ABOUT LISA
CARD CARRYING UNION GAL – Member SDC. Union!
Lisa Cesnik Ferguson is a theatre professional with 33 years of professional experience teaching, directing and acting regionally. She has been fortunate to explore the human experience through the Performing Arts in Athens, Georgia, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Chicago, Richmond, VA and others. She earned her baccalaureate degree in Theatre from Ball State University, her MFA in Theatre from University of Georgia and is currently working toward her certification in Fundraising Management from the Eli Lilly School of Philanthropy at IUPUI. She has worked at University of Georgia, Columbus State University, Randolph Macon College and Piedmont University. In Georgia she is working toward her Certification at Georgia Film Academy and is currently a tenured Associate Professor at Gordon State College.
In Lisa’s words:
“I grew up on the Near East Side of Indianapolis amid economic precarity, though surrounded by the stability of a huge and loving family. With trust and a good amount of determination, I became a working actor at the age of 17, when I received my first paycheck from Puppets and Players, the Children’s Theatre touring arm of Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). Since then, my driving ambition has been to utilize the power of the performing arts - teaching, performing and directing theatre - to lift up every voice.
While teaching, my commitment to the transformative power of theatre informs each aspect of my pedagogical practice. By passing on the craft of acting, I am also transferring tools that will endure with the engaged pupil - through their art and in their lives. Communication teaches empathy. Voice study teaches courage and poise. Artistic discipline teaches mutual respect and patience. This relatively small platform - creating theatre together – opens a door for working toward common positive goals. Simply put: The work of teaching performing arts is essential to the success of humanity. Theatre teaches us how to live and live well, together.
In my 30+ years as a professional actor, I have applied a multiplicity of acting techniques. Because I was fortunate enough to study with Martha Jacobs (Author of A Meisner Legacy [2012]) from 1994 to 1996, my training is firmly rooted in the Neighborhood Playhouse Technique. My work is equally informed by the influence of Hagen, Adler and other Stanislavsky based master teachers. My strongest Voice influences are Linklater, Skinner and Berry. Alexander Technique and Vinyasa Yoga are central to my Movement philosophy. FInally, I am well-versed in the improvisational techniques of Augusto Boal and Viola Spolin.
Every artist should be a lifelong learner. In 2019, I presented at the Teaching Matters Conference at Gordon State College - Learning Differences and the “Neurodiverse”, enrolled as a Georgia Film Academy (GFA) student, attended the Audience Building Symposium by TRG Arts of Colorado Springs, CO, participated in a recent Julian Boal workshop hosted by the University of Georgia, and I will be appearing onstage in the Springer Opera House’s production of Matilda The Musical in May of 2020. The performing arts, more than any other field, remind us that a better world is possible. As an actor, director and theatre professor, my highest calling is to foster an environment where others have the opportunity to excel, while investing myself completely in the power of performing arts.”
FACTS ABOUT LISA:
Lives in Bishop, GA (9 minutes from the Athens, GA loop, yo.)
Teaching at GSC as Theatre Director/Theatre Professor since 2015. Most beloved student body, ever. Our students are the best. Very proud of our small and mighty program.
Taught at UGA 1998-2001, CSU from 2003-2005, Taught for Piedmont University in 2009.
Founded and ran a small professional theatre, Rose of Athens Theatre from 2006 - 2015.
Have enjoyed a long relationship with the Springer Opera House in Columbus, GA. Most recently was cast in Matilda the Musical in 2020 which was sadly cancelled as rehearsals began because of the pandemic.
Grew up on the Near Eastside of Indianapolis in St. Philip Neri Parish. Proud Hoosier, that's me.
Have lived/worked lots of neat places, including Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Chicago, Richmond, VA, Highlands, NC, Columbus, GA, Athens, GA. A couple of favorites - creating theatre in the Children's Museum of Indianapolis from 1994-1998. Directing a theatre piece while living in Chicago called My Dirty Little Secret which got some favorable reviews and was chosen as a must-see by the Chicago Reader Magazine.
Graduated from Ball State University Department of Theatre and Dance in Muncie, Indiana in 1991. Go, Cardinals.
Graduated from University of Georgia Department of Theatre and Film Studies. Go, Dawgs.
In 2020 began working toward certification with Georgia Film Academy as a student at Gordon State College. Highlanders Forward.
In 2021 began working toward my Certificate in Fundraising Management at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy through IUPUI.