Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Robertson.
Lisa, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
In truth, it seemed highly unlikely that I would ever end up an acting coach in Los Angeles film and television, having grown up in Auburn, New South Wales, a working class suburb of Sydney’s west. However, from a young age, I was a serious dancer and at twelve I started going to a prestigious ballet school in the city. At fifteen, I started working at professional level with top choreographers. The beauty of the Australian arts community, given its more intimate size, is that you end up being introduced to a variety of excellent people from all fields.
I always had some wish to act but I really didn’t know that I had a “voice”. I thought acting was something that only people who came from more privileged backgrounds could do! Fortunately, I gathered my courage and took an ‘improv’ class at The Actor’s Centre in Sydney. A woman who was sitting in on that class asked me to audition for her first feature. It turned out to be director, Jane Campion, for her film ‘Sweetie.’ I auditioned for some months to final consideration for the lead role of ‘Kay’, and while I didn’t end up getting the part, it sowed a seed; gave me some permission to believe I could act and that I had something to offer.
One more fortuitous meeting, this time in a class with Kevin Jackson, then the head of acting at NIDA (the ‘Juilliard’ of Australia), led to his recommending me to study at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. I subsequently trained in Los Angeles with the great Larry Moss.
In those days, we were in class with Larry fourteen hours a week. I ended up directing a large chunk in his professional class of ‘A Cat On A Hot Tin Roof’. I had not been told to do it; I did it for the love of it. When it went up on stage, it changed my life. Larry said I was a director and the next great acting coach, and began referring me industry-wide. It was so left-field and yet I knew right away that being an acting coach was the path for me. It’s my passion to work with great story and great actors every day (I now have zero desire to be in front of the camera, myself!)
I can’t believe it’s been 18 years in Los Angeles. It is a constant challenge and a total joy.
I also completed the prestigious AFI Directing Workshop for Women as a writer/director. I made a short film called COMMERCE in that time and it qualified for Academy Award consideration. I will write and direct more myself in this next phase of my career.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My point of view on Los Angeles is that no-one is forging a career and doing well here without an absolutely outstanding workethic. If I have had a talent in my life, it is that I do my best to take full advantage of every artistic and work opportunity I get. I have never “phoned it in” a day in my life. I don’t know anybody who is doing cutting edge or breakthrough work that isn’t putting six or even seven days a week of work into it. As a coach, you need to be very available for these incredibly brave artists who are bringing these characters to life.
I have an inclusive, diverse clientele and I’m truly excited for this new generation of actors – for their perspective – and for finding new ways in storytelling to speak to that.
Of course, It would be naïve and nearly unbelievable that there have not been obstacles or that being a woman in this profession has always been easy. As deeply personal as those obstacles may feel, I remind myself every day that this is all still a new and constantly shifting horizon for women. There has been such earth-shattering movement in the last few years. Such necessary change in our industry and that has given me a new perspective on my experience. And, the pure joy I get from working with actors every day has always been greater than any obstacle I have met thus far.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
As an acting coach, I work both privately with actors in preparing roles, building character in both emotional and physical life either on-set or before they shoot. I work with auditions and I coach and shoot self-tapes. I have my own studio where I teach ongoing classes in Scene-Study, and professional level short courses in script analysis, On-Camera technique, Shakespeare and accessing emotion. I also teach and mentor writers and directors for Film Independent and other prestigious directing labs in the United States.
What sets me apart: When I work with an actor, I’m always looking for their unique stamp, their ‘gold’ and I build from that place. I deeply believe in script analysis; the script is the blueprint; the foundation. I say regularly in my class, I want the actor to “use their brain to get into their heart and their body.” I work closely with an actor in building a psychological and emotional character arc, which is as specific as it is free. Beyond that, I don’t have a particular ‘dogma.’ There are “many windows and doors into the same room.” It’s really seeing the actor you have in front of you and doing everything in your power to plug them into the given circumstances, into their heart and imagination, and create the inner journey of this human life. Also, how that story reflects or affects the world we live in now. It’s certainly the case when working with ‘The Handmaids Tale’ and ‘Dear White People’ – these shows are directly addressing seismic shifts in the cultural zeitgeist.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I have always taken the approach that luck was for other people – So, I better work really hard! And if things have happened for me, it has come out of that ethos. It certainly was luck that Jane Campion was sitting in on that improv class! – I thank the universe for that. My short film, COMMERCE, that I wrote and directed, seems to have really hit a nerve on iTunes, it’s done tremendously well, and it speaks directly to the fact that I am the child of a wonderful man who for a period of his life, was in the grip of a compulsive gambling addiction. As a child of a gambler, I especially do not believe in ‘luck.’ I do feel beyond blessed to have had mentors that have been truly willing to give something of themselves, their art, and support a new voice. As well as parents that believed in me. I do everything I can now in mentorship and in my coaching actors and directors, to pay those great gifts forward.
Contact Info:
- Address: Lisa Robertson Studio
8801 Cashio Street, <https://www.google.com/maps/search/8801+Cashio+Street,+ Los+Angeles,+CA+90035?entry= gmail&source=g>
Los Angeles, CA 90035 <https://www.google.com/maps/search/8801+Cashio+Street,+ Los+Angeles,+CA+90035?entry= gmail&source=g> - Website: https://www.lisarobertsonstudio.com
- Instagram: @lisarobertsonstudio
- Facebook: @LisaRobertsonStudio
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