|
PLAYWRIGHT BIOGRAPHY
After moving to Los Angeles, Ms. Soland wrote her first play The Name Game, which received a yearlong writer's grant and was subsequently published by Samuel French, Inc. She starred in the world premiere opposite Richard Hatch from Battlestar Galactica, and the romantic comedy ran for two months at The Tamarind Theatre in Hollywood. Thinking it a lark, she moved on to her next play and with eight nominations, she received the Artistic Director Achievement award for best original comedy for her play, Happy Birthday, Baby! Then her drama The ReBirth won her the Hawthornden Fellowship, which took her to Edinburgh, Scotland, where she spent a month long international writer's retreat in William Drummond's medieval castle. As her role of playwright increased in its demands, she accepted less and less acting roles. Yet one of her most memorable experiences was starring in the world premiere production of her romantic comedy, Cabo San Lucas, where Ms. Soland played the part of Grace, whose attempted suicide is thwarted by two house burglars. Back Stage West wrote, "Those tired of playing second fiddle to the showier male roles might take a page from the author of this one act, who wrote a meaty starring role for herself... a great role for women, by a woman." Cabo San Lucas received first prize in the 2004 Scriptwriting/Houston National Playwriting Contest and the American Theatre Co-op 2005 contest for one-act plays. Lisa Soland’s play Waiting is published by Samuel French, Inc. and included in Smith & Kraus’ anthology Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2003, and some of the monologues from Waiting and her play Cabo San Lucas are in Best Women’s Stage Monologues of 2003. Monologues from Ms. Soland’s The Rebirth, Red Roses as well as Waiting can be found in Applause Books’ One On One: The Best Women’s Monologues for the 21st Century and One On One: The Best Men’s Monologues for the 21st Century. What has become known as “the straw scene” (Act I, Scene 2) in Waiting, is published in Duo!: The Best Scenes for Two for the 21st Century, also by Applause Books. Her newest publications include the plays Truth Be Told and The Man in the Gray Suit & Other Short Plays, also published by Samuel French, Inc. Her ten-minute plays have received numerous productions and publications as well. An Earthquake, first directed by Charles Nelson Reilly, is included in Dramatic Publishing’s anthology 35 In 10, Different is part of Smith & Kraus’ The Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2005 (2 Actors), The Same Thing is in The Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2006 (2 Actors), Knots is in The Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2006 (3 Actors) and The Other Shoe in The Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2008 (3 Actors). Recently, Ms. Soland had the opportunity to return to her alma mater, Florida State University, to head up the MFA Playwriting Program as a guest professor. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America, The Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights and the International Centre for Women Playwrights, as well as SAG, AFTRA and AEA. Ms. Soland founded one of Los Angeles’ premiere playwright workshops – The All Original Playwright Workshop -- where she continues to work as Artistic Director and teacher, helping to inspire countless original play readings and productions across the globe.
|
Lisa
Soland graduated from Florida State University with a BFA in acting
and received her Equity card working as an apprentice at the Burt
Reynold's Jupiter Theatre. While there, she had the opportunity
to work with playwright William Luce, starring as Zelda Fitzgerald
in his world premiere play, Luce Women. With Charles Nelson Reilly
directing, the experience deepened her love and appreciation for
the theatre’s creative process in which both the playwright
and the director are present during rehearsal, working together
for the betterment of the play and its production. Little did
she know that she, one day, would be the playwright. Photo
on left (Samuel French book signing with actor Paul Cuneo re-enacting
his role as Art in “The Man in the Gray Suit”)
