Plano East Theatre Director Takes
Center Stage as Texas Educator of Year

October 8, 2009

Lisa Hale was in the first grade when she got the bug for acting...and teaching. It was then that she saw "The Sound of Music" on film. After memorizing each of the character's lines, she acted out all parts of the musical, enlisting her brother as co-star and her dolls as the audience.

Lisa Hale is pictured with EATS cast members.

"I even taught the dolls and graded them in a gradebook," she confessed. It was then that the young director realized her lifelong passions for acting and teaching.

Now, after a successful 27-year career in education, Lisa has been "graded" by her peers in the Texas Educational Theatre Association who have awarded her 2009 High School Educator of the Year.

In "The Sound of Music," a few of Maria's favorite things were raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. On Lisa's stage; however, social injustice, moral dilemmas and gender differences are a few of the topics that her student actors have tackled.

An example was the recent production of "EAT, It's Not About Food." In a highly relevant, informational and at times lighthearted way, the Plano East Theatre cast uncovered the dangerous and baffling world of eating disorders affecting both boys and girls. Performances were free and open to the public and included audience talk back with local medical experts on eating disorders.

"It's important to me that we look at the world through other people's eyes," explained the 27-year veteran educator, who has spent the past 24 years as theatre teacher and director at Plano East. "My goal is to instill a love and respect for the art and craft of theatre. I hope to inspire students to explore their creativity, discover their talents and realize the boundless possibilities of individual and group expression."

Lisa also wants to train students to be the audiences of tomorrow by giving them a passion and enthusiasm for live theatre. "There is an immediacy in live theatre that you cannot capture on film," she explained. "Although it's become hard to compete with the film industry and its special computer effects, theatre has the 'live' moment, a 'You had to be there,' quality that can never be replicated on film. You can see the same play every night and it might feel different because of actor/audience chemistry."

Effervescent and sentimental all at once, Lisa beams when recollecting former students. Among the hundreds of students she has taught, her former students who are now theatre teachers hold a special place in Lisa's heart. Two of her former students teach theatre in Frisco ISD, one in Greenville and another in San Antonio. "My greatest reward would be to meet one of them at contest and they'd beat us. I'd be SO happy!"

More about Lisa Hale

Education

M.S. in Theatre, University of North Texas (1990)
B.F.A. in Drama Education, University of Texas Austin (1981)

Employment

1984-present - Theatre Director and Fine Arts Department Chair, Plano East Sr. High School
2007 - Director "Camp On The Coast" - Texas A&M Corpus Christi
2003 - Theatre instructor for Jump Start for Arts, City of Plano
Theatre Teacher for Plano ISD Summer Institute for Talented and Gifted
1981-1984 - English and Theatre Teacher, Newman Smith HS, Carrollton
1980 - Counselor for High School Theatre Workshop, UT Austin
1980-81 - Assistant contest manager for UIL One Act Play State Meet

Professional Associations

Texas Educational Theatre Association Single Member & Institutional Member
Educational Theatre Association - International Thespian Society
Theatre Communications Group

Professional Development

International Baccalaureate Teacher Training in Theatre Arts:
Summer 1998 - St. Petersburg, FloridaSpring
1999 - Vancouver B.C., Canada
Spring 2000 - Albuquerque, New MexicoMaestro Theatre - Austin, Texas:
1990, 1991 - Summer Repertory Theatre
2002, 2004 - Teacher Training Instructor for Summer Workshop

Accomplishments

2009 - TETA Secondary Educator of the Year
1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 - District UIL One Act Play Champs
2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 - Area UIL One Act Play Champs
2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 - Regional UIL One Act Play
2004 - First Runner Up at UIL State Meet (Big Love)
2006 - State Champion (The Marriage of Bette and Boo)
1992, 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2003 - Coach for State Recipient of the Texas Educational Theatre Association Founders Award for Acting and/or Technical Theatre
2000 - "Backstage Award" for Outstanding Contribution to the Quad C Theatre