#47 - Erik Liberman: The Near Death Experience

Happy Pride! "Ultimately, I think our job as artists is to share
the secrets of our heart so that others may be set free... saving
our own lives so that others can save theirs." Erik Liberman
soothes the soul, simple as that. Whether or not it’s his voice,
his charm, his talent, or his point of view, Erik makes the world
better for other people.  “It’s not enough to want to make it,
you’ve got to have something to make it with,” is a quote he holds
near and dear. After the experience of seeing Chita Rivera in Kiss
of the Spider Woman, and having said that to Erik, it kept him
focused and able to hang in the industry and build success; a
concept we touch on in this episode paired with failure. 
Whenever interacting with someone, Erik tries to hold a vision for
who someone was and who they will be. In a place of presence, it
not only meets them in the now, but it extends forward and
backwards. “We seek to be drawn from the plague of linear time into
an encounter of infinity,” he says. “And that’s why with great
stars they say they stopped time.” Erik is also a survivor of a
near death experience, which has informed his artistry. “What I
realized was the thing that everything was fearing: death, was the
wrong place to put the focus,” he says. “The place to put the focus
is on utilizing the time one has in the body to do what one came
for.” In this episode, Erik provides incredibly useful insight and
tools on how the multi-hyphenate experience helps us understand the
ecosystem of show business as a whole. You’ll also hear us touch on
the concept of vulnerability, weaponizing vulnerability, near death
experiences, dignity & alignment, existentialism, commercial
theatre, activism, and the discipline to sit down with yourself and
create something that is bigger than you.  "Multifaceted,
irreducible, and astonishing." - Joan Juliet Buck, former
editor-in-chief of French Vogue Mentored by Maureen Stapleton,
named a YoungArts winner in high school, and trained at London's
Complicité and National Theatre, where he came under the wing of
Dame Judi Dench. He received a grant to study with master clown
teacher Philippe Gaulier in France, and in Los Angeles, was the
face of noted improv-and-sketch-comedy school, The Groundlings.
Liberman was "discovered" by 21-time Tony Award winning director
and producer Hal Prince as a winner of the Lotte Lenya Competition.
Prince hired him for his Broadway debut in Lovemusik, written by
Oscar winner Alfred Uhry and starring Tony winners Donna Murphy and
Michael Cerveris, remarking of the actor, "Erik is the real deal.
Once you've seen him, you can't forget him." Liberman went on to
receive Helen Hayes, Ovation, Garland, and Connecticut Critics
Circle Awards, his onstage work reviewed as "a showcase of sheer
star power." He originated the roles of The Telephone Guy in the
award-winning Band's Visit opposite Tony Shalhoub, Charles Revson
opposite Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole in War Paint, and
Clopin in Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz, and Peter Parnell's The
Hunchback of Notre Dame.  Other theatre highlights include:
Motel the Tailor in Fiddler opposite Harvey Fierstein and the
film's star, Topol. Some television credits include: Amazon’s
Transparent, Modern Family, and Martin Scorsese’s Vinyl, and he
will soon appear in the film American Dream.  Liberman has
contributed to books including Performance of the Century, Wisdom
From an Empty Mind, and Luminous Life. His master class series,
Bridge to Broadway, benefited 45 charities and earned him a 2020
Encore Award from The Actors Fund, and he is currently developing a
new book, documentary, and series for television.  For more
information, please visit www.erikliberman.org and follow
@erikliberman. Connect with Michael: @themichaelkushner (IG
and TikTok) @dearmultihyphenate (IG)
www.michaelkushneronline.com Produced by Alan Seales and
the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad
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