Lighting, acting, voice, sound, costumes, set-building and directing.
Those are just some of the creative credits Lisa Braun brings to her role as the new artistic director for Chilliwack School of Performing Arts.
Braun has a rich and varied experience in the theatrical arts. Her love of singing evolved over the years with years of private vocal training and a voice that took her to Disneyland to perform with Disney's Magic Music Days ensemble and to the Kootenays with the distinguished Vivaldi Chamber Choir.
While her children were small, she kept one foot in the world of theatre by working alongside her husband, assisting in set and props construction and design for the Sardis Secondary theatre department. Eventually that involvement led her to CSOPA. In her 10 years with CSOPA, she spent four years on the board of directors, three years behind the scenes building Props and learning the ropes for set design alongside mentor Kate Whyte for Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, A Year with Frog and Toad, and Seussical the Musical. Stage Management credits include, Annie, Velveteen Rabbit, Shrek the Musical and The Addams Family.
Most recent acting credits include Wife, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Secondary Characters), Stepmother, Into the Woods (Secondary Characters) and Set Design, Oklahoma (Secondary Characters).
While musical theatre is her passion, after graduation she worked in management for different companies, including owning her own franchise. She also spent some time working in early childhood education as a nanny and in daycare settings. These experiences provided an education in managerial and administrative training, and child development. A believer in lifelong learning, Braun has taken various workshops and training courses (including vocal, theatre, stage combat, makeup, photography, digital design and special education), and these days you can find her studiously preparing to complete her degrees in Psychology/Fine Arts (Theatre) on her way to an MFA.
Braun is proud to call Chilliwack home, and when she is not working on one of her many theatre projects, she can be found with her family somewhere on the many beaches and trails in our beautiful city.
Braun said she is "honoured" to work with the amazing students, staff, board and parents at CSOPA, and has truly found her life's work.