Lise holds a BA in Theatre from Northwestern University in Chicago and a Master of Fine Arts in Directing from the University of Utah. She has done further postgraduate study at the Central School of Speech and Drama and the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon.
In addition to her many professional credits in the USA, Lise has taught at The North Carolina School of the Arts, Pacific Lutheran University and was Head of Voice at Duke University , Purdue University and The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
She is an acknowledged international specialist in the areas of Vocal Violence and Acting Through Song. Her musical theatre workshops, which are always oversubscribed, have been given at the International Stephen Sondheim conference, and Song Stage and Screen conferences.
The recipient of directing awards in both the US and UK, she was a founding director of Seattle’s first small specialist musical theatre company. Her West End credits include The Witches of Eastwick, Coyote on a Fence and A View From the Bridge.
Other UK credits include the Royal Exchange Theatre, Bristol Old Vic, Birmingham Rep, Belgrade Theatre, Dukes Playhouse Lancaster, Bolton Octagon, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Rose Bruford, East 15 and the Drama Centre.
For BSA she has directed City of Angels, Arcadia, Big Love, The American Clock, The Woman of No Importance, The Runner Stumbles, and Major Barbara, in addition to numerous workshops.