Spring ⚘ 2017

The new year has been busy so far! I've coached several plays at the Alliance Theatre: "The Temple Bombing", written & directed by Jimmy Maize of the Tectonic Project, was a wonderful challenge, giving me the opportunity to revisit multiple dialects from the civil rights era in Georgia. I also consulted on the beautiful new play "Two Heavy for Your Pocket" by Jireh Holder, and Mark Kendall's hilarious and insightful one-man show "The Magic Negro".

Here's the trailer from "The Temple Bombing":

In other theatres around town, I consulted on multiple dialects/voices for Tara Ochs on her compelling and ingenious one-woman show "White Woman in Progress" at Seven Stages, and spent an afternoon working with the four outstanding singer/actresses playing Nina Simone in Theatrical Outfit's "Simply Simone", directed by Patdro Harris.

I'm thrilled one of the films I worked on last year, Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver", was such a hit at South by Southwest. I coached both Ansel Elgort ("Baby") and Lily James, and loved working with them. Trailers have been released and the film looks like SO. MUCH. FUN. Here's the international trailer. The movie's official release is in the summer.

As a director/adaptor, I did Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" for GTA as part of our February Festival repertory of plays, and, as I knew the director, um, really well... also got to play the role of Leonata. I always love directing for GTA, with our mix of professional actors and designers and excellent student actors. I brought up my friend and frequent collaborator, the professional actor/playwright Brian Kurlander, to play Don Pedro, and we had a blast. Audiences loved it with most shows being sold to the rafters. You can see a photo from the play on my Directing page.

I had another opportunity to be on stage for a bit when I participated in the first annual MoJo Festival, given by the Jo Howarth Newnan Foundation for the Performing Arts. The Foundation is a new non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and celebrating women theater artists over the age of forty. I acted in a staged reading of Topher Payne's new play "Morningside" and served on the discussion panel for the event. I was honored to be among Atlanta's finest women actors, directors and playwrights.

For more about the foundation, you can go to

https://www.johowarthnoonan.org/

More soon! Thanks for your interest.

Elisa C.