Alisa Matlovsky

Director
New York, New York USA

Where do you look for inspiration?
Mostly in things I read — novels, articles, essays, stories. If the ideas themselves aren’t the source of inspiration, then the images often are. Also in things I see — the way a piece of fabric moves, the way certain colors clash, the way textures evoke emotions. Also, in music — in its rhythms and in its ability to frame and reframe moments.

What’s your favorite book / movie / line from a play / pop culture guilty pleasure / cocktail?
No way can I pick a favorite movie. There are too many of them. (Does this diminish their stature as “favorite”?) Nor do I drink enough to even consider a favorite cocktail….I mean, a glass of pinot grigio is hardly an adventurous choice. I do have a favorite quote, though, and it goes like this:
At the head of all is God, Lord of Heaven.
Then comes Prince Torlonia, lord of Earth.
Then comes the armed guard of Prince Torlonia.
Then nobody else.
And still nobody else.
And still again nobody else.

Then come the farmers.

What play or production changed your life?
Ariane Mnouchkine’s Henry IV at the Olympic Arts Festival in Los Angeles in 1984. More than 4 hours in French, and the (mostly American) audience sat rapt. I still remember the soldiers on their horses….

Is there anything you still dream of doing?
So much. So much. So much.

I feel most like myself when I ….
Dance. (Especially to The Commodores’ She’s A Brick House.)

What is your best escape?
Dancing to She’s a Brick House.

What’s the one thing nobody knows about you?
I’m an introvert?

Alisa Matlovsky is a freelance director, occasional dramaturg and sometime maker of participatory art installments. She has worked in theater and film as both artist and administrator, is a member of the LARK litwing, and serves on the film studies faculty at Westchester Community College.