Education
- BFA, Millikin University
- MFA, Wayne State University
- Acting Certificate, Moscow Art Theatre School, Russia
Professional Experience & Affiliations
- Member, Actors’ Equity Associate (AEA)
- Co-founder, Statera Arts
- Vice President, Greeley Creative District
Other Experience
Professional directing credits include the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, The Candlelight Dinner Theatre, Phamaly Theatre Company, Backstage Theatre Company, Little Theatre of the Rockies, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s Shakespeare in the Schools multi-state tour.
As an actor, Shelly has been a member of Actors’ Equity Association since 2007 and has performed with the Utah, Colorado, and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Paragon Theatre, Little Theatre of the Rockies, Lake Dillon Theatre Company (now Theatre Silco), and The Hilberry Repertory Theatre and The JET in Detroit, Michigan.
Shelly is also a Speech & Dialect Coach and has coached productions for The Candlelight, Arvada Center Theatre Company, and Little Theatre of the Rockies.
Research Expertise & Interests
- Gender Parity and Equity in the Arts
- Stage Dialects
- Shakespeare performance
Honors & Awards
- Best Director of a Play, Broadway World Denver 2023, A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Phamaly Theatre Company at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
- Achievements in Directing, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) for Intimate Apparel and Legacy of Light at UNC, and Compleat Female Stage Beauty at Minnesota State University Moorhead.
- Wilde Award for Best Actor, Detroit Between the Lines (A Streetcar Named Desire)
- Best Actor, Greeley Tribune (Masterclass)
- Finlayson Acting Award, Utah Shakespeare Festival