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As musicians, artists and fellow Cornish graduates, Lisa and Jose have one of those enviable partnerships. It is reflected in their music, acting and writing, even in the garden that flourishes in their backyard. It is evident in their marriage of 14 years. Art and the art of collaboration infuse nearly every aspect of their lives.

Lisa is an award-winning screenwriter and film producer. Jose is an actor, musician and composer with a long list of credits to his name. Individually, they are potent creative forces. Together, they're a genuine dynamic duo. In fact, it was a fateful encounter at Cornish that paved the way for this extraordinary partnership.

Jose first visited Cornish as a senior in high school. He was touring classes - trying to decide whether he wanted to attend Cornish - and was invited to observe a performance class. That's where Jose spotted Lisa, a second-year theater student at the time, on stage, performing a scene. It's no exaggeration to say it was love at first sight. Well... at least for Jose. "I was smitten," he says. "I fell in love with her right then."

Not surprisingly, Jose decided to attend Cornish to study acting. And it wasn't long before he and Lisa crossed paths. Jose landed a work study job running lights for the Theater Department's senior projects. Meanwhile, Lisa was assigned to stage-manage a friend's project. According to Lisa, upon meeting, they instantly became friends.

Throughout their two years at school together they became close confidants and casual collaborators. Though they didn't have classes together, they brainstormed the acting challenges they faced. Discovering their mutual love for music, they would occasionally sneak into a rehearsal room, where Jose would play piano and Lisa would sing.

After graduating, Jose pursued work in the regional theaters, starting with an acting internship at Intiman Theatre. He and Lisa performed for the first time together in a production of Dracula at the Sun Valley Repertory Theater.

For the most part, Lisa focused on the world of self-generated theater - writing, acting and producing shows that appeared in the Seattle Fringe Festival, the New City Theater Playwright's Festival, the Allegro! New Works Festival and Bumbershoot. While these pieces found Lisa doing more creative writing, "I never thought of myself as a writer," she says.

In 1993, Lisa and Jose signed up for the ultimate collaboration - marriage. But two weeks after their wedding, Lisa's mother died of cancer. "When my mom died, my interest in acting did, too," says Lisa. "It was hard enough to be myself; I couldn't imagine trying to be somebody else."

She stopped auditioning and didn't create any shows. Instead, she worked retail and wondered if her creative life was over. But throughout this experience, she found comfort in journaling. It was her friend and fellow Cornish graduate, Brendan Fraser who, a few years later, suggested that perhaps she should focus on writing. Taking his advice to heart, Lisa wrote her first screenplay. "I was on fire for the first time since my mom died," she says. "When I finished, it hit me: 'Oh. I'm a writer.' It was one of the big epiphanies of my life."Although they had just purchased their Seward Park house, Jose encouraged Lisa to quit her job and pursue a career as a writer. "It was amazing," Lisa says. "My friend, Jose, said, 'You're a wonderful writer.' He totally believed in me even when I didn't."

Soon, Lisa was getting writing work - corporate videos for Microsoft, a TV pilot for the National Geographic Channel and content for various Web sites. Simultaneously, she honed her craft as a screenwriter and produced various short and feature films - White Face, which was purchased by HBO, 8 Minutes to Love, starring Sandra Oh, and Inheritance, among them.

Jose Gonzales in "Tempo of Recollection", Erwin Schulhoff Festival. Photo by Michelle Smith-Lewis

At the same time, Jose's life as a performer was branching off in a new direction. Though he was getting work as an actor, he felt he was spending too much time waiting to be creative. "I started playing piano around town which was a great way to get out my performance needs," says Jose, who studied piano since he was eight years old. These days, both Lisa and Jose pursue their artistic passions. Jose has found that his work as a musician enhances his career as an actor. "My favorite is when I can do both - perform as an actor and a musician," he says. He's done just that with parts in Big Love at ACT, Our Town at Intiman and Tempo of Recollection at Cornish, playing famed composer/pianist Erwin Schulhoff. He also leads the Jose Gonzales Trio - a jazz group that performs the first Saturday of every month at St. Clouds.

Lisa Halpern

Meanwhile, Lisa's screenplay Eight Items or Less - inspired by her experience with her mother's death - won second place in the 2005 Washington State Screenwriting Competition. It also has earned attention from both Drew Barrymore's and Garth Brooks' film production companies, and it has inspired Gold Crest Films (the production company behind Chariots of Fire and The Killing Fields) to promise finishing funds to the project. Lisa also has been tapped by Paul Allen's Vulcan Productions to write a screenplay. Another screenplay, Bittersweet, has been given staged readings in Seattle and L.A. and was optioned by Lockspring Pictures. In addition, Lisa produced Inlaws and Outlaws, a feature documentary that showed at the Seattle International Film Festival, won "Best of Fest" at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and began its theatrical run in L.A. in May

Throughout all these endeavors, says Jose, "We are completely supportive of each other - it makes all the difference."

Lisa and Jose take every opportunity they can to collaborate on projects. When Lisa struggles over a scene in a screenplay, she takes it to Jose. "We'll take it off the page and improvise until we nail it," she says.

"Any music I write," Jose adds, "I pass by her ears and eyes." They've worked together on many projects, including Guerrilla Gardener - a Telly Award-winning TV pilot that Lisa wrote, directed and produced, and for which Jose acted and composed the soundtrack.

When they aren't singing, acting or writing, you can find Lisa and Jose in their backyard. Here, a riot of roses, delphiniums and poppies have grown into a magnificent secret garden.

Inspired by Monet, Jose took up gardening as yet another chance to express himself artistically. A confirmed "plantaholic," Jose explains, "The garden is always changing. It deals with color, shape, form and light. It's creative and scientific at the same time."

For Lisa, the garden is a retreat. "I go out there to get grounded so I can go back inside and write," she says.

The garden, the music, the acting and writing are current elements of a rich, collaborative life. "We are lucky enough to be creative every day and to have this love," Lisa says. "We share both, and that rocks."

by Winda Benedetti