We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shelly Elman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shelly below.

Alright, Shelly thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

It’s important to take risks as a director, and as an educator it’s as important to role model that mindset to students. Don’t get me wrong, telling the story clearly is paramount. But a director must have the confidence to take risks, and the fortitude to feel the discomfort of being vulnerable when artistic choices are shared with actors, designers, and finally the audience. Yet, it’s also important to teach that a director’s concept must be in support of telling the story. The director’s concept must allow for risk taking, but first and foremost it must help connect the message of the play/production to the audience. The director’s concept must not occur in replacement of telling the story. It’s a fine line.

When teaching about various processes to developing a character, or formulating an approach and vision for a production, I believe that we as educators must practice what we preach. In coaxing and cajoling students to make strong character or design or directorial choices, instructors have to be willing to fail when we make our own choices as artists. If we challenge our students as artists, we hope that our students will likewise challenge us.

I’ve been teaching acting and directing for over 25 years. In those years I directed at least 25 plays and/or musicals and the rehearsal space has always been a place of great comfort and solace. It’s a safe and holy place to be able to take risks, to show vulnerability. I’ve been so fortunate to collaborate with colleagues, comprised of UWG students, faculty, and guest artists, who continually challenge me and who accept my challenges to them. It’s a wonderful place to create, and to take risks.

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

I received my BFA in Performance from Illinois Wesleyan University. The first summer after graduation, I did what students are always told not to do: I sent out 25 cover letters and resumes to theatre companies across the country in application for stage management jobs. Luckily, I got a job offer from the Academy Theatre in Atlanta. It was the year the Academy moved from a former cinema to a brand new space on the corner of 14th and Juniper streets. It was at the Academy where I got my Equity card. After three years there, I decided to go to grad school for Directing at Wayne State University’s Hilberry Repertory Theatre in Detroit, MI. At the Hilberry we ate, drank, and slept Theatre, learning to talk about our own developing theatrical aesthetic, but also learning the valuable lessons of working in a repertory theatre, where in the span of a week, three different shows performed on the same stage.

Once I earned my MFA, I went to Chicago and Rockford, IL where I stage managed and directed at various theatres. Growing tired of the severe, cold Midwest winters, and remembering fondly the mild winter weather in Atlanta (it astounded me how it could snow, thunder, and lightening at the same time), I decided to move back to Atlanta. I immediately and luckily got a job as the yachting venue stage manager for the Olympics in Savannah. I then applied for a teaching position at UWG, where a former faculty member at Wayne State was now teaching, and got the job!

My journey in theatre has also included being part of a show that went to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and traveling for work and play. My career as a director and educator is all about the advice a good friend from college gave me many years ago: “Face your fears!”

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Working in theatre takes training. In developing new degree programs I often have to go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics to research employment prospects. The BLS gives training needed for all occupations, and for actors it says no degree required. While this might be true for the lucky few, most theatre professionals have at least an undergraduate degree under their belts, if not a graduate degree.

Also, theatre is a vital part of a community’s culture. It mirrors life, and life mirrors theatre. It has a lot to contribute to society’s discussion and should be taken a bit more seriously in this country.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

To continue to learn with each show I direct and class I teach. To challenge myself and those with whom I collaborate each time I direct.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.westga.edu/profile.php?emp_id=413
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/shellyelman

Image Credits
Steven Broome (production shots)