.ANNA ABHAU ELLIOTT
AnnaAbhau at gmail.com // www.AnnaAbhau.com
Bio
Anna Abhau Elliott (she/her/hers) works as an artist and amateur historian to create new performances both on and far, far off stage. She seeks to create a radical community theater: how can a performance serve the people in that place? She grew up in Philadelphia, worked as a theatre person in New York, and then moved to South Carolina, where she started making pieces that look less like theatre and more like social practice. She is currently an MFA candidate in Studio Art at UNC Greensboro. More at
In New York, her plays have been developed by Fresh Ground Pepper and Dutch Kills Theatre Company. She has created devised works with The Assembly, with whom she is an associate artist. In 2015, Anna was awarded a residency in Spartanburg, SC to be the city’s Theatre Artist-in-Residence. There, the Spartanburg Little Theatre produced “Ghost Variations.” The Chapman Cultural Center and the Spartanburg County Public Library co-produced “Untitled Reconstruction Project,” a theater piece presented in association with Speaking Down Barriers, local anti-racism non-profit.
In addition to Anna’s work as a playwright, she has worked extensively as a producer of independent theatre in Spartanburg. She co-founded Scrappy Shakespeare, a theater company dedicated to bringing free Shakespeare to the city. Now in its fifth season, Scrappy Shakespeare has performed for hundreds of people across the Upstate of SC. Anna was selected by the South Carolina Arts Commission to build her improv troupe, Sparkle City Improv, into a small business through a seed grant and business training. Anna has taught master classes in Shakespeare and Improv at University of South Carolina-Upstate and Converse College.
From college until 2015, Anna lived in New York City, where she focused on devising new works and performing. She has performed at The Whitney Biennial (Andrea Geyer’s "Comrades of Time"), The Public Theater (600 Highwaymen’s "The Record"), PS122, The Living Theatre, The Bushwick Starr, and many others. She has worked with The Assembly since 2010, with whom she developed "Seagullmachine" (La MaMa E.T.C.) and "HOME/SICK" (New York Times Critic’s Pick).
Since 2016, Anna is 1/3 of RADAR Art, a multi-disciplinary group that bridges the gap between contemporary art and the general public. Their biggest project, "Barter Boat," is a carnival stand that invites passersby to barter for miniature sculptures. "Barter Boat" has visited 10 cities across the USA, and was selected as a juried semi-finalist at ArtPrize 2018.
Education
New York University: Tisch School of the Arts - BFA in Drama, 2011
Founder's Day Award
Selected Performances
BARTER BOAT (with RaDaR Art Collective)
BLINK, Cincinnati OH, October 2019
The Momentary at Crystal Bridges, Bentonville AR, October 2019
Fr8 Yard, Spartanburg SC, May/June 2019
ArtPrize, Grand Rapids MI, September/October 2018 (Juried Semi-Finalist)
BreckCreate, Breckenridge CO, July 2018
Canal Convergence, Scottsdale AZ, February/March 2018
Art on the Beltline, Atlanta GA, October 2017
Artscape, Baltimore MD, July 2017
IN light IN Festival, Indianapolis IN, August 2016
Northern Spark Festival, Minneapolis MN, June/July 2016
SCRAPPY SHAKESPEARE
Much Ado About Nothing, May/June 2019
Romeo and Juliet, June 2018
Twelfth Night, June 2017
A Midsummer Night's Dream, June 2015
KEEP THIS FOR YOUR RECORDS
University of South Carolina-Upstate/IYAF Kingston, Full Production, London, UK & Spartanburg, SC, July 2019
Dutch Kills Theater Company, Reading, New York City, September 2014 (dir. Annie Tippe)
SEAGULLMACHINE (with The Assembly)
LaMama E.T.C. New York, NY, March/April 2018
Clemente Soto Velez Center, New York, NY, June 2014
UNTITLED RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT (with Speaking Down Barriers)
Wofford College, Staged Reading, March 2018 (dir. Crystal Irby)
Spartanburg County Public Library, Full Production, October 2017 (dir. Crystal Irby)
Spartanburg Little Theatre, Full Production, May 2016 (dir. Chandler Crawford)
HOME/SICK (devised with The Assembly)
JACK, Full Production, New York NY, March 2017 (dir. Jess Chayes)
The Odyssey Theatre, Full Production, Los Angeles, June 2016 (dir. Jess Chayes)
Wesleyan University, Full Production, Middletown CT, January 2014 (dir. Jess Chayes)
The Living Theatre, undergroundzero festival, New York City, Full Production, October 2012
TAKING TEA (with Patric Phillips)
Spartanburg Art Museum, Spartanburg, SC 2016
COLD WAR/M UP (with Desiree Moore & Robin Schwartzman)
Art Shanty Projects, Minneapolis, MN 2016
OLDIES BUT GOODIES (with Desiree Moore)
Hub-Bub Showroom, Spartanburg, SC 2015
GHOST VARIATIONS
Dutch Kills Theater Company, Reading, New York City, November 2015 (dir. Daniel Dabdoub)
Fresh Ground Pepper, Reading, New York City, August 2015
Spartanburg Little Theater, Workshop Production, June 2015
Grants & Awards
Residencies
AnnaAbhau at gmail.com // www.AnnaAbhau.com
Bio
Anna Abhau Elliott (she/her/hers) works as an artist and amateur historian to create new performances both on and far, far off stage. She seeks to create a radical community theater: how can a performance serve the people in that place? She grew up in Philadelphia, worked as a theatre person in New York, and then moved to South Carolina, where she started making pieces that look less like theatre and more like social practice. She is currently an MFA candidate in Studio Art at UNC Greensboro. More at
In New York, her plays have been developed by Fresh Ground Pepper and Dutch Kills Theatre Company. She has created devised works with The Assembly, with whom she is an associate artist. In 2015, Anna was awarded a residency in Spartanburg, SC to be the city’s Theatre Artist-in-Residence. There, the Spartanburg Little Theatre produced “Ghost Variations.” The Chapman Cultural Center and the Spartanburg County Public Library co-produced “Untitled Reconstruction Project,” a theater piece presented in association with Speaking Down Barriers, local anti-racism non-profit.
In addition to Anna’s work as a playwright, she has worked extensively as a producer of independent theatre in Spartanburg. She co-founded Scrappy Shakespeare, a theater company dedicated to bringing free Shakespeare to the city. Now in its fifth season, Scrappy Shakespeare has performed for hundreds of people across the Upstate of SC. Anna was selected by the South Carolina Arts Commission to build her improv troupe, Sparkle City Improv, into a small business through a seed grant and business training. Anna has taught master classes in Shakespeare and Improv at University of South Carolina-Upstate and Converse College.
From college until 2015, Anna lived in New York City, where she focused on devising new works and performing. She has performed at The Whitney Biennial (Andrea Geyer’s "Comrades of Time"), The Public Theater (600 Highwaymen’s "The Record"), PS122, The Living Theatre, The Bushwick Starr, and many others. She has worked with The Assembly since 2010, with whom she developed "Seagullmachine" (La MaMa E.T.C.) and "HOME/SICK" (New York Times Critic’s Pick).
Since 2016, Anna is 1/3 of RADAR Art, a multi-disciplinary group that bridges the gap between contemporary art and the general public. Their biggest project, "Barter Boat," is a carnival stand that invites passersby to barter for miniature sculptures. "Barter Boat" has visited 10 cities across the USA, and was selected as a juried semi-finalist at ArtPrize 2018.
Education
New York University: Tisch School of the Arts - BFA in Drama, 2011
Founder's Day Award
Selected Performances
BARTER BOAT (with RaDaR Art Collective)
BLINK, Cincinnati OH, October 2019
The Momentary at Crystal Bridges, Bentonville AR, October 2019
Fr8 Yard, Spartanburg SC, May/June 2019
ArtPrize, Grand Rapids MI, September/October 2018 (Juried Semi-Finalist)
BreckCreate, Breckenridge CO, July 2018
Canal Convergence, Scottsdale AZ, February/March 2018
Art on the Beltline, Atlanta GA, October 2017
Artscape, Baltimore MD, July 2017
IN light IN Festival, Indianapolis IN, August 2016
Northern Spark Festival, Minneapolis MN, June/July 2016
SCRAPPY SHAKESPEARE
Much Ado About Nothing, May/June 2019
Romeo and Juliet, June 2018
Twelfth Night, June 2017
A Midsummer Night's Dream, June 2015
KEEP THIS FOR YOUR RECORDS
University of South Carolina-Upstate/IYAF Kingston, Full Production, London, UK & Spartanburg, SC, July 2019
Dutch Kills Theater Company, Reading, New York City, September 2014 (dir. Annie Tippe)
SEAGULLMACHINE (with The Assembly)
LaMama E.T.C. New York, NY, March/April 2018
Clemente Soto Velez Center, New York, NY, June 2014
UNTITLED RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT (with Speaking Down Barriers)
Wofford College, Staged Reading, March 2018 (dir. Crystal Irby)
Spartanburg County Public Library, Full Production, October 2017 (dir. Crystal Irby)
Spartanburg Little Theatre, Full Production, May 2016 (dir. Chandler Crawford)
HOME/SICK (devised with The Assembly)
JACK, Full Production, New York NY, March 2017 (dir. Jess Chayes)
The Odyssey Theatre, Full Production, Los Angeles, June 2016 (dir. Jess Chayes)
Wesleyan University, Full Production, Middletown CT, January 2014 (dir. Jess Chayes)
The Living Theatre, undergroundzero festival, New York City, Full Production, October 2012
TAKING TEA (with Patric Phillips)
Spartanburg Art Museum, Spartanburg, SC 2016
COLD WAR/M UP (with Desiree Moore & Robin Schwartzman)
Art Shanty Projects, Minneapolis, MN 2016
OLDIES BUT GOODIES (with Desiree Moore)
Hub-Bub Showroom, Spartanburg, SC 2015
GHOST VARIATIONS
Dutch Kills Theater Company, Reading, New York City, November 2015 (dir. Daniel Dabdoub)
Fresh Ground Pepper, Reading, New York City, August 2015
Spartanburg Little Theater, Workshop Production, June 2015
Grants & Awards
- IDA Program, The South Carolina Arts Commission, Sparkle City Improv, 2017
- The Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg Community Grant: Untitled Reconstruction Project, 2015 & 2018
- Finalist: Fresh Ground Pepper Artist-in-Residence, 2015
- New York University: Founder’s Day Award, 2011
Residencies
- 2016: Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts: Multi-Disciplinary Artist, Nebraska City, NE
- 2016: West Main Artists Cooperative: Artist in Residence, Spartanburg, SC
- 2015: Hub-Bub Theater Artist-in-Residence, Spartanburg, SC
- 2013 & 2015: Fresh Ground Pepper BRB Retreat, New York City/Bethlehem, PA
- 2013: Pilot Balloon Pop-Up Artist Residency, Lawrence, KS
