About Us
Collaborative Arts Theatre was founded in 2006 in Charlotte, North Carolina by Elise Wilkinson and Joe Copley.
In 2012, we changed our name to Charlotte Shakespeare.
We are a professional, non-profit theatre company that produces accessible, intimate, and entertaining performances of both traditional and modern classics. While Shakespeare is at the core of our repertoire, we also produce plays from other periods that reflect timeless truths about the human condition and honor Shakespeare’s genius for storytelling and language.
Each summer we produce the Charlotte Shakespeare Festival, a free Shakespeare festival in uptown Charlotte.
Elise Wilkinson - Executive/Artistic Director
Joe Copley - Managing Director
Charlotte Shakespeare is a 501c3 non-profit corporation. All donations are tax-deductible.
Help support our theatre by making a donation today.
Mailing Address
Send donations and other correspondence to
Charlotte Shakespeare
P.O. Box 32875
Charlotte, NC 28232
Awards
Outstanding Costume Design in a Drama: Suzy Hartness (King Lear)
- Metrolina Theatre Association
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy-Female: Meghan Lowther (Tartuffe)
- Metrolina Theatre Association
Outstanding Production: Comedy (Incorruptible)
- Metrolina Theatre Association
Outstanding Direction in a Comedy: Peter Smeal (Incorruptible)
- Metrolina Theatre Association
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy-Male: Joe Copley (Incorruptible)
- Metrolina Theatre Association
Best Supporting Actress, Drama: Christine Dougan
for Othello (Emilia)
- Creative Loafing's 23rd Annual Theatre Awards
Outstanding Cameo in a Drama: Alan England (Othello)
- Metrolina Theatre Association
Outstanding Costume Design in a Comedy: Erin Dougherty
(The Comedy of Errors)
- Metrolina Theatre Association
Sweet Sixteen For 2007: (Fiction, The Sublet Experiment)
- Creative Loafing's 21st Annual Theatre Awards
Best Supporting Actress, Comedy: Elise Wilkinson
for Fiction (Abby)
- Creative Loafing's 21st Annual Theatre Awards
Best Performing Arts Overachiever: Elise Wilkinson
Outstanding Comedy Production (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
- Metrolina Theatre Association
Best Free Event (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
- Charlotte Magazine
Nominations
Outstanding Perf. by an Actor - Male: Graham Smith
(King Lear)
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Male:
(King Lear)
Outstanding Perf. by an Supporting Actor - Female: Barbi van Schaick (King Lear)
Outstanding Perf. by an Supporting Actor - Female: Gretchen McGinty (King Lear)
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Male:
(King Lear)
Outstanding Cameo: Alan England (King Lear)
Outstanding Lighting Design: Trista Bremer (King Lear)
Outstanding Direction: Tim Ross (King Lear)
Outstanding Sound Design: Fred Story and Samuel Fisher
(King Lear)
Outstanding Production: King Lear
Outstanding Costume Design:
Outstanding Cameo:
Outstanding Cameo:
Exemplary Element
or Effect:
Outstanding Direction: Elise Wilkinson (Tartuffe)
Outstanding Production: Tartuffe
Outstanding Perf. by an Actor - Male: Tom Scott (Incorruptible)
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Male:
Best Supporting Actress, Comedy: Glynnis O'Donoghue (Incorruptible)
Best Supporting Actress, Comedy:
Outstanding Cameo:
Outstanding Properties Design: Peter Smeal (Incorruptible)
Outstanding Lighting Design: Andrew Fisher (Incorruptible)
Outstanding Lighting Design: Peter Smeal (Incorruptible)
Best Composer/Sound Designer: Van Coble, Jr. and Peter Smeal (Incorruptible)
Outstanding Costume Design:
Outstanding Set Design: Peter Smeal (Incorruptible)
Best Actor, Drama: Derrick Parker (Othello)
Outstanding Perf. by an Actor - Female: Jennifer Lynn Barnette (Othello)
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Male:
(Othello)
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Female:
Outstanding Perf. by an Actor - Male: Joe Copley (Othello)
Outstanding Cameo: Alan England (Othello)
Best Female Cameo:
Newcomer of the Year:
Best Director, Drama: Elise Wilkinson(Othello)
Best Male Cameo:
Outstanding Costume Design: Erin Dougherty and Luci Wilson
(Othello)
Outstanding Set Design:
Outstanding Choreography: Christy Edney (Othello)
Outstanding Musical Direction: Marty Gregory (Othello)
Best Drama (23rd Annual Charlotte Theater Awards): Othello
Best Composer/ Sound Designer: Marty Gregory and Christy Edney (Othello)
Outstanding Perf. by an Actor-Female: Andrea King
(The Comedy of Errors)
Outstanding Perf. by an Actor – Male: Adam Ewer
(The Comedy of Errors)
Best Actress, Comedy: Shon Wilson
(The Comedy of Errors)
Best Male Cameo:
(The Comedy of Errors)
Best Male Cameo:
Outstanding Cameo:
Outstanding Costume Design: Erin Dougherty (The Comedy of Errors)
Newcomer of the Year:
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Male:
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Female:
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Male:
(Twelfth Night)
Outstanding Costume Design: Erin Dougherty (Twelfth Night)
Outstanding Set Design:
Exemplary Performance: Robot Johnson (Sitcoms Live!)
Outstanding Perf. by an Actor – Female: Elise
Wilkinson
(Much
Ado About Nothing)
Outstanding Perf. by an Actor – Male: Joe
Copley
(Much
Ado About Nothing)
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting
Actor – Male: Craig
Spradley
(Much
Ado About Nothing)
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Male: Peter
Smeal
(Much
Ado About Nothing)
Outstanding Comedy Production: Much Ado About Nothing
Outstanding Direction: Alexander Harrington (Much Ado About Nothing)
Outstanding Set Design: Chris Timmons (Much Ado About Nothing)
Outstanding Lighting Design: Trista Rothe (Much Ado About Nothing)
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Female:
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Male: Peter
Smeal
(Romeo
and Juliet)
Outstanding Choreography: Corinna May (Romeo and Juliet)
Outstanding Exemplary Performance/Element: Ensemble
(Closer
than Ever)
Outstanding Musical Direction: Marty Gregory (Closer than Ever)
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting
Actor – Male: Jim
Yost
(The
Sublet Experiment)
Outstanding Comedy Production: The Sublet Experiment
Outstanding Direction: Joe Copley (The Sublet Experiment)
Outstanding Exemplary Performance/Element: Joe Copley and Elise Wilkinson (The Sublet Experiment)
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Female:
Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Female:
Exemplary Element or Effect:
Outstanding Costume Design:
Exemplary Element or Effect:
Exemplary Element or Effect:
Outstanding Perf. by an Actor - Female: Shiela Snow Proctor (Fiction)
Outstanding Perf. by an Supporting Actor - Female: Elise Wilkinson (Fiction)
Outstanding Set Design: Andrew Gibbon (Fiction)
Outstanding Perf. by an Actor - Female: Laurie Riffe (Bad Dates)
Outstanding Direction: Elise Wilkinson (Bad Dates)
Exemplary Element
or Effect:
Outstanding Production: Bad Dates
Outstanding Direction: Elise Wilkinson (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Outstanding Sound Design: Total Event Productions
(A Midsummer
Night's Dream)
- Metrolina Theatre Association
Outstanding
Perf. by an Actor - Female: Beth Yost
(A
Midsummer Night's Dream)
Outstanding Perf. by an Actor-Female: Kristen Jones
(A Midsummer Night's Dream)
Exceptional Awards Nomination: Theatre Person of the Year (2009-2010)-Elise Wilkinson
Tech of the Year Nominations (23rd Annual Charlotte Theater Awards): Christy Edney, Peter Smeal, Van Coble, Jr.
Theater Person of the Year (23rd Annual Charlotte Theater Awards): Elise Wilkinson, Peter Smeal, Shon Wilson
Exceptional Awards Nomination: Theatre Company of the Year (2009-2010)-Collaborative Arts