at noon, on on Fridays. And we've got great guests all the time. Now on Friday, we're going to talk about PTSD and, and grief. And we've got a great gentleman to help us do that. So if you know somebody that's in that boat, I hope that you will Tune in Friday at noon. But Jennifer Lieberman is with us. And Jennifer, you know, I gotta tell you, because some of these commercials I write myself and I and I voiced them myself, as you probably guessed, or I have somebody else do it and and she's much better than I am. But I'm always nervous when I play them in front of creatives, because you guys are our professionals are what you do, even though I would like to I? Well anyway. So what did you think?

33:25  
I thought you did a great job.

33:27  
I know you have to say that. I know. But I just was fishing for compliments just because you know how that is. But I wanted to touch base again, you are you wrote a one woman play, wrote it and staged it and blocked it and did all of that. And then you performed it for a period of time it was called the year of the sloth. And Eric says and we can say that. So that's okay. It's an award winning book. It's number one Amazon Best Seller. And it was the global Book Award, gold medal winner and, and a bronze medal winner for romantic and erotica books. And for IPI. And you are doing it's wonderful. But I got to ask you, because when I was young, I did a play. I was in college and I was in the theater department and I had to play did a play called Taming of the Shrew. And I was I was Patricia and Patru show that it was daunting because first of all, I don't know if you know this, but nobody talks like Shakespeare anymore. And he does a completely different style than and you have to learn how to do all of that. And there was like 50 pages of dialogue I had to learn. I can't imagine doing a one woman show when you get any better if I screwed up there were other people there to support me. When you're out there all by yourself. There ain't nobody there but you how is that and How does that feel? And how did you do that?

35:02  
So it's definitely a challenge. It's definitely one of those things that you take on as a performer to be like, Okay, this is going to be like the make it or break it to, like, prove to myself, if I have what it takes type of thing. Because being on stage, there's no second take. There's no, you know, starting over again, there's no running off and looking at the script. So it was 90 minutes of me playing 10 characters telling this outrageous story about the first year after my first big breakup. So it loosely started off with my story, and then very quickly took on a life of its own for theatrical reasons, both to play 10, various characters that were distinctly different. So I just kept exaggerating with each character that came along, giving them an X and giving them some sort of an effect that made them very distinctly different from me. So I could show my performance range. And then also wanting to have something that was funny, but also kind of touching and heartfelt and take an audience through, like all the emotions. So that's what I did as a showcase piece. And I didn't really think that it was gonna go much further than just doing a few performances and inviting some agents and managers, and directors, and basically people who could hire me or put me, you know, in front of people who could hire me that was, that was really the goal. And then that really didn't happen, like some friends from acting class came, and my mom came, but nobody have any relevance in the industry came. However, I realized number one, I was better than I thought, like, I was better than I thought, you know, and that's, but that's the thing with like, anything in life, you don't know how good you are, until you really push. And taking on something like this, like, you're really pushing it, like you are really pushing it, you know, so it's like, you're either going to, you know, kind of fall on your face, or there's a chance you can fly. And I flew, and I was just like, wow, like, I can do this, I can do all of these things in one play by myself. So um, so even though like I was saying, it didn't lead to what I had hoped it would lead to, I realized certain things about myself and I also realized certain things about taking matters into my own hands, and creating vehicles for myself, which is what I started to do. After the show, you know, every year or two since then I've created another project,

38:33  
which was your favorite character in the show?

38:37  
Oh, the Ukrainian bikini waxing lady.

38:46  
She was getting one or giving one.

38:49  
She was the esthetician who gives them

38:52  
oh, I've always wondered about that. how that all works. So what kind of accent did you use?

38:59  
Um, well, this was like her famous line. Oh, no, I don't know if I'm allowed to swear I don't want to get bleep Duff.

39:15  
Think of it in the terms of remember George Carlin, you have the seven words you can say on TV. The seven that applies here as well if it's if it's not a common English term that you can that you can say like you know, the S word isn't all the effort isn't all the the you know, but if you as an example if you call a if you've got

39:37  
a okay, I can modify the line. Okay, this is this is what she would say. Love is BS. There's no love. There's hard work and hard life or the easy life with rich man. If he knots huh I can't say that word either.

40:04  
No, thank you, thank you for cleaning that up. Because Eric was standing over there at the dump button, making sure that you didn't have to modify the dialogue at all. So that's so thank you, thank you for that. But see, and that you, people cannot see you. I can. So I can I can be the witness that when we talked about a character, that a light came on in your eyes, and you just shone through, and that is a performer. That's, that's you. And that's, that's, that was that was awesome. So if you want to go watch this episode, you can't get it on audio. But you can. We she's been on the show on positive talk radio dotnet before, and that is video. So you can go to that positive talk radio dotnet. And you can listen to the previous interview that we did, which is why I had to have you back because you are so so dynamic, and you're so good. And you can help people that are I know people I know people that have got a screenplay. On a one gallon particular she's gotten a screenplay. She's been chopping it around, but and she's waiting for somebody to pick it up. And I think that it would behoove her to move it forward within herself. Is that what you would coach her to do?

41:33  
Um, so yeah, he was a little bit of free advice. So if somebody came to me in that situation, I would suggest to them to find one little piece of their feature film. That's a standalone scene that they could make as a short film, make it as a short film, submit it to festivals. And when you're going to festivals and networking with producers and directors and different people who are in the film industry, you say, Oh, yes, this is just a piece of my bigger project, my feature film, and then you give them a script. That's

42:17  
brilliant, simply brilliant to media, because then they get a taste of your work. You don't spend a ton of money trying to put it together. And that would be that would be a good thing to do.

42:29  
Well, a film festival is kind of wasted if you're not using it for as a stepping stone to make your next move. You know, but we left Yara and I wanted to go back to her because she's my favorite character because she's this older woman who, you know, comes from Ukraine, and she just is so kind of jaded with life. And it's all about, like, just find a rich guy, like, what's your problem? Like, you know, like, there's no such thing as love, you know, like, young girls are so silly. Like, just go find a rich man and be done with it. Which is hilarious, because it's such like, you know, nowadays, it's such an old world view of what young girls think about when they're dating.

43:28  
It really is. But now when you were writing the play, and you are coming up with the 10 characters, and they're all different directions, you've developed their dialogue based upon what you perceive to be their, what's their personality, and I imagine you had to build a character of each person.

43:48  
Yeah, and like, that's the thing too, as I was writing it, like, I wasn't just like sitting down writing. I was like pacing and like, you know, the movements like a lot of them like I started moving as this person first and started like feeling them in my body. I was a mime, I was with a mining company. So I'm very much of like a physical performer and like, so I would embody a lot of them, you know, kind of like how they would move and like, you know, what part of their face they would hold, you know, like, did they have like pursed lips or did they have like squinty you know, like squinty eyes, like they were like very tired all the time. You know, like, just different, different characteristics and that would kind of inform their dialogue and inform how they sounded. And it's, it's really this like crazy. Like, for me when I do it, it's like this crazy experience of it's not just me sitting in writing, I'm using my whole body and I'm using my voice. And I'm, you know, like spinning in my head. It's really It's nuts.

45:00  
Do you find that when you're performing, and especially when you're doing 10 characters, in a 90 minute production, that you take on a bit of those people and you lose yourself within the role of each individual?

45:13  
Yeah, that's the most fun. Like, that's the most fun about it. It's like, when I'm writing them, they kind of creep up on me, it's not me inventing them, it's them kind of like finding themselves out of me, as opposed to me, like grasping them from thin air and putting them into my imagination.

45:32  
So from that standpoint, you can help somebody learn how to do a screenplay, learn how to do a play, play, and, and develop the blocking and, and the dial, you

45:45  
know, it takes a whole team in terms of blocking, like, you need directors for that, like, with from my one woman show, I had a director, I had a choreographer, I had a composer, I had all of these people, you know, fortunately, I was a, I elicited friends of mine. And that's how I, I was able to get things done, you know, people would give me like, time in between their sessions, or, you know, an afternoon, here are an hour or two there. And that's basically how I got things done. You know, but but that's also one of the skills that that I help my clients with is like, help figuring out like, what resources they have versus what resources they need. And, you know, obviously, you're not going to make something that's like, that's so below standard, like, it doesn't make any sense. But nowadays, you know, people are winning Sundance with movies they made on their iPhone, we're in a very different world right now, in what we're capable of. And, you know, one of the biggest factors is, are you willing to start now? Are you willing to start on your own? Because the circumstances are never going to be perfect?

47:12  
That is so true. By the way, if somebody wants to work with you, do you? Did you do it by zoom? Can you work with anybody all over the world, which I can

47:20  
work with anyone all over the world? I do work over zoom, obviously, you know, being in the same place is always ideal, just depending on how, how involved I would be in the process. But yeah, definitely zoom and the website, you don't even have to do the put in the WordPress, all you need to do is make your own brake.com. And that links to the site. And that's the easiest way to find me, there's a contact page on there. And yeah, it's just

47:57  
how did you get that domain name? I mean, you have you had that for a long time? Yeah, I have. I was gonna say, because I thought that would get snapped up. In today's market. If you have a viewer to you. Well, you know, it's what's interesting is positive talk. radio.com. We use positive talk radio.net Because somebody has positive talk. radio.com and they don't have a website associated with it anymore. But they want they want $3,000 For positive talk. radio.com. So, you know, it's amazing what domains with people can get the four domains is this, I'm not gonna pay that. But you know, that's what they can get. Yeah.

48:40  
It's incredible.

48:44  
Congratulations, and congratulations on everything that you're doing. And what do you got? What do you got in the works right now besides just goofing off in New York City?

48:54  
Yeah. Well, I'm not quite goofing off here. But I am, well, things are starting to wind down. It's already believe it or not, in the first week of December is already gone. I know, thirds in 10 days. You know, in exactly two weeks. It's winter solstice. So that will be the shortest day of the year and will be on the upswing from there in terms of daylight hours. Yeah, it's like pretty nuts. It's pretty nuts. What's going on now? I'm getting ready to hibernate for the winter.

49:29  
Are you finding the time is flying by really fast?

49:32  
I am. Yes.

49:34  
Me too. Yeah. Sorry, December I? It seems like it was just June like three days ago.

49:44  
I know. It seems like it was 93 eight days ago.

49:51  
What's the weather like in New York City today?

49:53  
It's been rainy. It was kind of mild like 57 degrees but like Misty, rainy It's like soggy. It's been soggy for the past few days here.

50:05  
So, are you allowed to say what it is that you're doing in New York City to do some work?

50:11  
No, I'm just meeting with some friends in the city getting inspired,

50:18  
very good. What's the you're gonna write something coming up or you're gonna,

50:22  
I'm always writing something.

50:25  
I'll see your creative you can't stop. Exactly. That. So that's it. That's it. That's really cool. What you know what I'd like to do. We've got just a few minutes left, about six minutes left, but I wanted to, to give a you a moment to tell our audience the audience's listening right now all over Seattle. And those that will be listening later on the podcast, positive talk radio.net, and also on YouTube, and which we've got over 70, almost 70,000 views in the last five months. So we're real proud of what's happening there. But I want to give you the opportunity to tell all those folks, anything that you'd like them to know.

51:10  
All right, well, my book once again, is called gear of the what adapted from the award winning solo show year of the sled, it is a coming of age comedy, kind of like a Sex in the City. Definitely racy, definitely fun. And this weekend, starting on Friday, the ninth that on the ninth, 10th and 11th of December, the Kindle version is gonna be on sale for 99 cents. It's usually 699. So if you are looking for a steamy, fun read to curl up to this winter, as the weather is starting to get cold check out year of the wet on Amazon. And if you want to follow me on social media, my handle on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube is the at sign. I am Jen Lieberman. So at I am Jen Lieberman on all the socials. And yeah, I hope everybody has like a safe and wonderful holiday season.

52:31  
If you were to give a young person some advice about they've got they've got the edge, they want to be a performer. If you could give them one piece of advice, I don't want you to give all your secrets away. But just one piece of advice. If they want to be a performer, what would you suggest that they do?

52:58  
Well, this would be my advice for anybody, including performers become an expert at talking yourself into the things he wants to do, instead of out of the things he wants to do.

53:15  
And I put that on a t shirt.

53:19  
Yeah, but I have to get some of the royalties.

53:23  
I'll split it with you How about.

53:27  
But it's true, I think I think we are all we are all experts at talking ourselves out of our dreams, talking ourselves out of things that are going to make us happy, talking ourselves out of things we want to try. And the key is become an expert at talking yourself into it. Because we're all rejecting ourselves before we even get a chance for life to reject us.

53:58  
And you know, the thing is, is that there are enough people out there that are perfectly willing to reject you than if you reject yourself. And all you're doing is verifying what they're saying. And they have no idea who you are inside. Well, that's

54:11  
the whole thing. Nobody knows what you're made of except for you.

54:15  
So it's really it really is vital that you follow your passion, follow your heart and do what your heart tells you to do. And that's not always going to be what everybody else says that you should do. Because you know, the first thing that people will tell you is that there are 37 No 300,000 People in the Screen Actors Guild, and probably the I don't know what 3000 of them make a living

54:39  
like that. Yeah, yeah,

54:41  
but that's not what it's about. It's about doing the creative process.

54:46  
Yeah, I think it's just about staying true to your heart and doing what makes you happy. You know, and staying creative. And being a superstar are two different totally, like, they're totally different things. I couldn't agree more if you want to be a superstar well go for it. I have no idea how to tell you how to get there. Like, pure beats me, you know?

55:15  
I'm afraid that they're gonna get they're gonna kick us out now because we've run out of time for today. You need to come back so that we can do this again. Will you do that?

55:22  
Yes. I would love to thank you, Kevin.

55:24  
Thank you so much for being here, by the way, take care of each other because each other is all we've got. And we'll see you Friday at noon.