We were lucky to catch up with Liana Sonenclar recently and have shared our conversation below.

Liana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I think the biggest risk I’ve taken was leaving college to pursue the arts. I worked myself into the ground in high school. I did my first year of college at the University of Chicago, and once I was there, I think I realized I had worked my entire life for something I didn’t want. I’ve always loved theater, but growing up (probably due to a lot of fear,) I never pursued it. And then at 19, I think it hit me, if I didn’t go after it then, I probably never would. So I left Chicago and moved to New York. I had no experience. It was a huge risk. But the thought of waking up one day and regretting never having tried seemed… unbearable. So, maybe for the first time in my life, I made a big decision for me. I left everything behind and started over. It hasn’t been easy. But it’s also the most gratifying thing I’ve ever done.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a playwright! After Chicago, I took a gap year, and I ended up transferring to NYU Tisch for acting. My first few years there, particularly when searching for scenes, I remember wishing there were more plays about characters my age. I ended up writing a play my first year at NYU, (sort of just for fun? because I’m insane) about two young women struggling with issues familiar to me. That play changed my entire life. I now consider myself more a playwright than an actress. I actually have a workshop of that play next week with The New Group off-broadway, starring Natalia Dyer from Netflix’s Stranger Things. I’m very excited. Anyhow, since then, I’ve written a bunch more. I just want to write things that seem fun to work on. I want to write moving stories that resonate. I love making theater. Film too. It’s when I’m happiest!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

No script is going to be perfect the first time. I’m naturally quite hard on myself. And a big part of being a creative is sort of public…failure? Asking for feedback on a piece of work is inherently very vulnerable. And nothing is going to get better unless you show it to people and receive feedback. I’ve tried to get a lot better about not getting mad at myself for not having thought of everything the first time. I’m trying to get better about recognizing that making work is a process, and people will see it in many stages, and it’s only going to grow over time, and that is normal and okay. I’m trying to take everything a lot less personally, and just keep doing the work – revising and creating.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I just hope I can move people with my work. If I can make you laugh, cry, and think, then I’ve done my job. If I can make you feel ANYTHING… then I think I’ve done my job. Writing can also be incredibly rewarding because you can, in a way, write yourself into the world. It’s so cool being able to write a script and then develop the project with an actor or director you’ve admired your entire life. Recently, that’s become a possibility, and that makes writing new material so exciting.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.lianasonenclar.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liana.sonenclar/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuSYzFGyt6g