Elyse to direct in B Street Theatre's New Comedies Festival

Next week, Elyse will return to B Street Theatre to direct a staged reading of Below Zero by Anna Watts as part of B Street Theatre’s fourth New Comedies Festival, August 17-20.

Below Zero:

When Nellie’s high school boyfriend, Erik, goes missing in the Northwoods of Minnesota in the middle of winter, she decides to take matters into her own hands. As a stand-up comic living in New York City, Nellie has no idea how to survive in the cold Northwoods. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, she convinces Mary Anne, Erik’s current girlfriend and a dog sledding guide, to help her look for him. The two women must overcome their differences and find Erik before they all freeze to death.

The New Comedies Festival:

Four talented playwrights.

Four never-before-seen comedies.

One future mainstage production (At least!)

B Street Theatre’s New Comedies Festival is back! For this fourth annual festival, B Street asked playwrights from across the country to submit their best brand new, unproduced comedies. After more than 400 submissions and several rounds of review by dozens of script readers, they’ve chosen the top four to receive live staged readings for the first time in our Voris Mainstage Theatre!

But wait, there’s more! At least one of these new comedies will be chosen to receive a full B Street Theatre Mainstage production for the 2024 Season! You can see the selected piece from last year’s festival on the Mainstage this summer from July 5th to August 15th – Sarah Groustra’s steamy, heartwarming and hilarious INSERTION. In addition to INSERTION, B Street will produce two additional plays from last year’s festival including RESCUE ME by Company Members Peter Story and Tara Sissom and COSMO ST. CHARLES IS DEAD AND SOMEONE IN THIS ROOM KILLED HIM by Nicole Zimmerer.

Want to help us choose this year’s winner? Attend a reading of all four plays and you can vote for your favorites to help the B Street Artistic Staff decide who will get that coveted 2024 Mainstage Season slot.

Elyse to co-adapt Henry IV at Shakespeare on the Vine, also joins cast

Summer 2023 will see Elyse return to the Arden Stage at Brice Station Vineyards for a limited-run, staged-reading performance of an original adaptation of Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 1 and Henry IV Part 2.

This year, Elyse will join Kierin Harrison and Producing Artistic Director Tara Kayton in adapting two Shakespeare plays into one. Their adaptation will focus on the evolution of Prince Hal and his relationships with the father figures in his life as he faces his destiny. Elyse will also be returning as Assistant Director to Kayton. This staged reading will feature costumes, lighting, and minimal staging, however actors will be holding scripts.

In addition to these roles, Elyse will also play Hotspur, Pistol, and other roles in this ensemble production. Henry IV will run August 8-12, 2023. For tickets, visit shakespeareonthevine.org

Elyse joins the cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare on the Vine

Elyse is thrilled to return to Murphys, CA for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, presented by Shakespeare on the Vine at Brice Station Vineyards. This year, Elyse will be involved in multiple aspects of the production as the Assistant Director, Fight Captain, and now stepping in to play Puck.

Directed by Tara Kayton, this enchanting production transports William Shakespeare’s popular comedy to the 1930s and features choreography by Erin Anderson and fight direction by Sydney Schwindt.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream opens July 28th through August 20th, 2022. Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7pm. Tickets are on sale here.

Elyse Returns to Capital Stage to reprise her role in Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley

This holiday season at Capital Stage, Elyse is reprising her role as Mary Bennet, the titular character in Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s holiday hit: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley.

Elyse played the role of Mary Bennet in Capital Stage’s 2017 and 2018 productions of Miss Bennet.

For more information, including virtual and in-person tickets, visit Capital Stage’s website.

Elyse returns to the stage with Shakespeare on the Vine's Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

This summer, Shakespeare on the Vine presents The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) as a BENEFIT SHOW to help the company recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

For five nights only, Elyse will join Clocky McDowell and Tyler Mattson in the hilarious comedy originally performed by the Reduced Shakespeare Company.

5 NIGHTS ONLY!
August 3 - 7, 2021
Tuesday - Saturday evenings at 8:00pm.

Tickets are on sale now—click here!

Elyse launches Shakespeare Anyone? Podcast with Korey Leigh Smith

Elyse Sharp and Korey Leigh Smith, two self-professed Shakespeare nerds, have joined forces to launch an original podcast: Shakespeare Anyone? In each episode, they will analyze Shakespeare’s works through deep textual analysis and intersectional lenses.

For more, follow @shakespeareanyonepod on Instagram, @shakespeareany1 on Twitter, and listen at shakespeareanyone.com or where ever you find your podcasts!

Elyse joins the original cast of Capital Stage’s The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley for a special radio production

THE WICKHAMS: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY – A RADIO PLAY takes us downstairs on an auditory storytelling adventure where servants are bustling with the arrival of holiday guests. In the warmth of the Darcy kitchen, family secrets are revealed and loyalties are tested. A bright and joyous holiday tale full of your favorite Jane Austen characters, and the power of giving back to others. ELYSE SHARP, who originated the role of Mary Bennett in Capital Stage’s production of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY, joins the original cast of Capital Stage’s 2019 production of THE WICKHAMS as the Narrator.

Tickets are free and on-demand December 22-January 1, here.

Elyse Joins B Street Theatre's Virtual Programming for Families

On June 17 and June 20, Elyse joined B Street Theatre for an installment of their family-friendly COVID-19 virtual programming. Twice a month since late March, B Street Theatre has presented a fresh assortment of plays originally written by kids and performed in schools by professional actors in the long-running Fantasy Festival tour.

See the full production here.

Elyse is back at B Street Theatre for a staged reading of a new Evan Linder play

On February 23, Elyse returns to B Street Theatre’s New Play Brunch series in Jo and Liv by Evan Linder. B Street Theatre’s monthly New Play Brunch series features staged readings of new, unproduced plays alongside complimentary coffee, mimosas, and a waffle bar.

In, Jo and Liv, Liv has accepted her estranged sister Jo’s invitation to spend Christmas together with their families in New York in 1961. With years of hurt between them, they hope this can be their chance to finally exhume all the skeletons in their closets. Or at least the contentious Academy Award stuffed in the cupboard.

Evan Linder is a founding member and the former co-artistic director of Chicago’s The New Colony, a theatre company founded in 2008 devoted to world premiere plays and musicals. He works in Chicago as a playwright, actor and director. He also teaches playwriting at the University of Chicago. Evan is a proud graduate of the College of Charleston and received the Alumni of the Year award in 2016. His plays include Byhalia Mississippi, 11:11, The Warriors, The Bear Suit of Happiness, B-Side Studio and 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche

Elyse joins the cast of B Street School Tour's World Premiere of Mind-Boggling Mysteries of the World

This fall, Elyse will be bringing the magic of live theatre to children as part of B Street School Tour’s world premiere touring production of Mind-Boggling Mysteries of the World.

When her adventurer dad doesn’t return from his most recent search for the Lost City of Atlantis, Liza Robinson (Elyse Sharp) must face her many fears in order to find him. From the Amazon Rainforest, to the Great Wall of China, to the pyramids of Egypt, and eventually to the mythical city of Atlantis, Liza learns the value of teamwork, being honest, having fun, and that bravery is choosing to do something in the face of fear. This 45-minute one-act play is written by B Street Theatre Artistic Associate Sean Patrick Nill and directed by John P. Lamb.

For more than 30 years the mission of the B Street School Tour has been to provide entertainment to children while instilling in them a love for the theatre and a specific appreciation for the art of playwriting. B Street Theatre performs 12 times per week, 38 weeks per year in schools, hospitals and public places reaching approximately 200,000 children annually.

Elyse returns to B Street Theatre's New Play Brunch for "2+2+1" by Janine DeMaria

On September 22, Elyse will appear as Jeannie in a reading of Janine DeMaria’s 2+2+1 at the Sofia, Home of B Street Theatre. B Street Theatre’s monthly New Play Brunch series features staged readings of new, unproduced plays alongside complimentary coffee, mimosas, and a waffle bar.

In 2+2+1, a group of friends try to create an unorthodox family for themselves but discover through the interview of their potential surrogate, not everyone in this 'family' wants the same thing. A story about friendship, manipulation, love, growing up, moving on and letting go so that what is meant to be, can happen.

Elyse returns to Capital Stage for Playwrights' Revolutions

On July 25, Elyse will appear in Mea’s Unique Garage Sale, or What if Google Doesn’t Have the Answer? by Joël Henning Doty as part of Capital Stage’s Playwrights’ Revolution series.

Capital Stage presents its annual new works festival PLAYWRIGHTS’ REVOLUTION, a series of staged readings of new plays. As Sacramento’s leader of bold, thought-provoking theatre, Capital Stage created PLAYWRIGHTS’ REVOLUTION, to identify and develop new plays and playwrights. Each year, a handful of plays are carefully selected from hundreds of submissions. Directors and actors are selected, and audiences are invited to participate in post-reading discussions to contribute to the development of the world’s newest plays.

Mea holds a garage sale to fund her move to Texas with her online friend, Endgame. As she sets out and describes to the audience her various belongings, Mea’s experiences with anxiety, ADHD and Endgame are laid bare to await their fate. Mea’s Unique Garage Sale is a quiet yet powerful transaction between artist, audience and perceptions of mental health in our society today.

Joël Henning Doty  Having spent most of her life in Evanston, IL and a ten-year stint in Clayton, MO, Joël and her husband, Jim, have recently settled in their old stomping grounds of Ann Arbor, MI. A member of the Dramatists Guild, Joël’s one act plays have been produced around the country. Her most produced play, Action and Reaction has been seen in Los Angeles, Boston, New York, St. Louis and Sydney, Australia, among other places. It was a finalist for the Heideman award at the 2011 Humana Festival. Favorite plays include her children’s play, Furry Tales, which has been published and performed by many children’s groups and The Education of Raymond Brown, which was a semifinalist in both the Next Generation Contest sponsored by Reverie Productions, New York and in the Neal LaBute festival, St. Louis. I Am My Own Militia (a precursor to Mea’s Unique Garage Sale) was produced at the St. Louis fringe festival in 2013 and won an audience attendance award. Her YA dystopian book, The Good Citizen, was published in 2017 and won the ATAI book award for YA fiction. Her screenplay, The Flower and The Weed, won the family script award from Lowlight Pictures, 2018. She attended the Sewanee Writers conference (Beth Henley) as a Tennessee Williams scholar, Southampton Playwriting Conference, (John Patrick Shanley), and was selected for the Kennedy Center Intensive Playwriting Workshop. (Gary Garrison, Paula Vogel, Kate Snodgrass, Marsha Norman). Her credentials include a BA from University of Michigan, MBA from Temple University, MA from Northeastern Illinois and advanced playwriting at Webster University. When not writing she enjoys volunteering with Make A Wish and helping her daughter at V.I.P. Hospital Productions, promoting and selling activity books that help kids and teens communicate with their doctors. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to get feedback on Mea’s Unique Garage Sale or What if Google Doesn’t Have the Answer? and thanks to the audience for participating in this important step in a play’s development!

Elyse to appear in B Street Theatre's New Play Brunch Series

On May 26, Elyse will appear in a staged reading of “Unite The Right, A Black Comedy,” by Sam Kebede.

B Street Theatre’s monthly New Play Brunch series features staged readings of new, unproduced plays alongside complimentary coffee, mimosas, and a waffle bar.

Elyse to play title role in Shakespeare’s MACBETH

Shakespeare on the Vine has announced that Elyse will be taking on the role of Macbeth in their production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the classic Scottish tragedy of ambition, murder, and witchcraft.

Now in its fifth season, Shakespeare on the Vine brings professional artists together once a year to stage Shakespeare’s works outdoors surrounded by the beauty of California’s Gold Country. 

Macbeth will be performed August 1-24 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at Brice Station Vineyards, 3353 East Hwy. 4, Murphys, CA.