"I still get surprised at every little thing around me."--an interview with MARIANA LEVY (Argentina)

What do you hope to gain from this project?

I'm excited about the experience of being part of a creative process that I can't control. Sometimes writing is lonely and you depend only on your own mind and imagination. It's also quite nurturing to get to read the almost raw work of playwrights from parts of the globe I have never even visited...

Who is your greatest writing influence?

Right now: Woody Allen, Paul Auster and Vince Gilligan.

Describe your writing room / process.

I drink a lot of water or different non-alcoholic drinks, Diet Coke, Mate (Argentinian drink, it is like tea, but much more fun, Google it!), I get really thirsty when I think! I have two cats and I like them to be around when I'm writing, preferably close but not on top of my computer...I Google a lot, I ask my friends for ideas for a particular situation or character, I watch movies again or re-read books that I think might put me in the mood for what I'm writing. And when I'm about to finish, a song appears that gives meaning to the whole material. The last days of writing involve listening to that particular song thousands of times while I write.

How old or young are you?

I'm 33. I feel really old for certain things, it still amazes me that fully formed people can be 15 years younger than me... And then I feel amazingly young for other things. I'm still scared about being an adult and I still get surprised at every little thing around me. 

Mariana Levy (Argentina) was born in Buenos Aires. She is currently a playwright, scriptwriter, stage director, and professor. She majored in Literature and Playwriting. She was a member of "Omega", a philosophy and dramatic structures research group. Her plays Misil Children, El Condor, La carne de tu ex en el freezer, and Funde a Negro have been performed in different theatres in Buenos Aires. She is a professor at ENERC Film University, where she teaches and researches dramatic structures in modern TV Series. She does many other things and is usually super funny: to bad this dull bio was written by her evil twin. 

marianevy@gmail.com www.twitter.com/marianevy