Excerpt from Vayage LA, July 22nd, 2019.
"Today we’d like to introduce you to Lissa Slay.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Lissa. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always loved the theatre. I love the art form’s joy and celebration of the humanity we all share. Theatre is vibrant, magical – and though I’ve always loved it, I never realized it could be a career.
Whenever the opportunity arose – third-grade play (I was a Thanksgiving butter knife) or church play (Kid #3) or even the opportunity to crossover into film/TV (several agents later…) – I wanted to be a part of this amazing community, to share stories and enjoy the camaraderie. I wrote and directed short plays, then eventually a musical – and decided I would study Theatre in college. I’m a first-generation Filipino American and first in the family to attend college – and here I am saying I want to study Theatre! Let’s just say the excitement was mostly felt by me. But even in college, as I worked hard to catch up to my peers who had been singing and dancing since they were tots – I’d done my first real musical at sixteen – wanting to study Theatre and knowing what to do with that study are almost separate things. I knew I didn’t want to go to New York though I always played along (‘She has dreams of Broadway’ quotes one local program bio); there was plenty of art and work to be had in Southern California.
But how does one get from college to career? I had no answer for this conundrum, other than to continue working – booking shows to direct whenever my college studies would allow, writing plays, seeing a lot of theatre, practicing my (terrible) triple-timestep at the local 24 Hour Fitness into the wee hours. That’s been my answer for a lot of life – just do the work. The opportunities will present themselves."
Keep reading this artical on Vayage LA:
Comments