I am very excited to have a guest on the blog today I was fortunate enough to cross paths with on Twitter; someone who has become quite a source of encouragement and inspiration to me as she achieves so much artistically in her own life!
Allow me to introduce you to the amazing Lisa Kirazian!
Welcome, Lisa! Please tell us a little about yourself.
LK: I write plays and screenplays and have seen several produced or
published. I've also directed for stage and screen. For years I also wrote
articles for newspapers and magazines and edited abridgements for many
audiobooks.
Many years ago I started writing fiction, including a novel series about
conservatory musicians in 1960's London. The first installment, BRAVURA, just
came out on Oct. 15, 2014 on Kindle and then in paperback.
I trained as a violinist and have played for 37 years, including touring
with an orchestra as a teenager; appearing in a semi-professional duo for
private events, and performing solo at many recitals and concerts over the
years. These experiences shaped and
still inspire a lot of my writing.
My husband Steve and I have been married 14 years and we are grateful to
have two wonderful young daughters. I love baseball and old films. I love
speaking to groups of women, youth, or artists and do so often, to encourage
them in any way I can.
Q1: You are so accomplished: a musician, playwright,
director, author, the list goes on...I don't know where to even begin or end a
list of the things that you've accomplished but I can tell you it all inspires
me! What inspires you?
LK: Thank you, bru!
As a writer I'm inspired by how well AND how badly people love -- how they live
out their love from their strengths and weaknesses, and then I try to capture
how that looks and sounds on paper, on stage or on film. The stories that have taken hold of my heart
most have transformed the way I try to love.
I'm personally
inspired by God's love, my family's love, and the love of my mentors and
friends. All of them have challenged me
to go deeper and farther into the things that matter most, in writing and life.
So I mostly want
to write about how love -- or the skewing of it -- affects us, and how the way
we love changes over time, as messy and unavoidable as it is.
Q2: Among the many roles you fill in life, one is
'parent'. I found parenthood changed me in just about every way possible... has
parenthood changed you as an artist?
LK: Yes. As grateful
as I was to become a parent, I was worried that the rest of my life and
interests would go out the window. But I would say parenting has refined and
deepened my interests and priorities more than ever. And I think I've been just
as fruitful artistically since having children, primarily because I have to
make the time really count and only pick writing/directing projects I'm
truly passionate about, because there's no extra time!
I also think
parenthood also gives us a BS radar we may not have had before, in so many
areas. Being a mom has shown me so many of my weaknesses. As a result, I find
myself freer to be honest in writing and in life in general -- whether it's
admitting a scene needs to be cut or admitting to my daughters or husband that
I was horribly wrong.
Parenthood is
also a lens through which I see stories differently now. I had to write a play
for a theater about foster care, for example, which I've never directly
experienced. But when I imagined what it would be like if our kids were placed
in foster care and what it would feel like if they were taken away from me, it
rocked me to the core and helped me write more viscerally about the topic.
Q3: Dream time: Let's say you have the chance to
direct a film adaptation of any story that's out there, whether it has been a
movie before or not. Which would you choose?
LK: Ooh, I love this
question! Even though so many favorites have been done already, I'm going to
indulge:
--I adore the
1972 BBC adaptation of War and Peace
(19 hours!) But boy would I love to take a crack at that. Have my dream
cast picked out and everything.
(The BBC is about
to unveil a new War and Peace series,
but they admit they are taking all the 'war' out of it and just focusing on the
relationships - huh??)
--And we can
never have enough adaptations of Jane Austen's Persuasion, can we?
(Well, maybe we
can...)
--And as I've
told you before, I also think your books are perfect for cinema!
--Finally, since
you said dream time, I hope to direct at least a few episodes of my book
BRAVURA and "The Music We Made" series someday, as I am adapting the
books for television.
Q4: What is the mark you most wish to make upon the
world?
LK: I always hope to
be an encourager. I want my writing and relationships to encourage people to
discover more about themselves, about God, and about each other, and to help
people embrace who they are and live with their whole heart.
Q5: *bonus question for everyone* Do you collect
anything? If so, why?
LK: My house
certainly looks like I collect everything!
More recently, though, I collect art! Nothing exorbitant. Rather, we
like modest contemporary works by living Armenian artists (my nationality).
Steve and I, along with our friends in an organization we're part of, help
organize Armenian art shows here in SoCal each year, which not only support the
artists but also raise funds to rebuild schools in Armenia that were devastated
by the 1988 earthquake and still desperately need overhaul.
Thank you so
much, bru! You are a great encouragement to me, too, and to many of us!
Thank you, Lisa, for being such a source of light and encouragement to all who interact with you! I really appreciate you stopping by to talk with me today. Wishing you all the best of luck on your books and future endeavors...I'll be cheering you on!
Find out more about Lisa Kirazian by visiting her website:
See you all next time!
