Lisa Ebersole shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Lisa, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Journaling, which for me is writing without a goal. Acting. Hiking and walking in nature. Watching the waves. Watching a great TV series.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a writer, filmmaker, producer, and actor. Until recently, I thought none of those things were my childhood dreams. My story was that I discovered film in college when I took a film class. And theater when a couples therapist recommended my boyfriend and I plan dates – my choice was an off-off Broadway play. I staged my first play in that same theater the next year at 27 years-old. I grew up in Washington D.C., went to college in Miami and New York, and made the move to LA in 2010. I’m currently working on two dream film projects: “Beach Week,” girls trip treasure hunt comedy with death in it, and “Ghost Parents” a Rom-Com with dead parent ghosts. I am a Coach for writers and filmmakers. And a healer. I founded Rainbow Healing Studios to help people reconnect with their childhood sense of limitless possibility. Rainbow Healing was prompted by reading my nursery school report card last year and learning that my favorite thing to do was “set up chairs in rows like a movie theater, serve my classmates pretend popcorn and describe what they were watching.” So, I was Directing when I was 4 years-old, but I didn’t remember that. It was buried along with painful experiences from the time. Rainbow Healing is about releasing those stuck experiences, so that the gold beneath and around them can shine through. It was named by my 4 year-old niece, who declared that she, “wants to be a rainbow when she grows up.” Because no one has told her she can’t.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
That I needed to be loved to have value.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
When I was 2 years-old, my brother was born. He was sick and my Mom was exhausted. I felt pushed aside. I was furious about losing her love and attention. I was heartbroken. And I had no way to express that, so I turned away from her. I remember very clearly thinking, “I’m going to show her I don’t need her.” And I did. For a really long time. My Mom is no longer here, but I’m still working on healing that part of me that feels like she has to do it alone. Of course there are some positive aspects to “doing it alone” but the older I get and the more my world expands, the greater the limitations of that belief. I’m healing it in the present by allowing that 2 year-old inside of me to fully feel her anger and heartbreak. It isn’t sexy, but it’s effective. That’s part of Rainbow Healing.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
I would say the written version of me is the real me. If you’re reading something I’ve written, you’re reading my truth at the time. I’m physically unable to put something false into the world as a writer. But I will say that my truth changes as I do –– looking back through files at dozens of partially finished plays from my 20s, I read the words and cannot recognize them as mine.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When have you had to bet the company?
When I was writing my latest script. For about a year, I wasn’t sure that it would be good. I knew that it had the potential to be good. And I’d been paid for it to be good. So it came down to this question of, “maybe I can’t actually execute at the level I can imagine?” That was a scary thought. Artistically and financially. But what’s the choice? Give up, or try one more time, one more way. I think if you’re willing to keep trying, it’s worth it to keep trying. It was for me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @lisaebersole
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/lisaebersoletv
