Navigating the Cultural Scene as a Writer: Mandy Thiery's Journey from Student to Playwright

What does it take to transform a university assignment into a professional theater career? Mandy Thiery never imagined her required monologue for a Luxembourgish theater history course would launch her journey as a playwright. Yet that single assignment caught her professor's attention, leading to a professional reading and eventually her first commissioned play.

Mandy takes us through her remarkable balancing act as a student—working night shifts as a bartender, completing internships at major theaters, and beginning her freelance writing career, all while pursuing her Bachelor's in European Cultures and Master's in Theatre Studies at the University of Luxembourg. Her story defies conventional career paths, revealing how talent combined with extraordinary determination can forge unexpected opportunities.

The conversation explores the reality of Luxembourg's cultural landscape, where most artists maintain what Mandy calls a "semi-professional" existence. Currently splitting her time between the Escher Theater, where she assists the director, and her freelance writing projects, Mandy candidly discusses how she manages multiple deadlines and maintains creativity across projects in four different languages. Her organisational strategies offer valuable insights for anyone juggling creative pursuits with practical necessities.

Perhaps most compelling is Mandy's evolving relationship with ambition itself. "I never dared to dream," she admits, reflecting on her surprise at her own success. Now working on the final installment of a theatrical trilogy, with numerous other projects in development, her advice resonates powerfully: "You have to be brave to not have a secure job. If you really dare to dream, you need to dare yourself."

Interested in signing up for the Bachelor en Cultures Européennes?

Visit the website : bce.uni.lu

If you have any specific questions regarding this Bachelor, please contact: bce.office@uni.lu

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Transcript

Introduction to Alumni Stories

Masti 0:02

Hello and welcome to Alumni Stories, a podcast brought to you by the University of Luxembourg. I'm your host, Masti. Let me give you an idea of what Alumni Stories is all about. Whether you've studied here before, or you're curious and consider pursuing your studies at the University of Luxembourg, or just want to listen to interesting people, whatever it might be, you're at the right place. I know it sounds forward, but let me break it down for you. Every episode will star a former student who finished your degrees and has set a foot into the working world, or, as I like to call it, the grown-up life. We'll get a glimpse of each individual their personal ups and downs, their survival strategies, the recipe to balance uni and life, and much more. So if you're, like me, someone who's been looking for the right study program but hasn't been able to find the right fit yet, call this your lucky day, because this podcast is made for you. So, without any further ado, let's dive into today's episode.

Mandy Thierry: Artist and Dreamer

Masti 1:03

Today's guest is a hard worker. Keeping up with two jobs makes her a busy bee in the world of art and theater. After high school, she decided to study at the University of Luxembourg. "Born here, live here, never left states the native, declaring her love for the hometown. First, she completed the Bachelor of European Cultures and later the Master in Theatre Studies. Let's find out what the world of theatre has to offer, tips on working and being a freelancer, and how to get involved in a scene. Please welcome, Mandy Thierry.

Masti 1:42

Hi Mandy, I'm so excited to have you here.

Mandy 1:45

Hi, thanks for having me.

Masti 1:47

And something that I really like my guests to do is give us a little presentation of who they are. So who is Mandy in your own words?

Mandy 1:58

Oh, that's really difficult. I would say Mandy is an artist first of all. And a dreamer, a big dreamer.

Masti 2:15

And your dreams, would you say they've come true so far?

Mandy 2:19

Well, yes, some have been coming true, or have become true, and are still becoming true. So it's all like a big process and there are more like smaller results on the way and not like a big end result, you know. So not a big result that I'm working towards, but it's all a process.

Masti 2:43

Like step by step?

Mandy 2:43

Yes.

Masti 2:45

Could you tell us a little bit about what you do at the moment? So what is your job? Please give us a little impression.

Mandy 2:53

I will try. So I am working part-time in the theater of Esch so in the Escher Theater, and there I'm helping as an assistant of the director, Carole Lorang.

Masti 3:09

So like the right hand of the person.

Balancing Work and Study Life

Mandy 3:10

Yes, and I am assisting her and helping her internally in the theater and also with the program and watching stuff, reading stuff, going all the demandes" and the mails and all the requests that we get. Yeah, so this is part time. And then, I am also a full time freelancer. And there it varies so much what I'm doing. So right now I'm currently writing Escher ghesct" and that's the third play of a trilogy that I started writing in 2018 or 17.

Masti 3:59

It's been quite some time.

Mandy 4:00

Yes, so this is going to be the last piece. I'm currently writing that, and then I'm also doing reading performances. So next week, I'm going to be on a festival Kolenröth and there, I'm going to read a small play of 15 minutes.

Masti 4:21

Is it something you wrote of your own?

Mandy 4:24

Yes, I wrote it for the first time for Masquinada, the collective Masquinada. They organized a brunch with reading and literature and music. It was so fun.

Masti 4:37

Is that every year? Can we meet you there every year?

Mandy 4:41

No, no, no, that's not how freelancing works.

Masti 4:47

Maybe you can tell us how freelancing works, because I think that's something that probably a lot of people encounter, also after maybe the BCE. Wanting to write, being like artsy and trying to find a position for themselves. So how do you juggle the freelancing and also your position?

Mandy 5:08

It is a big juggle. The utopian way would be that I would solely have the job of a freelancer, but this is not possible in the scene right now. So we have a trend right now that it's semi-professionelle. I always say that so that we have a lot of people like me in the scene of culture, who studied culture, or did something a master's degree in that field, and they don't find a freelancer job that they can do that fully. So, they are currently all doing like half-time jobs and their artistic stuff on the side.

Masti 5:48

What you're doing too.

Mandy 5:49

Yes, exactly.

Masti 5:50

Do you think it's hard to maintain only a freelancing career? If you want to be in an artistic field, would you suggest people to rather have like a side - like in Esch, your position is not a full-time job? So to have this to be safe, and then work with things you actually really love to do?

Mandy 6:12

Yes, exactly. The thing is it is difficult in this economy, for example, to rent something; there's nobody ready to rent you something if you cannot say like "okay, I have a steady income. As a freelancer, you're chasing projects after projects. So you maybe have a deadline for writing a piece for six months and then you get like a huge amount of money at the time, or like a tranche for the next six months, and then you have to save it and give it out for the rent until the next time you're getting paid with another project.

Masti 6:54

Yeah.

Mandy 6:55

So you're basically organizing yourself all the time and you're chasing yourself your projects, or establishing projects, doing creations to get them, to do something, and this is really hard to juggle.

Masti 7:09

Yeah, I can imagine. And did you start as a freelancer or did you start at the theater first?

Mandy 7:15

I started actually as a freelancer first.

Masti 7:19

Yeah.

Mandy 7:19

So I have been a freelancer since 2020.

Masti 7:23

Okay, so like in the beginning of Corona time, actually.

Mandy 7:27

Yes, exactly. It was a great start [laughs] but I always had jobs like as a barkeeper, next to the studies. I was always working night shifts in the bar, so I was used to having this halftime income all the time.

Masti 7:47

Also even during a master or bachelor, you were working?

Mandy 7:50

Exactly, yes,

Masti 7:52

Which is quite interesting because I know that a lot of people do HIWI jobs, so student jobs, and bartending isn't particularly as a student job that people do when they have like something concrete in mind. So how was that for you, the experience? Was it just for you to have money on the side and not focused on the career path you had? You know what I mean?

Mandy 8:17

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, it was like a survival thing.

Masti 8:20

Yeah, it was?

Mandy 8:20

Yeah, I was not blessed with a rich family, so I always had to work next to the studies. I started out with a HIWI job and? At tried that for a I was looking out for other job opportunities that could work with me being a full-time student. S. barkeeping was like, they don't have barkeeping stuff in the day so I could? at night, do night shifts. And I could study during the day.

Discovering Theater in University

Masti 8:57

would also get tips? i i..

Mandy 8:58

Sure, yeah, the tips helped a lot.

Masti 9:06

And you're also probably the most popular person when it comes to parties, you'll be like the drinking master.

Mandy 9:11

You would imagine, and I'm not proud to say that, but when I was working as a barkeeper, I often pretended to drink hard stuff, but it was like with water or half coke you know. I loved having animation with the people, but I loved also having that sort of distance.

Masti 9:33

Yeah, your comfort zone behind the desk, I understand. And how was it for you to be a full-time student and still work? I mean, you have to pay student fees, you have to live your own normal life and work towards something. I don't know if you already knew you wanted to work in theater too?

Discovering Theater in University

Mandy 10:01

I discovered that really late in the bachelor's. So I never before had anything to do with theater. So at the bachelor in Germanistik, I had like a side course you could choose you know, and that was about Luxembourgish theater history. You know, it was interesting, it's like two points. You know, just like that, I'm going to get that. And we were like it was a really tiny class you know.

Masti 10:37

I mean, it's very specific too.

Mandy 10:39

It is very specific. So you had to know Luxembourgish, because we would read Luxembourgish texts. All the plays were in Luxembourgish. Maybe a bit of other languages in between like French or English words, you know, but mostly in Luxembourgish. That was amazing, we were like eight or nine people.

Masti 11:10

You said you didn't know you wanted to do theater, but then how did you choose Germanistik? What appeal did Germanistik have for you, or the uni year that you picked it?

Mandy 11:16

I always loved reading and writing and I was like, okay, I'm gonna go do something with German, because I was good in German and I love the language, I love the literature there. And I was curious. So when I was looking up the study, they had a lot of other stuff, modules, that I was thinking I would have never chosen it, but because it's there and I have to try it. And theater was there too. So I'm really glad that they made us have this course, or, in general, you know, read stuff and get knowledge more broadly. This is where I chose to do something with theater.

Masti 12:03

Really?

Mandy 12:03

Yeah.

Masti 12:04

Was it early on that you had that feeling? Was it like later in your studies when you realized theater is actually something you can definitely see yourself in?

Mandy 12:12

It was the first, no, the second semester.

Masti 12:14

So it was quite early actually.

Mandy 12:15

It was in the first year, yeah, and on the second semester. It was summer.

Masti 12:22

And the thing that kind of went down was, how did you manage to do both the jobbing and being a full time student and actually kind of having a social life at the same time?

Mandy 12:33

With dedication.

Masti 12:34

Yeah.

Mandy 12:36

Well, social life comes to you pretty easily when you're working in a bar.

Masti 12:40

That's true.

Mandy 12:41

Yeah, so I had a lot of friends coming to me during my shift so I was never feeling alone or I never had a feeling that I was like isolated. It was kind of nice to have like all the the friends coming mixing each other, you know, with the studies, with the bar keeping and the place you know. So it was kind of special. It was not only the campus or university but they moved, you know, to you. And it was the people that made your whole surrounding. And yeah, so it was like I was working, yes, but I kind of didn't feel like I was working.

Masti 13:21

Yeah, so actually kind of combined the time where you were working with the social time, so it was like two things at once.

Mandy 13:28

Yes, exactly.

Masti 13:30

During your bachelor's you were okay, I will go for theater, and that's when you started probably looking for the masters too?

Mandy 13:39

No, we had the master coming up, it was announced that there was coming a master in theater science and we were all, oh nice. So, yeah, we had a few people. You know the first one, Sasha, and all the people that were studying with me that started the first year. And then the second year I did also the masters, and it was just because they announced that they did the new one and yeah, I loved that.

Masti 14:12

Otherwise, what would have been the thing you would have done if there wouldn't have been a master? Because that was like just by chance it came up. Did you have anything else in mind at that time?

Mandy 14:23

No, I think I wanted to do surely something with theater but then, I would have looked up all the universities that had a program like that.

Masti 14:35

And was there any time in between where some maybe Erasmus or exchange program came up for you?

Mandy 14:42

Yes well, I did an Erasmus to Saarbrücken, because I was working and I had to work. It was like a small traffic, one hour, you know so for the courses I drove there, went there and then came back.

From Student to Playwright

Masti 15:01

So you still worked in Luxembourg, so you remained with your job and then did the courses there. So for you, the mandatory aspect was kind of like didn't need to happen.

Mandy 15:13

Well, I'm glad it happened, because it is good to broaden your mind with another university, how they work, how they function, because they have different courses too. They have different professors. They can give you different opportunities also. Maybe their theatre scene is more established. We went there and we also went to watch some plays over there, you know. So it was great to see the actual theater houses over there too.

Masti 15:42

So did it help you? Like, later on, looking back at it, is it something that was quite helpful for you?

Mandy 16:01

It was helpful, yeah, in some ways, more than other ways.

Masti 16:02

I mean, Saarbrücken is not so far away. Was there like places... Let's say, if we stay in Germany, a lot of people like to go to Berlin because of the theater scene there. Wasn't that appealing to you?

Mandy 16:08

No, again because I didn't want to go abroad. I just really wanted to stay close to Luxembourg and to the scene and to work and my home.

Masti 16:20

Yeah, so you're like more of a homebound person with probably family and everything, or do you just really enjoy being here?

Mandy 16:27

I just enjoy being here, but somehow with all the projects I need to travel abroad. You know, when I'm writing a play in a co-production with Saarbrücken, for example you know, then I had to go drive there all the time too. You know right there, or you know rehearse and come back all the time.

Masti 16:49

So was that even during your studies? You were freelancing too?

Mandy 16:52

Yes, exactly, I had that too. I had the all these projects that I had to write to, so it was not just barkeeping and studies.

Masti 17:03

Yeah, you had like three jobs. You were a full-time student, you were freelancing and you were a barkeeper. So you really like having a lot of things to do?

Mandy 17:10

I do, I do. I still ask myself how I did that.

Masti 17:15

No, honestly, how did you do that?

Mandy 17:20

I don't understand because I did a stage also for the master's degree. You know you need to do like an internship in some kind of theater basis, you know so. And then I was going to TNL and I was there also for like six months and I was working there, as a barkeeper at the same time and doing full-time studies. I still don't know how I did that.

Masti 17:47

Yeah, how do you manage that? Did you feel stressed at all? I feel like it's going to be "no"

Mandy 17:52

I don't feel like I was stressed at that time. I don't know. I was just going on and step after step, you know, doing one after the other and yeah, it was a lot. I still don't know how I did that. I cannot tell you.

Masti 18:11

Maybe you were just driven by the passion you had for it.

Mandy 18:16

It was fun. Everything I did was fun. I learned so much. And it was a new world and I dove into it, you know. And everything I saw and experienced was the first time, you know. I was there with the technicians and it was so fun to see how they worked, how they were organized. You know how the meetings were going on, what was discussed, you know, about the projects, about everything. So it was a lot to take in. So I had no time to worry or be stressed you know, because I had to function. I had to function and I had fun.

Masti 18:51

Did you have like some sort of imagination towards what the theater could be like, and then when you started working there actually, or seeing how the process was, were you happy with it or like, "oh yes, this is exactly what I thought it would be? Or were you surprised?

Mandy 19:05

I was a lot of times really really humbled. You have all these big names in the theater when an artist comes, or like if a company comes and working with them. And you have this image, you know, this reputation that gets in front. You have the media, you have all these articles. You know, you have an image of that person. And then, when you're actually working with them, you see that they're completely in chaos, living in chaos, you know non-organized or something; but somehow it works. But it humbles me sometimes to put people or theaters or a place on a pedestal you know.

Masti 19:54

But is that maybe because you're a very organized person, that somebody can be very chaotic for you? Like you know what I mean.

Mandy 20:02

The thing is in theater, you need to be organized because, if something is falling apart, everything is going to fall apart. That's why there's like a hierarchy really in the workplace of the theater you know, so it all comes down to the director, whose sole responsibility is to put the play together with all the actors and technicians and light and music, sound, You know choreographies and music. It all needs to work. You know, if you have all these people saying all this stuff to each other and having different opinions

Masti 20:38

And keep track of it.

Mandy 20:39

Yeah, so you need to have the decision making.

Masti 20:44

Would you say you'd aim for this kind of directing position, or is that something that is not for you?

Mandy 20:50

I've been asked if I want to direct a lot of stuff, but I don't want to. I am really glad to be behind the scenes. Sometimes I need to do reading performances or read my texts in front of the public. But, that's something different than actually having to

Masti 21:08

It's less responsible, it's like more it's your own work, presenting it, and the other one is, you have to hold your head for all the people behind you.

Mandy 21:17

No but I love what people do with my texts.

Masti 21:22

In what way?

Mandy 21:22

Well, when I write something, I imagine all the stuff inside of my head; but if a director reads it and he comes up with all the ideas, I love what he's doing about it. So, I'm not talking about, with the directors, what they're going to do about the text. The other writers are a bit more peculiar about that but I am really easygoing, so to say.

Masti 21:50

So you leave it up to their imagination.

Mandy 21:51

Yes, exactly. I want to see what my words or the text is doing to somebody, what he's going to do about it or how he's going to transfer the message that's inside of it.

Masti 22:06

And just from what you're saying, it kind of feels like you're an author in a way. It's like you're writing a book, and then you have somebody reading and is like "oh, I will put this on stage. This is what it kind of feels like.

Mandy 22:23

Yeah, so you have two kinds of products that you can do. You're being asked to write something, or you can write on your own and then propose that to all the different producers.

Masti 22:30

Have you done both, or did one happen to you?

Mandy 22:35

Mostly, they come to me and ask me to write something specifically inside of a theme or saying like okay, we have like four actors and we have the small stage, or I want something more big. So yeah, they come up with projects on their own, with what they want to have, and yeah but it differs

Masti 23:05

How did that first happen? So how did people shed light on you and and gave you that attention like, when did that start?

Mandy 23:13

I remember that first course, the Luxembourg theater history, our exam there was to write a small scene of a theater in Luxembourgish. And back then Ian de Toffoli was the professor and he found it really great what we did and he wanted to have something done with it. So he was in contact with the Kazanmattentheater and there they organized a scenic reading about the text. So you had like professional actors doing like a 20 minute part of that scene that she wrote.

Masti 23:59

How did that feel when they read your text there?

Mandy 24:02

My heart was beating so fast. I was excited and I knew the room was so full and somebody even stood up and went outside because they couldn't hear my text anymore. And that's the biggest compliments you can have, you know. So that's how it started. And then, after that, there was the director, Charles Müller, who came to me and he gave me the opportunity to write a play, a real monologue about 60 minutes.

Masti 24:43

Which is the start of your trilogy, right?

Mandy 24:44

Yes, exactly, and that's how it started with that trilogy, and the university, and with the course.

Masti 24:50

It's really everything all at once.

Mandy 24:51

Yes.

Masti 24:53

And then you were still doing the job, and then you were still doing this and that and everything? It's crazy to me!

Mandy 24:59

Yeah, so I was floating.

Masti 25:00

Of course you had to function.

Mandy 25:01

Yes, and then afterwards it just kept coming and I didn't want to say "no, I want to finish my studies first, you know. But then I was like, okay this is starting now and now doing it now.

Masti 25:16

Wow, it all really fall into place very naturally, and did you grow into your position naturally too?

Mandy 25:23

What position?

Masti 25:25

Yeah, right, you're right... into what you're doing at the moment, let's say that.

Mandy 25:31

Sure, for sure.

Masti 25:34

Did you ever realize that you were kind of, in a way, gifted with your creativity, or did that come up during your studies?

Writing Process and Theater Scene

Mandy 25:44

No, well the thing is you need to have a sort of feeling for it, you know, but it's also learnable. It's a handwerk that you can learn and that you get better at also, you know. So you have to start somewhere and then progress and improve. The only way to do that is just to by doing it and then work on it, rewrite it and not be afraid.

Masti 26:17

Like the professor you mentioned before, did people like him during your studies encouraged you and helped you with that skill set?

Mandy 26:24

Oh yeah, for sure, because he's a writer too. He wrote plays also, so he was really a good professor with that stuff because he could explain how the scene really works and how it functions here in Luxembourg. He took all of his students by hand, and took them to the premieres or the derniers, and went with them, and that was really good of him, I think.

Masti 26:54

Are you still in contact with them? Were you able to help each other out there in terms of creating something, the exchange with the students you had there? or was it more of a, "I'm here, I have my own thoughts and things and I will give them to the world.

Mandy 27:10

Well, we talked a lot, really, really a lot. Over half of them I still see in Luxembourg, in the theaters, in the

Masti 27:24

Everywhere.

Mandy 27:24

Everywhere, in the bars. Luxembourg is small and it is kind of also a small scene, so you know each other. And over half of the students on that course are active participants in this theater world.

Masti 27:45

It feels like, with each year, there's like this small new generation of people that come into that scene. So it's kind of nice to connect and click with people, starting in your study days, and maybe later on seeing each other again in different fields. It might be very helpful too regarding in what position you are, of course.

Mandy 28:06

Yes, exactly because you're already networking with these people. And with some of these relationships, you will keep them for years and you cannot look at them as colleagues, or somebody to talk to about "okay, what is your experience now in this field and maybe working even better together.

Masti 28:32

That's like looking at it with the professional lens, but did you realize that at the time when you were a student too?

Mandy 28:38

Oh absolutely, I knew that it was really important to make connection in Luxembourg. That's everything. So that's basically what I learned in this course. To show yourself and be seen, and talk to people and make that connection and make them remember you, and so it goes on and on. So right now, when I'm in the theater, I see people coming to me and making doing the same thing I did. Doing the connections, the networking, and saying who they are and the names, giving the cards.

Masti 29:14

This is like small Mandy, like years ago.

Mandy 29:19

Yeah it's the circle of work life.

Masti 29:24

Yeah, what is your suggestion to people that want to be remembered? Now that you're in a position where people come to you asking or trying to come have a conversation with you, what is something you would say people should maybe try to incorporate?

Mandy 29:40

Being persistent, it doesn't work if you're only doing it just like once, you really need to be there like a few more times. Well, it's not that difficult because you'll see each other in Luxembourg at some point. And I think it's not that hard actually to be remembered. I think just being friendly and nice and not too pushy.

Masti 30:13

You did some internships too, you said. Did they kind of help you too in terms of connecting with people that later on helped you dive into the scene even better?

Mandy 30:26

Yes, I really learned how a theater truly functions you know inside, how the departments work, that there are different departments. I just learned a lot too. I did a lot of different stuff because I asked them I wanted to do different stuff to see everything a bit in the theatres, and they did that gladly. It was stressful too, but they gave me also some stuff to write, you know. So I was kind of being a writer too for them, doing some surtitles or clicking surtitles, which I learned then there and then I also did afterwards still for other productions.

Masti 31:16

So it feels like everything was like going into the direction of you writing pieces.

Mandy 31:22

Yes, exactly because I was directing it there too. You know, I always wanted to do something with texts or stay with words. I never wanted to do anything else because I was already having a lot to do you know, I didn't also want to learn more, you know directing or stuff like that. It was too much. That would have been too much, I think.

Masti 31:46

Would you say that if somebody wants to get into that scene of writing too, that maybe a master or bachelor in that regard of let's say it's Germanistik, or if you want to do French or whatever it is, is really helpful, or would you say it's also possible if you don't do it?

Mandy 32:05

I think it is also possible if you don't do it. Well, you have a better reputation in the scene if you have some kind of a degree but there is the possibility also to be a freelancer and do this stuff, you know. But you'll have to know how to learn it and how to write because you cannot be like expecting you know, writing a short story and being the best, the next Shakespeare, you know.

Masti 32:40

So the degree kind of helped you really to form your own, let's say, style in terms of writing?

Mandy 32:48

Yes, I think you'll need to find that first, you know. Either by studies or self-study, but you'll have to learn something before you write on your own, you have to know if it's good or not, what you're writing.

Masti 33:08

ou all the things you mentioned, and we also mentioned the word stress, what is the best way for you to get things done without being too much under pressure? What is your method of going for things?

Mandy 33:25

Well, the thing is, the step by step is a really good method. I have my calendar, I need the calendar. So calendar is really essential for keeping myself organized. And then I have also a Remarkable where I have all my notes digitally and where I can write everything, where I don't lose stuff. All my projects are on different stages, you know so right now I'm on the middle stage of a play. Afterwards I have also a start of something which is planned for season 26 27. So everything has different stages. I have to keep track of that. So I have a calendar, I have notes, I have my documents that help me a lot. You have to try to not lose a track of everything you're doing. I think really being organized is everything in this job. If you can manage that and then, also with the writing, get yourself a setup of like okay, today I'm going to write two hours or four hours of that; and then make yourself deadlines also inside of the end result deadline.

Masti 34:59

How do you stay, or still continue to stay, creative even though you do so many projects?

Organization and Creative Process

Mandy 35:06

Well, the thing is because there are so many interesting things. You know, when you're being asked to write something about poverty or to work with ATD Quart Monde for example, and you see, it's like you just learn something new and you always get some research. You always get the theme and the direction on where it's going to go, so you get this input every time, so you can get creative really fast.

Masti 35:43

It's kind of like you're doing a lot of research on certain topics too, or reading maybe books and things or whatever it is. When let's say it's poverty, you will look up maybe videos for it and then, just like immerse yourself into that, and then you'll write something.

Mandy 36:00

Well, I always do research about stuff because it just gives way more depth to your writing because you have the knowledge. You have a knowledge that you can message and put into your words. It's not like I need to write something because I need to fill up this line or I need to hit the word count. So you have more depth, you have like a reserve in your head that you can put out.

Masti 36:33

And that's like the process of you writing things?

Mandy 36:36

The processes are always different. It depends on the project because when you know, for example, where the play is going to be played, it differs. For example, if you write a play for the stage you know that has like four meters on four, or if you're writing a play that's going to be played in the forest.

Masti 37:03

Do you mainly do Luxembourgish pieces?

Mandy 37:07

I write in Luxembourgish, German, English, French, in that order right now.

Masti 37:13

Yeah that's quite a few languages there, but I feel like the scenes must be quite different, like from each language to each culture. Or is it kind of the same thing for you just writing the story, but in a different language?

Mandy 37:30

It depends sometimes, because it depends also if the producer is asking for a language. This is something that most of the time is set on from the beginning, the language. I prefer writing in Luxembourgish because it's easier, well Luxembourgish and German; and then French and English, it's like when you have to. Or with the script writing, for example, I'm more into English. It's weird, I don't know why.

Masti 38:11

Do you think it's easier for you to express the emotions and and the story in your mother tongue, like doing it in Luxembourg or even German? I mean, you had Germanistik too, so is that easier for you?

Mandy 38:26

Yeah but Luxembourgish is really peculiar, also because you have to go around some words because there are not many words. Describing or writing it in Luxembourgish sounds really weird or faulty. My language normally in Luxembourgish is more everyday language.

Masti 38:53

The trilogy is also in Luxembourgish, right?

Mandy 38:55

Yes, exactly.

Masti 38:56

Is it like the same thing? Is it more of a casual language you use there?

Mandy 39:01

Yes, exactly because the characters themselves didn't do university stuff. So they're coming from the Minett you know, and they're also having that dialect and not the smart words, I'm saying.

Masti 39:18

Did you expect things to go the way they did? So now having a trilogy and working all these different projects and being in the scene, and now here in a podcast, you're talking about it. But what was the initial thought you had back then? Did you ever see yourself being there?

Mandy 39:37

I never dared to dream that I would accomplish something, to get a job

Masti 39:47

But why would you not dream that far?

Mandy 39:52

Oh, I wasn't allowed for my whole life. No but yeah, I didn't dare to dream, you know. So to kind of be in this position, it's still kind of unreal. But then when I go out, I'm like this is the next thing I have to do, this is the next thing I have to do. You know, I'm going to do this mail, I'm going to write this and this. You know I have my schedule and I'm still going on, you know. So I'm not really sure on towards what I'm working right now but I think the main goal would be to have like a scene where you could work full-time as a writer.

Masti 40:34

And maybe that'll happen, you know.

Mandy 40:36

I hope and hope.

Masti 40:39

I mean, you have a very strong work ethic. Would you say that it comes from you not being allowed to dream that big?

Mandy 40:48

Could be, yes.

Masti 40:51

Because that's just what I sense, like you're a very dedicated person. You did everything, you functioned at a point where people would be like their hair would probably be like falling out of it. So I'm really impressed by that. Now, when you think back about your study time, is there something that you keep in mind, that is like memorable? Something maybe professors said to you that, now in your job, you feel like it's true?

Mandy 41:26

Maybe there was the professor I had since the German studies, you know, and also in the theater master. He always said to me I was... He was asking me like, in the oral exams, to explain all the stuff that we said about interculturality in easy words, you know. And I was explaining it to him in easy words every time, I showed him that I understood everything but every single exam, he said the same word to me, [speaking German]. So it always was like I should learn more these vocabulary, you know so these terminology stuff.

Masti 42:20

Would you say that you have to use them now in your job?

Mandy 42:24

No, absolutely not, but I do use the concept of it you know. Every day, I am working really intercultural you know, so in the theater, in in the writing as a freelancer. I speak so many languages a day. You know, I write so many languages a day, so I'm using the concept, everything that I learned about it. And I still sometimes his that voice in my head, with him saying like -

Masti 43:07

Yeah, what is something personal that kept you motivated during all the hardships and just to endure all the things you did at once, really?

Final Thoughts and Encouragement

Mandy 43:20

My family. I have three smaller sisters, so I was the big one and I was always the mama sister. Yeah, so I was taking care of them and yeah, I think it's them that kept me going through.

Masti 43:39

Yeah, they motivated you.

Mandy 43:40

Yes.

Masti 43:41

It's very cute.

Masti 43:43

Maybe l ast thing, what is something that people should memorize, something we said during this conversation you think that is important for people to keep in mind? That maybe want to go into the same direction as you.

Mandy 43:57

You have to be brave. You have to be brave to not have a secure job, you know. So, you'll need to think, okay, if I really want to do this, if I really dare to dream, you know you need to dare yourself, yeah.

Masti 44:16

But I mean for you, could you say that it worked out for you, like worked out well for you?

Mandy 44:22

Well it worked out . well Well is like like, There there was we re complications complications, you have to work around it, you have to be creative, you have to improvise improvise, you know . if If you have nobody before you doing that, you know, and you're the first one doing it it, you're kind of trying to figure it yourself out,. but But you need to do it yourself you there's nobody telling you how to do do, or you're really lucky that you have somebody who can do that. So it is really important to look out also, do the connections, dare to do the job. If you really want to do it, you need to be part of it.

Masti 45:08

I hope you enjoyed this episode of Alumni Stories. If you want to get in touch with our guests, are interested in applying or need more details about the Bachelor of European Culture study program here at the University of Luxembourg, check out the description of today's episode, where I've added all the information you'll need. That's all for now, but we'll be back soon, and I hope you will be too. Maybe even soon on campus.