Lisa Soland was an athlete in high school (track, volleyball, basketball) and received scholarship offers but chose to pursue theater after a transformative high school musical experience portraying “Dulcie” in The Boy Friend.

She earned a BFA in acting from Florida State University, and began her career working as an apprentice at the Burt Reynolds Jupiter Theatre, where she received her Actors Equity card. Lisa then moved to Los Angeles, and while persuring a career in acting, fell in love with writing plays. Wanting others to have as much fun as she was, she started and led The All Original Playwright Workshop, and ran it for ten years.

She then moved to Eastern Tennessee with her husband, where her plays have continued to be produced. Military family background, rural upbringing, and personal experiences (including her father’s battle with Alzheimer’s) have influenced her work regarding her new play, PAT.

Acting Career:
• Equity member (AEA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG), & (AFTRA)
• Film/TV credits (details via IMDb).
• Performs now in her own solo biographical play on the life of Pat Summitt.
• Founded theaters and production companies while acting and producing.

Playwriting Career:
Soland is a prolific playwright with over 50 international publications. Her works appear with major publishers including:
• Samuel French / Concord Theatricals
• Smith & Kraus
• Applause Books
• Dramatic Publishing
• All Original Play Publishing
Notable Full-Length and Published Plays (selected):
• Waiting
• Cabo San Lucas
• Truth Be Told
• The Name Game
• The Man in the Gray Suit & Other Short Plays
• The Sniper’s Nest (about Lee Harvey Oswald and Judyth Vary Baker, based on Baker’s book Me and Lee; premiered at Maryville College, produced in Austin, TX, readings in Florida/Germany)
• The Hand on the Plough (developed with John Patrick Shanley at Tennessee Rep).
Short Plays and Anthology Pieces (examples):
• Thread Count (Best American Short Plays 2010/2011)
• Spatial Disorientation (Best American Short Plays 2012/2013)
• The Corporate Ladder (Best Ten-Minute Plays 2013)
• The Ladder in the Room (Best American Short Plays 2015-2016)
• Others: The Other Shoe, Different, Knots, The Same Thing, Come to the Garden, An Earthquake, Red Roses, etc.
Biographical Solo Plays (her most prominent recent works):
• Sergeant York: The Play (2018) — One-man show starring Greg Helton as WWI hero Alvin C. York. Premiered in Knoxville (West Park Baptist Church HUB), ran six weeks, toured widely including York’s homeplace in Pall Mall, TN; Cumberland County Playhouse; Park Avenue Armory and 13th Street Repertory Theatre in NYC. Covers York’s full life: childhood, faith, heroism in Meuse-Argonne, post-war community service, education advocacy, and interactions with FDR. Script published; praised by York’s family and foundation for accuracy and impact.
• PAT (2025) — One-woman show in which Soland portrays legendary University of Tennessee Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt. Explores Summitt’s life from rural Tennessee childhood, coaching career, leadership, family, and battle with Alzheimer’s. Premiered October 2025 at Old City Performing Arts Center in Knoxville after years of research and readings.
Other Recent Works:
• Inspired: A Drama With Music (2023)
• Dr. Biscotti and the Human Condition (2024, directed by Soland)
Producing, Directing, and Companies
• Founded Rose’s Name Game Productions (1993), later All Original Playwright Theatre.
• Produced and/or directed over 120 productions and play readings (many original).
• Founded The Fellowship Theatre (North Hollywood) and Theatre Encino (California).
• Founder and Artistic Director of The All Original Playwright Workshop (Los Angeles, Knoxville, and online; workshops across the U.S.).

Soland’s work spans romantic comedies, dramas, and historical/biographical pieces, as well as ten-minute plays, which are ideal for competition. Themes often include faith, resilience, human relationships, history, patriotism, and personal purpose. Her solo biographical plays emphasize authentic research, interviews with descendants/family, and immersive performance. She has built a career blending commercial publication success, regional theater impact (primarily in Tennessee), self-production, and mentorship.