We recently connected with Lisa Cohen and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lisa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

I love this question, because this is what my daughter asked me to consider last year as I was on the verge of making a big business decision of opening my new children’s party facility. I have owned and operated my own business for 36 years and it has taken on many manifestations, but the main focus of what I want to leave behind is the message of the power and importance of creativity for children and the adults they become.

My most recent children’s book, Tulie the T-Rex Ballerina is really my story. I wanted to be a Ballerina, and there were always people that told me that was probably not the most practical idea, which is kind of true, but I perservered in my pursuit of a career in dance and acting. I was able to dance with a ballet company in Denver, get my degree in acting, did some professional regional theatre, all the while teaching children dance and theatre through the Denver Public School system. When I moved to Los Angeles I started Dance On Wheels, a mobile after school arts program and from there I devoted my life to not only performing, but nurturing the creative spirit in the children I taught. I started peforming as a variety theatrical performer at parties, arts organizations, and events and then started Creative Parties For Kids. I would often create stories for the children I taught or performed for….many of these later became my books.
However, my greatest legacy is my daughter. I have had a lot of roles in my life, but the role of being a Mother is my far the greatest honor I have ever had. My daughter, Leah, embodies all of the hope, talent and wisdom that any Mom could hope for, she is a talented actress, writer, and director, but most of all she is kind and creative. I am very blessed and so is the world, to have such a being in our midst.

As I have gotten older my new dream is a little slower paced. I would love to find success as a children’s author that writes and creates picture books with important messages, as well as to create a guide to creative parenting and of course, party and celebration planning.
I want to be a successful children’s author and create stories that inspire children to be kind and creative.
I am a successful entertainer and entrepreneur but that is magic that will dissipate when I am gone, the stories, my story will live on…hopefully.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Lisa Karen Cohen, I am 62 years young, and am a trained dancer, actress, author and arts education specialist.
I got into my industry at a young age when I was asked to teach the little ones ballet at my dance studio as part of my scholarship. My Mother was a single mom and could not afford the 6-8 classes per week that I took, so I started teaching baby ballet. I loved it, I made up stories and used my imagination to translate how to accomplish dance technique by using imagery, pretend and heart. I loved seeing the children feel the same joy dance gave me. Teaching little ones at dance studios and at public schools became a side job that helped to support me through college and my early performing career.

Once I moved to Los Angeles, I realized that I was an awful waitress, and one day on the way home from a job teaching aerobics, I saw a preschool and the idea of Dance On Wheels popped into my head. I was going to create a mobile arts and dance school that went to children in their school environment, just like I did in Colorado. The business powered by my energy and passion, along with some very magical music a dear love composed for me, grew like wildfire and within 3-4 years I had 20 teachers at 45 schools throughout Los Angeles.

About that time folks started doing fancy kids parties. One of the moms of one of my dance students was a caterer, and was an advocate of healthy food and so she started a company called Sugar Free Fun Parties, she asked me to work with her and provide the entertainment. Creative Parties For Kids was born in 1986. The business complimented each other. I sewed costumes, danced in peoples living rooms and backyards , pretending to be everything from a fairy, mouse or unicorn. The company started to focus on tea parties, and Alice In Wonderland. I LOVE ALICE and soon enough we were featured on a CBS program called The Home Show. That appearance launched the company.

I have been working at this for many years, through my twenties, through marriage, having a beautiful daughter, and a pretty dramatic divorce. My lovely daughter is a professional actress, writer and producer.
I have my own location for parties now, teach classes and our company provides entertainment for large venues such as Westfield Century City, Bella Terra Mall, oh so many places and parties. Our location is called Play & Parties, and our main business is called Creative Parties For Kids, with seasonal companies called Santa Claus OC and Easter Bunny OC .

I hope to franchise this all someday and then be able to write and publish my life story, children’s books and even my Jewish kids Chanukah Musical, “Hannah, Hershele and the Magic of Chanukah.”
Looking forward to some time in the garden and a little slower pace someday soon.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In 2017 my business was burned to the ground. All that was left of all the costumes, many of my dear personal memories and my Grandmother’s Steinway piano, my only really valuable and oh so precious instrument was in the fire.
The fire was an arson, lit by an angry performer who I let go due to a sexual harrassment allegation.
I did not realize that my insurance only covered the building and not the contents of the warehouse. It was at the moment that I had to literally crawl out of the ashes and reinvent myself as a much stronger, even more reslient human being.

I was surrounded by wonderful people, we had 20 parties to do the next day, my entertainers showed up in borrowed costumes and even some heroes in street clothes, to facilitate the events scheduled. It was a long way forward but this moment….already 7 years ago defined me as a strong woman. We started with a 5 thousand dollar GO FUND ME and costume by costume, party by party rebuilt the business. I had a beautiful large warehouse, and I had to go back to running it out of my apartment living room. One of my dear friends wrote my a saying about Rising Like A Phoenix and being strong like a tree. Roots down and Branches Up!
We all did it….and now we have a beautiful location where we do the parties here as well as it has a warehouse for all the costumed characters we send out.

I learned so much from that experience, to not allow toxic people around me, to listen to my loved ones and to know the power of our collective resilience

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

How I met my current business partner is another good story ! One of the many phases of my business was my “Bunny Foo Foo Storylady ” period. In about 2006 ish my daughter went to a new school, and one of her new friends gave her a bunny and then another friend gifted us another one, well we all know what happens next. On top of being a single mom entrepreneur, running a crazy business, looking after my aging Mother’s doctor appoinments and dealing with a less that storybook divorce I now had like 20 bunnies. In attempt to keep the Mom bunny nursing, one day I took the babies and the mom to my job as a Storyteller at a local children’s bookshop in Newport Beach. When asked why I had 6 rabbits with me I responded by picking up the mom bunny using her a prop and telling the story of “Little Bunny Foo Foo”.
Well, that was a moment that changed my life. Little Bunny Foo Foo became a thing. I was telling that at so many shops, parties and events it was nuts. I remember Kobe Bryant bringing his kids to hear me tell stories. It grew into a fairly profitable thing and I was making $250 per party singing this song with a bunny.
One day I was asked to be interviewed as an interesting person on a Time Warner Cable show. I went and did the interview and the director of the show was John Cox, and this adorable man asked if I would be interested in hosting my own children’s public access cable show and he would produce it. Well, he did and it was a AWESOME….
The StoryLady’s Magic Book was filmed at Time Warner Cable and ran for a few years. He became an integral part of my life and is probably one of the most amazing, talented, kind and genuine people I will ever know.
He has changed my life.
After the fire I was so devastated, he helped me and became my business partner. He is more than that, he is my dearest friend and cares for me more than anyone ever has. I am so blessed.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.storyladysmagicbook.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativepartiesforkids
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playandparties
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/storyladysmagicbook
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/creativepartiesforkids

Image Credits

John Cox, Photographer