Lisanne Shaffer is originally from North Carolina where she received a BFA in Musical Theater from East Carolina University in 2003. While studying Musical Theater at ECU, she subsequently completed a 2- year training in the Sanford Meisner technique.  Lisanne spent much of her early career touring with regional theater companies, directing her friends’ showcases in New York City and serving as the theater director for Camp Wicosuta in New Hampshire.  She received her MS in Educational Theater from the City College of New York in 2015.

Lisanne began her work at Brooklyn High School of the Arts in 2015 where she has loved bringing her acting technique work into the classroom as well as sharing her directing talents.  She teaches all of the 9th grade acting classes along with running the musical theater program. Lisanne’s productions have received numerous accolades including being selected for the prestigious Shubert High School Theater Festival three times with “ A Raisin in the Sun”, “Almost Maine” and most recently “Fame!” 

In 2020, Lisanne received the Arthur Miller Foundation Award for Excellence in Arts Education. Lisanne has also served as the lead high school theater teacher at the Summer Arts Institute, lead teacher at Lincoln Center’s middle school bootcamp,  as a professional development leader with the Office of Arts and Special Projects and as an adjunct instructor in The City College of New York’s program in Educational Theater. She currently resides in Brooklyn with her fiancé.

• Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Theater Classroom

• A Beginner's Guide to Decolonizing the Curriculum

• Inclusive Ensemble Building 

• A Paradigm Shift: Acting Training the Loving Way