Lisa K. Bryant may just be a young actress’ best friend.
“I’m writing as an actress,” says Bryant. “You want those great roles and they are so few and far in between for females. To be able to offer something to not only our kids here, but to girls across the country with a really good part, a smart part, an entertaining part. It’s what every actress wants.”
Bryant, who has been associated with Flat Rock Playhouse for 15 years as actor and teacher, is making her writing and directing debut with Princess Reform School, one of two 2009 productions showcasing the talents of the company’s YouTheatre students. The play will have its world premiere March 27-April 5.
“We teach students from pre-K to adult at YouTheatre. We know that not every student is going to be an actor, singer or dancer forever. What we do is turn out students who have a life-long association with the arts,” adds Dennis C. Maulden, Director of Education.
One of Bryant’s goals was to create a large number of roles to accommodate as many young performers as possible. “We wanted a large cast. There are sixteen speaking roles. And a chorus. There’s a total of 33 in the cast,” says Bryant.
The play revolves around a reform school for princesses who, for whatever reason, have not behaved appropriately. They’ve been sent to the school to learn how to be “perfect princesses.”
“It’s a very popular thing in our culture, the idea of princesses. Hollywood is sort of America’s royalty and I hear kids worrying about trying to keep up with girls that they read about.
“Let’s get away from that and just say no. We can be more globally aware of what we can do in our societies. We can use our minds and our energies and our femininity to serve our communities, which I think, is more important,” continues Bryant.
“I loved writing this play. It’s something I never dreamt I would ever do. Being able to offer something to the Playhouse and our kids is just a package with a big bow on it,” she concludes.
For more information, contact the Flat Rock Playhouse at 828-693-0731, or visit www.flatrockplayhouse.org.