Interview with Jennifer Lieberman
Jennifer Lieberman is an award-winning writer, performer, and producer from Maple, Ontario. She has penned several screens- and stage plays, including the play Year of the Slut.
Her short films Leash and Details were both screened at the Festival De Cannes’ Court Métrage, among other international film festivals.
Tell us about your background. Who are you and from where are you?
I was born and raised in Maple, Ontario, and went to York U. I’m kind of an earthy hippy chick with an haute-couture edge. Upon graduating, I moved to NYC with a duffel bag and a dream – to write and star in my film and theatre productions. That adventure is what inspired the story for “Year of the Slut.”
What themes does your book explore, and what do you hope the readers will take away from the book experience? Is there a particular feeling or experience that you wish to evoke in the reader?
“Year of the Slut” explores the themes of female empowerment, sexual exploration, and coming of age. There has always been a stigma attached to women and promiscuity, and I wanted to explore that. Slut-shaming is, unfortunately, something most women experience, so I wanted to play with that weapon of a word and deconstruct it. This book will make the reader laugh, cry, and cum! (I hope).
What prompted you to be an author, and did you have a specific inspiration in mind? Were you influenced by a particular person, artist, or genre?
At 8, I fantasized about being on popular TV shows like “Saved By The Bell,” so I started writing myself guest roles in spec scripts. My writing began as a vehicle for my performance career; this novel started as a solo play to showcase my acting work – I played ten different characters. I continue to write and perform in my own film/theatre productions, and now, after publishing this novel, I am quite confident it will not be my last one.
If you could compare your book to any other existing works, which ones would they be, and why?
“Year of the Slut” is a funny female empowerment piece that takes place in the Manhattan dating world like “Sex in the City” and is about a naive protagonist going through an erotic awakening like in “50 Shades of Gray”, so I call it an erotic-comedy. Did I invent something here?
Tell us about your latest work and what inspired you.
Ooooooooh. Writing… I’ve just completed writing the feature film “Longing” about four couples in Manhattan whose lives become intertwined. We are now in the fundraising stages and are aiming for a 2020 production. In a nutshell, I fell in love with the wrong guy and wrote this piece so I would stay away from him and avoid ‘ruining my life.’ The script started as an imaginary conversation I wanted to have with him but couldn’t.
I’m also performing in the Off-Broadway Play “With A Little Help” (The John Belushi Story) as Judy Belushi opening on Dec. 5, 2019, at Theatre 80 on St. Mark’s Place in the East Village NYC.
Thanks for taking the time for this interview. All the best!
“Thank you, Paul! Rock on :)”
Find Jennifer on
Facebook – Twitter – Website
