From Apprentice to Artistic Director:
Lisa K. Bryant’s Flat Rock Journey

On a humid summer morning in the mid-1990s, Lisa Bryant drove into Flat Rock for the first time. She was 19, a rising Sophomore at Elon University, and still unsure where acting might take her. The only reason she was there at all was because of a “big-deal senior” at Elon who had taken an apprenticeship at Flat Rock the previous year.

Lisa k. Bryant, Producing Artistic Director of Flat Rock Playhouse

During the Southeastern Theatre Conference that previous spring, Lisa had walked into an interview room and met two Playhouse representatives, Paige Posey and Dale Bartlett. “I can still see Paige in my mind, what she was wearing, her energy,” Lisa says. “I just liked them immediately. I didn’t know anything about the Playhouse, but I liked them.”.

When she was subsequently offered a position as a Playhouse Apprentice, her classmate was unequivocal about what Lisa needed to do. “He said, ‘If you don’t do it, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life,’” Lisa recalls. “I didn’t even know what Flat Rock Playhouse was. But when a big senior tells you something like that, you listen.”

Lisa accepted the apprenticeship and arrived in Flat Rock to find herself immersed in a professional theater environment unlike anything she had known. “Back then, apprentices worked in the shop ninety percent of the time,” she laughs. “It was hot, it was long hours, but it was amazing. I got to be in My Fair Lady, do the Sandburg shows, to perform in the Midnight Studios. It was a whole new world.”

Dennis Maulden, the Playhouse’s longtime scenic designer, remembers watching Lisa’s discovery unfold. “Even as an apprentice, Lisa loved working in the shops, learning the tools, seeing how the whole organization came together,” he remembers. “Her first tech rehearsal was a revelation—she realized theater wasn’t just about actors rehearsing. It was this massive collaboration. And that’s where her growth really started—embracing everyone’s role, giving up a little ego to honor the contributions of others. And she’s carried that spirit into everything she’s done since. There’s no one quite like Lisa in that regard.”

What struck Lisa most, though, was the caliber of the work. “I had never been around Equity actors or professional designers,” she says. “I remember thinking, this is what real theater is. It changed how I approached the rest of my college years. I went back to Elon trying to bring that same level of professionalism to everything I did.”

Lisa’s love of theater had very early roots. She grew up in a musical family with parents who encouraged her enjoyment of the performing arts. “We were always listening to musicals, going to musicals, watching musicals on TV. And I was involved in community theater starting when I was around eight years old and taking dance classes, piano lessons, voice lessons…. all the things. So it was never a question of what did I want to be when I grew up. I knew that I wanted to be in the arts.”

Finding Her Place in Flat Rock

Lisa as a PLayhouse Apprentice in the early 1990s

After earning her BFA in Musical Theatre from Elon, Lisa’s connection to Flat Rock deepened over the next decade. She returned as an intern, then as a non-Equity company member. Her breakout moment came in 2000 when she earned her Equity card playing Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street. “That was huge for me,” she says. “My first lead at Flat Rock and my Equity card—it felt like I had finally arrived.”

But the Playhouse gave her more than just stage roles; it gave her a new sense of purpose. Betsy Bisson, then head of education, suggested Lisa try teaching. “I told her, ‘I don’t want to teach—I want to act,’” Lisa says, laughing. “And she said, ‘No, you’ll be good at it, and I’ll teach you how to teach.’ She was right. I loved it.”

She discovered a particular affinity for working with college-aged students, many of them apprentices just like she had been. “They were committed, passionate, and still figuring things out,” she says. “I felt like I could help them, and that was deeply rewarding.”

By the early 2000s, Lisa was splitting her time between performing lead roles— including South Pacific and Bye Bye Birdie—and teaching apprentices year-round. But another ambition was forming: she wanted to run a collegiate musical theater program one day. “I thought I’d need a master’s degree for that, so I went back to school.”

The Fearless Years

Lisa earned her Master’s in Acting Performance at the University of Central Florida in 2006. She still describes that experience as transformative. “The undergraduates there were fearless,” she says. “They would make bold choices without hesitation. I found it inspiring, and it pushed me to up my own game.”

By then, she was married to Dr. John Bryant, currently Vice President of Operations and Support Services at UNC Health Pardee, and after completing her degree, the couple returned to Western North Carolina. Lisa resumed her dual role at Flat Rock, performing and teaching, until 2010, when the Playhouse hit what she describes as “a rough patch.” “It was just a rocky time,” she recalls. “I felt like I needed some distance.”

That distance came in the form of an unexpected job offer. Lisa had filled in as a substitute theater teacher at North Henderson High School for six weeks. When the teacher retired, the school offered Lisa the job full-time. She accepted. The next three years at North Henderson, she says, were integral in her professional development. “I was running the entire theater program by myself. It was hard, but it completely shifted my perspective. It taught me what ‘hard’ really means and how to lead.”

In 2013, Vincent Marini hired Lisa as FRP’s Associate Artistic Director, a role she accepted mainly to boost her resume for future collegiate teaching jobs. Less than a year later, however, Marini resigned and the board tapped Lisa to serve as interim artistic director. By October 2014, they offered her the job permanently. She laughs when she recalls her reaction. “I had no aspirations to be an artistic director. I didn’t even fully know what it entailed. But they asked me to help, and Flat Rock had given me so much—I couldn’t say no.”

The early years were not easy. “We were facing some significant challenges,” Lisa says bluntly. “It was emotionally exhausting, but I felt a deep responsibility to keep the Playhouse moving forward for all the people who loved it—and for the people who hadn’t yet discovered it.”

After several years of working tirelessly with staff and board members to keep Flat Rock Playhouse on an even keel, life threw another curveball in 2017: Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer.

A Reset and a New Perspective

Ironically, her cancer became an important turning point in Lisa’s career. “It forced me to slow down,” she says. “I couldn’t keep walking around frustrated all the time. I had to reset mentally.” Colleagues stepped up to help. Paige Posey left the board to join the staff and the FRP team rallied around Lisa. “It taught me to lean on others more, to trust the people around me,” Lisa says.

After successfully dealing with her cancer, more professional challenges followed. In early 2020, pre-sales were the strongest they had been in years. Then came the pandemic. But the Playhouse was ready in a way few theaters were. “Other theaters were calling us for advice,” Lisa recalls. “We’d been navigating the immense challenges of operating a regional theatre for my first six years as Artistic Director. COVID was, in a sense, just another kind of challenge.”

Today, the Playhouse is thriving with strong box office returns and a cohesive leadership team. Actor Scott Treadway, a Playhouse veteran of over 40 years, credits Lisa’s strength and passion for carrying her through the trials of managing a theatre company. “I don’t know anyone else who would have had the love and energy to endure what she did,” he says. “She’s a strong woman, and considering what she’s faced personally, it’s incredible how she’s kept this place moving forward in such a positive direction.”

An Actor’s Director

Lisa’s years as a performer shape every choice she makes as a director. “The director is the project leader,” she says. “You create the playground—work with designers to set the look and feel, cast the right people, and then guide everyone toward telling the same story.”

Lisa believes one of her greatest strengths is casting. She and Ethan Anderson, FRP Artistic Associate & Music Supervisor, typically spend two weeks in New York City each winter holding auditions for the entire upcoming season. It is a time that is both incredibly intense and crucial to the success of the season ahead. “If you cast well, fifty percent of your work is done,” she says. “I love putting ensembles together like a puzzle. Sometimes the best choices aren’t obvious, but you just know that certain people will bring out the best in each other.”

Lisa with the cast of FRP’s 2024 Christmas Show

Once in the rehearsal room with her casts, Lisa is described by her peers as an “actor’s director,” someone who values collaboration and instinct. “I like to be in the rehearsal room, listening to the rhythms, responding in real time,” she concedes. “It’s like conducting a symphony. My job is to enhance what the actors bring, not dictate every move.”

Although she and her team enter each production with a script in hand, there is room - indeed, the necessity - for interpretation and adaptation that can only happen in the presence of her cast. “I’m inspired by the actors themselves, and often I don’t know what choices I want until I see them work.” She is also the first to celebrate what the actors themselves create with their performances. “When the cast feels proud of what they’ve done, when they feel seen and supported—that’s everything to me.”

Treadway adds that Lisa’s ability to honor tradition while moving the Playhouse forward has been key to its recent success. “She embraced the old Vagabond traditions that made this place special, but she’s also pushed us into the present and the future. That balance is why the seats keep filling, especially as this area grows and younger audiences discover us.”

The Play That Goes Wrong: Controlled Chaos

Lisa’s current challenge as a director is The Play That Goes Wrong – a production that is pushing her outside her comfort zone. “It’s the antithesis of how I normally work,” she admits. “Everything is prescriptive.” What excites her most, though, is what the show reveals about the Playhouse’s technical talent. “The tech team is essentially the ninth character,” she says. “Usually, great technical work is invisible, with their professional magic largely unnoticed by the audience. Here, you can’t help but notice it. I’m thrilled for audiences to see how truly good they are.”

Lisa during rehearsals for *The Play That Goes Wrong* (2025)

She predicts audiences will love every minute of the Playhouse’s latest offering. “Comedy is hard, and this kind of farce is the hardest. But we’ve got brilliant actors who are also great comedians and a high-performance team. People are going to laugh so hard they’ll need to come back just to catch everything they missed.”

Actor Paul Vonasek, who has worked with Lisa on four very different productions, says her versatility as a director is unmatched. “Every show I’ve done with her—Macbeth, Shawshank Redemption, Cats, and now this—has been a totally different style of theater,” he says. “That’s a testament to her vision and her range. She sees beyond the moment, helping actors open up and be their best selves. I can honestly say I’m at my best when I work with Lisa.”

Lisa is particularly proud of Flat Rock Playhouse’s reputation in the industry. “When we’re in New York, actors tell us they want to work here,” she says. “That makes me proud because our reputation goes back decades, long before me.” And she is quick to credit mentors like Robin Farquhar, Paige Posey, and Scott Treadway for establishing a culture of theatrical excellence suffused in supportive kindness. “Auditioning is brutal. We want actors to feel welcome, to feel like they can do their best work when they walk into our room.”

Indeed, many guest artists arrive in Flat Rock uncertain of what to expect from a small-town theater, but invariably leave deeply moved. “They come here from New York or other big cities and a few of them arrive thinking, ‘This is just a regional gig,’” Lisa says. “But by the time they leave, they’re the ones crying hardest. They fall in love with the Playhouse, with the mountains, and with the community. That’s the magic of this place.”

Looking Ahead

Lisa starring as Sally Bowles in *Cabaret*. Flat Rock Playhouse 2024

After more than a decade at the artistic helm of Flat Rock Playhouse, Lisa is clear about her vision for the Playhouse. “I want this to continue to be a place where people grow,” she says. “A place where artists can build their resumes and skills, where technical staff can push their craft further, and where audiences are dazzled every time they walk in. I want it to stay a place where people discover what they’re capable of—maybe things they never dreamed they could do.”

For his part, Scott Treadway believes the founders would be proud of how far Lisa has carried the Playhouse. “I’ve got to believe that Robroy, Leona, and Robin Farquhar are looking down with pride and gratitude for her fighting spirit,” he says. “It’s been a lot, and she’s done it all with incredible talent and grace.”

Dennis Maulden concurs. “Lisa’s done it all in her own way,” he adds. “There’s nobody like her. Not as a director, not as a leader. She’s one of a kind.”

And, even as Lisa Bryant’s many friends and grateful colleagues celebrate her many past successes, she always has one eye on the future. “Flat Rock Playhouse gave me my start,” she says with a smile. “It helped me find myself as an artist and as a person. My job now is to make sure the next generation has the same chance.”

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Curtain Call

From its first pratfall to its last uproarious twist, the opening night of The Play That Goes Wrong was confirmation of what we’ve come to expect to see “On the Rock.” A delighted audience was treated to a cast at the top of their game, a feast of theatrical design, and non-stop technical wizardry – all wrapped in a riot of comedic brilliance that left us doubled over in our seats from laughing so much.

This is truly must-see theatre for the summer. Besides, what could possibly go wrong if you join the fun? (Spoiler Alert: plenty—but only in the most delightfully hilarious ways.)

The Play That Goes Wrong continues at Flat Rock Playhouse through August 23rd. Showtimes and ticket information here.

- Flat Rock Together