Her career began at the age of 19, as a television star in the strip “Learning to Live.” From a distance from her and listening to her speak, it seems that that title was a kind of wink of fate. It was 1981 and, at some point, someone told her off in front of the military dictatorship’s controller: that girl was the daughter of the producer and director. David Stivel, exiled since ’74 in Colombia. Andrea was left without a job. Two years later, Argentina recovered democracy and her place behind the camera became a hit of the moment, “News Desk”. It was in the hallways of ATC, where he appeared on the scene Jorge Guinzburg. With him he formed a working duo—in “The Bible and the Water Heater”, “Nothing is Worse” and “Informal Mornings”for example—but above all they bonded emotionally, had two children (Ian and Sasha) and built a relationship that lasted until Guinzburg’s death in 2008.
After a number of television programs—such as “Infómanas,” “Cuéntame como paso” or “Tomate la afternoon”—; She made the leap to theater and is in charge of the Astros. She also does not neglect her role as producer: she is nominated for the ACE Awards along with Cipe Fridmam for Hector Alterio-A Buenos Aires.
Let’s go back to that hidden message from that first work experience and how she learned to live.
News: There is often a love/loathing relationship with inherited vocations, did you struggle with that or did you quickly feel it was inevitable?
Andrea Stivel: No, the truth is that I never fought. If I ever had a situation, it was with the first experience of working with my dad on TV, which was an enormous demand for me. But in desire, he was very established, I would almost tell you that I didn’t question it, it didn’t occur to me to do anything else.
News: You were 12 years old when your father was threatened by Triple A and decided to go into exile. How did you cope?
Stivel: With therapy… (laughs) Let’s see, I believe that the things that can happen to us in life, one overcomes them as best one can. The pretty ones and the not so pretty ones, that’s the reality. What do I know, you get comfortable, you see, you ask or receive help. My mother, who has nothing to do with acting or the medium, continued living in Argentina and I stayed with her. So, in some way, I had the issue quite split.
When Argentina regained democracy, the father returned to the country momentarily and it was there that he had the opportunity to work side by side with him. Los gringos was broadcast in 1984, on ATC; and La memoria, in 1985. The experience made the professional win but the daughter suffered.
Stivel: It was wonderful because I discovered a way of working and a surprising rigor. In terms of linking, I would tell you that it was strong because the exile had happened and in some way it was like a reunion. The reality is that, as a daughter, it impacted me. At the same time, as I had been watching him work, at one point I knew what it was, but I experienced it firsthand.
News: With Jorge Guinzburg, they made a great company together, in every sense of that word.
Stivel: Yes, totally. If I have to define my bond or my story with Jorge, it was happiness.. That is the word that remains through the years. Happiness.
News: What internal work did you do to go from the feeling of unfinished life, which I remember you said you felt when he died, to this other stage?
Stivel: Well, I think there is something that in itself is powerful that has to do with time. It seems to me that in reality time is inescapable, indisputable and that, through its passage, one develops certain things, learns others, takes advantage of it, because if you want, in these 15 years I have also lived; So from that something new is built. With my children, with my work, with my personal work, with my growth, with my environment, that is, I was building something new.
News: He is young and 15 years ago he was even younger, and he had two boys whose father had died and they had to be encouraged. It seems that she went into warrior mode and, once again, she was opening her way.
Stivel: Yes, that’s what you say, especially with my children. Therapy also helped me a lot. And yes, I think I really worked on myself, that is, I worked to overcome situations that I never imagined I would have had to go through.
News: She was by the side of these two very strong men in their professional actions and also in their personal relationship, and they have not overshadowed her. Was it difficult to nurture her own personality and public appearance?
Stivel: I’m going to talk about what has to do with adulthood, which is the most egalitarian, because with a father it is different. But I never felt like I was in Jorge’s shadow, I feel like we had different roles with the same objective.. We were a couple and couples have to do with equalities, one can have very different roles while maintaining parity. And this is what we built. I never felt like I was behind or in the shadows. I came with my profession, my work and my journey. It was always clear in our couple, our parity, our equality. And what I do now with theater is having a role that I always had too.
News: To reopen the Astros, it was previously under construction, another great bet on reconstruction.
Stivel: The reopening of the theater was for two reasons: for what it has to do with the building work and to give it another look. And that is a continuation of what she had shared with Jorge. I have partners: Gaby Bursztyn, Claudio Gelemur and BlueTeam Entertainment. I am not alone and I also feel very in parity, very cared for, understood and listened to.
News: In this change of outlook, there seems to be the intention in the programming to give space to great figures, such as Héctor Alterio, José Sacristán, Nacha Guevara.
Stivel: I think that, beyond an age issue, it has to do with a choice of shows as well. Because it seems to me that that is the most important thing, I would almost tell you that this happened without intending it. What there is as a proposal is the level of shows we have. I get excited with the shows that are in the theater, I am very happy that the room we are managing has this type of programming, it is a source of pride.
News: What is the common thread of this programming?
Stivel: I would almost tell you that it starts with something visceral and then something like more than reason also happens, but it is inexplicable. Let’s see, “Las irresponsables”, “Inferno”, Nacha, Alterio, not to mention the work of the Maruls (“What the river does”, with 9 ACE nominations), Sacristán, the talks by Mariana Enriquez, by Felipe Piña , the music that also happened, is people that moves me. So there is something that connects a lot between emotion and reason. Obviously we want to compete and there are a lot of random things that weigh in when evaluating. But there is something that happens that goes the other way.
News: What is the main challenge that theater in Argentina has today?
Stivel: Oh, that question is huge. I’ve been here for a year and a half, So what I feel is that I am here rolling up my sleeves, trying to learn, to speak and to listen to those who have been working on this all their lives, and trying not to screw up too much.
News: How did you encourage yourself to make the leap from a terrain that is very familiar to you, such as television, to this other area in which you handle yourself carefully?
Stivel: I think this is what I applied in many moments of my life: I go forward and then I see, because if I start to see before, I won’t do it. (series). For many aspects of life it can be something that works against you, here it works in my favor. It is a characteristic of mine, which I apply to many things. That of saying I’m going, I’m going with the enthusiasm, with the desire, with the vocation.
News: At some point he asked himself: “What am I doing here? Who sent me!”
Stivel: Sometimes it happens to me today too (laughs). It also happens to me because I turned 60 and it is a number in which my projection was to take things more relaxed and spend more time, reduce the madness of work a little… And forget it… My partner tells me: “You can stop”, but hey, I enjoy it a lot. Having the fortune of combining work with vocation, it is something that I do not want to waste, I enjoy it. Obviously I’m older and I have to take care of myself so that my body doesn’t put the brakes on me suddenly; and with those situations that also correspond to the country where we live, but I choose to continue like this. I dedicate 24 per 24 to it. And I have to put myself a little in the shoes of the people who work with me and give air because I realize that…
News: He doesn’t want to be his father, he would say in therapy
Stivel: No, no, that’s certainly not the case, because I swear that if there is something that I have as a premise, it is the issue that one may not agree with someone, but the treatment, the coexistence, the care for the other, the listening, Putting myself in the place, for me, all that is law, always, everywhere.
