Lisa Lacy dies at 64: Sacramento writer, actress and director founded Images Theater Co.

Longtime Sacramento-based theater maker Lisa Tarrer Lacy had a signature phrase, “living out loud,” which identified her productive life and work. Always bright, vibrant and positive, Lacy, who was the founder and executive artistic director of the Images Theater Co., died on July 22. She was 64.

Lacy came of age during the Black Arts movement of the 1970s and continually embraced the ideas of creating positive theatrical expressions for and about Black people. Her family declined to reveal the cause of her death but said it was not related to the coronavirus.

Lacy’s family moved to Sacramento from Chicago in 1967 when she was 12. She attended John F. Kennedy High School and then went on to Sacramento State where she earned both her BA and masters degrees in theater.

She was a legacy member of the legendary Sons and Ancestors Players there. Lacy also received professional training at the Richard Allen Center for Cultural & Arts in New York City and the Dance Theater of Harlem.

Her cousin, Denise Smith, said Lacy’s philosophy was “live life to its fullest. Empower and teach to those you encounter in life. Help them reach their full potential. Meet people where they are in life without passing judgment, and equip them to be the best they can be. She touched so many lives through this philosophy.”

Though she emphasized writing and directing later in her career, Lacy had more than 40 acting credits in productions across the country including New York, Oakland, San Francisco, and Sacramento. Her favorite roles were in August Wilson productions - Aunt Esther, the mysterious spiritual matriarch in “Gem of the Ocean” at Sacramento Theater Co. and Ruby, the blues singer and mother, in the Celebration Arts production of “King Hedley.”

She also directed Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” at Sacramento City College. Lacy was a proud member of Actors Equity Association, the professional union for actors.

Lacy’s lasting impact will be Images Theater Co., which she founded in 2003. She produced, co-wrote and directed 13 original plays for the company including “We Come from Greatness,” “Wings of Freedom,” “Evangelize, Everyday People - A Musical Revue,” and “The Homecoming, A Christmas Story.” In 2009, Lacy received the Elly Award for best original script for her play, “Solomon’s Storefront.”

She founded an international branch of Images in Ghana through a partnership with Street Mic Music. Her partner in Images and its musical director, Reverend Charles Cooper, said, “Her idea was to ‘Honor the Ancestors.’ She said if we don’t tell their stories, we don’t know the powerful legacy from which we’ve come from.”

Angela Gill-Thompson friend and Images board member said, “She believed in Black excellence and endeavored to achieve standards that the ancestors would be proud of. She wanted to instill a sense of pride in people and audiences left her shows with their heads held high and a sense of purpose to achieve greatness.”

From 2002-2006, Lacy was the director, co-writer/co-creator of California Musical Theater Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Project productions “Keeping the Dream Alive” and “And the Dream Goes On.”

She used theater to teach African American history

Lacy also taught theater to hundreds of children through her work with Twin Rivers Unified School District.

Cynthia Gatlin often performed with Lacy in Sons and Ancestors productions and was later directed by her in the MLK productions.

“Lisa was one of Sacramento’s secret treasures,” Gatlin said. “One of her life goals was to introduce children to the history of African Americans in this country through theater and she was so successful in doing so.”

She married Derek McGriff on June 8, 2002, but he died suddenly four years later. “His passing was very difficult for her,” Smith said. ”Lisa was very driven by her faith and her love for theater. She put even more of her time into Images and made it what it is today.”

“Even with all that she achieved I think she was most proud of the inner spiritual work she did for personal growth and development,” said Gill-Thompson. “I am convinced that her continuous spiritual improvement is what allowed her to set and achieve lofty goals and inspire others to do the same.”

Viewing is Thursday Aug. 13 noon to 7 p.m. at Morgan and Jones Funeral Home, 4200 Broadway, Sacramento. Due to COVID protocols the service will be private. A celebration of life event is planned in the future.

This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 10:56 AM.