Leisa is currently starring as Peter in PETER PAN for the Pacific Repertory Theatre, and she is delighted to perform in the beautiful Outdoor Forest Theatre, where Neverland truly exists for the audience. Leisa has traveled to Neverland many times in the past, having starred as "Wendy" opposite Cathy Rigby's PETER on a US Tour. She then went on to play Peter himself (herself!) at the Huron Country Playhouse, Canada's third largest summer theatre.

PETER PAN Pacific Repertory Theatre

When asked what her favorite part of PETER PAN is, Leisa laughs and replies, without hesitation, "The flying! It's every child's dream to fly and in this show, we are lucky enough to live out our dreams. Our first flying rehearsals were a bit painful as our bodies 'toughened up,' but it's worth every bit of pain! Flying is exhilarating!"

Leisa Way

In her native Canada, Leisa has played her fair share of 12-year-old roles, perhaps because of her size, five feet nothing and under a hundred pounds. She is perhaps best known as the star of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, Canada's longest-running show, a role she played for six seasons at the Charlottetown Festival, including United States, Canadian and six tours to Japan, where Anne is so popular, that there is a fan club in Leisa's name. During the Second World War, "Anne of Green Gables" was translated into Japanese, and young girls would hide this novel about a free-spirited young girl, knowing the book would be burned if it was found during those times of repression.

Leisa relates the character of Anne of Green Gables to that of Peter Pan, "Both of these children have experienced hardships in life and they retaliate by disappearing into their imaginations...they won't let life get them down. Instead, they turn the simplest events into great adventures. They are both incredibly spirited children, who draw others into their spell. Neither Anne nor Peter wants to grow up and be boring and serious. As Peter says (via James Barrie in the novel), ‘to die would be an awfully great adventure.’"

Leisa has enjoyed being here, in Carmel. She explains, "This has been a wonderful adventure! The Pacific Repertory Theatre has such a great team of creative people, all working together to bring to life the magic of Peter Pan. And I can't imagine a more perfect setting - anywhere - than the beautiful Forest Theatre. Putting it all together is our director, Walt DeFaria, who gives out a wonderful energy that I think draws people to him and inspires his actors to give him only their best. It's a wonderful quality to have in a director. He directs with a firm hand, but with an open heart, and he really does bring out the best in these kids."

"The challenge for me as an actress (an actress who is nowhere near 12 years old!) is to become that little boy who is almost endearing in his refusal to grow up. If the audience can suspend their disbelief and forget that I'm a woman, if only for a little while, then I feel I've succeeded. Working with the children in this show is a very eye-opening experience. During rehearsals I spent a lot of time 'researching' and watching some of the little boys in the cast. I consciously stole some of their mannerisms to incorporate into my portrayal of Peter. Children are fascinating to watch, because their reactions to everything around them are so honest. They haven't yet learned to be on guard the way adults are. It's so refreshing. In rehearsals, they still got excited and clapped and screamed wildly when, I, as Peter, appeal to the audience to save Tinker Bell. They are smart enough to know its make-believe and yet, they are still kids who want to believe.

"It's times like this that I marvel at how lucky I am to have made what I absolutely LOVE to do into a career. This is my 20th year in this business - making a living at ‘play-acting.’ I can't imagine going to an office every day for the last twenty years to a job that merely sustained me...I mean, in my heart and my soul.

"My motto is, ‘Life is too short not to say "Yes!" to adventure.’ This amazing career has taken me to over 40 countries in the last ten years alone - to places I could never afford to go to on my own. In the last two years, I spent four months touring CRAZY FOR YOU in South America, 6 months starring in the off-Broadway play I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE!, starred in the premiere of a Leslie Arden musical at two different theatres in Canada, performed my Cabaret show in the South Pacific, Japan and South America....my mind boggles when I think of how much traveling I've packed in to such a short time - and now, I'm here in Carmel! I have an aunt living in San Jose, so the time here has been a great opportunity to get to know the next generation - all my cousins kids!

"I think the hardest thing about this business is the time spent away from family and friends. You really have to make an effort to stay in close touch and that can be hard in some out of the way places, but I have found great email cafes in the smallest towns, even in Equador, Chile and Argentina. And, my husband and I should have shares in an airline....

"The most rewarding thing about this business? On the surface, it's obvious - we love the reaction of a live audience... that incredible sense of joy we all get from performing...from nailing that great laugh line...or knowing that you have succeeded in moving the audience to tears .... or finishing a song and hearing that wonderful pause before the applause starts.... But, besides all that.... I think the most rewarding thing is the friendships we make. Sometimes performers are thrown together for a long time and sometimes, you are only together for a month or two - but the key to success onstage is teamwork and thespians are incredibly supportive of each other. It is necessary to bond much quicker than people in most other businesses. It's sad that some people can work at the same company for years and know very little about each other. In theatre we tend to live in each others pockets (especially touring on the road!) and the friendships that develop are definitely treasures."