For Alek Lev, creativity is not simply about what gets made. It is about the life lived while making it.

In this episode of The Greaterverse, Anne-Marie Kruk is joined by Alek Lev, director, writer, producer, editor, podcaster and nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter.

Alek’s creative path has taken him from making films with two VCRs as a child to theatre, filmmaking and working behind the scenes on How I Met Your Mother, where he created digital content, DVD extras and the show’s original podcast. Along the way, an almost accidental decision to study American Sign Language led to nearly 25 years of interpreting and deep, long-standing creative collaborations within the Deaf community.

Today, Alek produces How We Made Your Mother with Josh Radnor and Craig Thomas, directs one-person theatre and continues experimenting with new ways of telling stories, including an entirely improvised feature film created from nothing over four days.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• How Alek helped create the original How I Met Your Mother podcast before podcasting became mainstream
• What learning American Sign Language taught him about Deaf culture, community and representation
• Why Deaf creatives need opportunities and influence behind the camera, not only roles in front of it
• How Alek and a team of improvisers created an entire feature film without a script, characters or plot
• Why he, Josh Radnor and Craig Thomas chose creative independence when making How We Made Your Mother

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Episode Resources: The Greaterverse

Instagram → @thegreaterverse

TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@thegreaterverse

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@thegreaterverse

Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/d352edc3-c3c1-4680-af9d-787a5c9b7b16/the-greaterverse

Episode Resources: Alek Lev/How We Made Your Mother

Instagram → @howwemadeyourmother

Alek Lev Website → aleklev.com

HWMYM Website: https://www.howwemadeyourmother.com/