Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisina Stoneburner.
Hi Lisina, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Lisina Stoneburner, born Lisina Russo, is a native New Yorker. Raised in Manhattan, Lisina began her love for the theatre with her grandmother who took her to see shows while still in elementary school. Having several relatives in the arts and entertainment industry, from musicians to composers, screenwriters, and actors, Lisina was always surrounded by artists in the middle of creating and working.
Lisina attended her first acting Conservatory at the age of 12 when she went to The Stella Adler Conservatory in New York. After that, she continued on to The School of Performing Arts and then Boston University. After brief working stints in Seattle and Los Angeles, Lisina found herself in Atlanta.
In 1996 she opened The Company Acting Studio, a conservatory-styled training school for kids, teens, and adults that teaches acting and auditioning for film, television, and stage.
Over the years, the school has grown to one of the most sought after programs in the Southeast.
Lisina has been a huge part of the arts and entertainment community over the years. Co-founding Actors Expo the Southeast trade show for actors, spending two years on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts. Housing the southeast’s most successful acting program for almost 30 years, Lisina’s students have gone on to excellent college programs, to star on Broadway, and are regularly working in films, TV, on stage, and in commercials.
Never deviating from a strong curriculum and never giving in to shortcuts or flashy business tactics, Lisina has stayed true and made her integrity as a business owner her main priority. She always intends to give actors what they need, an honest education.
Today, Lisina along with her husband John Stoneburner, run the school, and its workshops and lessons are available year-round.
In addition, a very exciting new development is the workshops Lisina is bringing to Savannah starting in 2023!!! Lisina is doing several of her signature Acting Auditioning Workshops and will be partnering with her Tony Award Winning aunt Dinah Manoff (star of Grease and Empty Nest) to offer specialty workshops as well. You don’t want to miss these!
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
If you are willing to be flexible, then the obstacles and challenges you face are easier to accept. People change, the industry you are in changes, the world changes and you have to find how you still fit in. Then you can work with the current instead of against it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Lisina is known not only for her work with artist inside the studio but also on set as an acting coach for films and television shows. Lisina is always humbled when hired to work on set. Having worked with some of the top directors and actors in this business, being hired by Julie Plec, Emmy Award-winning director Todd Holland and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Katori Hall are among her most humbling achievements. To be trusted by these artists is not to be taken lightly. Particularly proud of her work with The Vampire Diaries franchise, Lisina has made strong relationships with producers, writers, and actors that she still has and feels very proud of the part she played in the long-term success of these shows. It is the relationships with the artists and crew and the mutual respect she has with them that she holds most dear.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Finding people you trust is a real gift. Lisina has learned that you get what you give off. Same with any relationship. You will attract people based on who you are. Stay honest, have a work ethic that cannot be matched, be ready and willing to do the work, all of the work, and be humble, and you will attract people who want to get to know and help you. Leave your expectations and ego at the door. Anger and entitlement will get you nowhere. Enjoy what you do or find something else to do. Remember to be a team player and realize you are only a small part of a whole. Every part of the machine has its job. Do yours well, learn more every day and keep getting better at what you do, and people will want to help you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thecompanyactingstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecompanyactingstudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCompanyActingStudio
- Other: www.lisina-stoneburner.com
