Elise Lamb

Rebecca Elise Lamb (born 27 March 1986), known professionally as Elise Lamb, is an Australian actress, dancer, writer, director and producer of theatre and film. Lamb is a graduate of the prestigious Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and is known for her extensive stage work including her portrayal of Zelda Fitzgerald in the Australian premiere of William Luce's one-woman play The Last Flapper. She is a recipient of the Ian Potter Cultural Trust Award.

Elise Lamb
Lamb at the 2012 Sydney Film Festival
Born	Rebecca Elise Lamb (1986-03-27) 27 March 1986 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (MA) Griffith Film School (GradCert) London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (Dip)
Occupation	Actress, dancer, writer, director
Years active	2003 – present
Awards	Ian Potter Cultural Trust

Early life and education

Lamb was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia.[1] She studied classical ballet through the Royal Academy of Dance from the age of 3 and studied Musical Theatre at the Australian Dance Performance Institute. When Lamb was 15 years old she was chosen to dance for Australian vocal artist Vanessa Amorosi and girl group Bardot at the Opening Gala of the 2001 Goodwill Games. She graduated from Canterbury College in 2003 where she studied drama and music and performed in the school's production of Guys and Dolls.

She trained as an actor at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney and studied Classical acting (Shakespeare) at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).[2]

In December 2016, Lamb graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with a Master's Degree in Advanced Theatre Practice.[3]

In 2019, Lamb graduated from the Griffith Film School with a Graduate Certificate in Screen Production specialising in Scriptwriting.

Career

Acting

Lamb began her professional career at the age of 17 when she was employed as a cast member at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast, Australia. There she spent her first 5 years out of high school portraying numerous roles including DC Comics hero Batgirl, The Justice League 's Hawkgirl, Shrek 's Princess Fiona, Scooby-Doo 's Daphne Blake and was a dancer in the Looney Tunes Musical Review.[2] She was the youngest performer to present the Movie Magic Special Effects Show and was a member of its closing cast in 2005. She also performed in the Police Academy Stunt Show and was an original cast member of the Scooby-Doo Disco Detectives.

In 2007, Lamb danced with The Australian Ballet for their Brisbane season of Don Quixote at QPAC and performed in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel at the Twelfth Night Theatre.

In 2008, Lamb relocated to Osaka, Japan for 2 years to work for Universal Studios Japan where she reprised her role as Princess Fiona, impersonated Marilyn Monroe, originated the role of Cinderella in the Magical Starlight Parade (IAAPA Big E Award "Best Overall Production"), danced as a Rockette in the annual Christmas Parade and performed the roles of Wendy and Jane in the Thea (Themed Entertainment Association) Award-winning Peter Pan's Neverland.[2]

After completing her training at NIDA in 2012, Lamb appeared in numerous independent Australian films including The Pale Moonlight opposite Matt Boesenberg and Blown for Tropfest which she also wrote, directed and produced. She also appeared as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet for the Queensland Theatre Company.

In 2014, she starred as Zelda Fitzgerald in William Luce's one-woman play The Last Flapper at Brisbane Arts Theatre.[1][4]

In 2015, Lamb played Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew for Phoenix Ensemble[5] and reprised her role as Zelda Fitzgerald in The Last Flapper for Brisbane Fringe Festival.[6] In December 2015, she was awarded the Ian Potter Cultural Trust Award, a professional development grant for emerging Australian artists which allowed her to study at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.[7]

After graduating from Central in 2016, Lamb secured small roles in The Crown and feature films Stan and Ollie and All the Money in the World. She was also featured in a Commercial for Cadbury with fellow Australian Jesinta Franklin. Lamb performed in new writing at Off West End theatres Arcola Theatre, Theatre N16, Pleasance Theatre, The Vaults, Leicester Square Theatre and Battersea Arts Centre. She also played WWI Correspondent Louise Mack in her debut play The Australian Girl and Australian Suffragette Muriel Matters in her short play "Deeds, Not Words".

Directing

Lamb directed her debut short film Blown for Tropfest in 2012. Lamb was a trainee director at the Brisbane Arts Theatre from 2014 to 2015. She had her theatre directorial debut with their 2015 season opener The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)[2][8][9][10][11] and was the assistant director for their 1000th production Noises Off. In 2015, she also directed Elvis Is Dead by Canadian playwright James Hutchison for the Short & Sweet Theatre Festival at The Arts Centre Gold Coast.[12] Lamb is a member of the Young Vic Directors Program.

Writing

In 2012, Lamb wrote her debut short film Blown for Tropfest and See You Soon. Whilst a student at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Lamb began writing her debut play The Australian Girl, inspired by the life of Louise Mack, the first female war correspondent during World War I. Central funded research and development in Belgium for the play and the first draft was presented in a semi-staged reading at LOST Theatre in London during the summer of 2016. In 2017, The Australian Girl received further support from the Old Vic New Voices and a full length version of the play premiered Off West End at Theatre N16 as part of their Military Season Aftershock. Her short play A Dance Of Two Sisters about two Polish sisters during World War II was presented at the Pleasance Theatre. In 2018, her second short play Deeds, Not Words about Australian Suffragette Muriel Matters was also presented at the Pleasance Theatre. Lamb is an Associate Artist of Theatre 1880.

Personal life

There was already a Rebecca Lamb registered with Spotlight and Equity, as a result Lamb changed her name professionally to "Elise Lamb". She was previously credited as "Rebecca Elise Lamb".[13]

Lamb is related to British actor Michael Rennie.

Filmography

Acting credits

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Blown	The Girlfriend	Tropfest Short Film Also director, writer and producer
2012	See You Soon	The Girl	Short Film Also writer and producer
2013	One June Afternoon	Chloe
2013	House of Cards	Talia
2014	The Pale Moonlight	Howard's Wife	Short Film Premiered at Fantasia International Film Festival
2017	All the Money in the World	Hotel Maid	Directed by Ridley Scott
2018	Stan and Ollie	Plymouth Girl	Directed by Jon S. Baird
2019	Method in Madness	The Stage Manager	Short Film Also director, writer and producer
2019	Skin & Blister	Victoria	Short Film Also director, writer and producer

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2017	The Crown	White House Guest	Series 2, Episode 8 Directed by Stephen Daldry

Commercial

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2017	Cadbury – Dark Milk: The Joyful Debate	Cinema Woman

Music video

Year	Title	Artist	Role	Notes
2011	Anything Worth Anything	StoneMason	Madeleine	Triple J Unearthed

Director, writer and producer credits

Film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
2012	Blown	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tropfest Short Film
2012	See You Soon	No	Yes	Yes	Short Film
2019	Caged	Yes	Yes	Yes	Short Film Also editor
2019	Method in Madness	Yes	Yes	Yes	Short Film Also editor
2019	Skin & Blister	Yes	Yes	Yes	Short Film
2019	Op Shop	Yes	Yes	Yes	Short Film Also cinematographer and editor
2019	A Message	Yes	No	Yes	Short Film Also cinematographer and editor

Theatre

Acting credits

Year	Production	Role	Venue	Notes
2006	A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum	Vibrata	Spotlight Theatre
2006	Gypsy	Hollywood Blonde	Spotlight Theatre
2007	Don Quixote	Grand Lady	Lyric Theatre QPAC	Presented by The Australian Ballet Directed by David McAllister
2007	Carousel	Ensemble	Twelfth Night Theatre
2008–2010	Peter Pan's Neverland	Wendy/Jane/Show Captain	Universal Studios Japan	Won – Thea Award "Event Spectacular"
2012	Romeo and Juliet	Juliet	New Farm Park	Presented by Queensland Theatre Company Directed by Todd MacDonald
2014	Mixed Doubles	Various	Brisbane Arts Theatre
2014	The Last Flapper	Zelda Fitzgerald	Brisbane Arts Theatre	Also producer One-woman show Australian premiere
2014	Merry Fecking Christmas	Fiona	The Arts Centre Gold Coast	Presented by Underground Productions Short & Sweet Theatre Festival
2015	The Taming of the Shrew	Katherina	Pavilion Theatre	Presented by Phoenix Ensemble
2015	The Last Flapper	Zelda Fitzgerald	Reload Espresso Bar	Also producer Brisbane Fringe Festival
2016	Strictly Come Barking	Tracey	Hen and Chickens Theatre
2016	The Australian Girl	Louise Mack	LOST Theatre	Also writer and director Semi-staged reading
2017	Keep Them Close	The Sexy Cat	Battersea Arts Centre	Also producer Presented by Theatre 1880
2017	Fathers and Daughters	Lara	Leicester Square Theatre
2017	Fixed Action Pattern	Kayla	The Vaults Theatre	Presented by Theatre 1880 Written by Francis Grin
2017	A Dance Of Two Sisters	Evelyn	Pleasance Theatre	Also writer and director
2017	The Australian Girl	Louise Mack	Theatre N16	Also writer and producer Off West End premiere
2018	Listen	The Woman	Arcola Theatre
2018	Deeds, Not Words	Muriel Matters	Pleasance Theatre	Also writer
2018	Lost in Bank	Meghan	Greenwich Theatre	Also writer
2019	Deeds, Not Words	Muriel Matters	Brisbane Powerhouse	Also writer Short & Sweet Theatre Festival

Director credits

Year	Title	Venue / Company	Notes
2015	The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)	Brisbane Arts Theatre	Written by Reduced Shakespeare Company
2015	Elvis Is Dead	The Arts Centre Gold Coast	Written by James Hutchison Short+Sweet Theatre Festival
2015	Noises Off	Brisbane Arts Theatre	Written by Michael Frayn Brisbane Arts Theatre's 1000th Production
2016	The Australian Girl	LOST Theatre	Semi-staged reading
2017	A Dance of Two Sisters	Pleasance Theatre

Writer credits

Year	Title	Notes
2017	A Dance of Two Sisters	Short Play
2017	The Australian Girl	Full Length play
2018	Deeds, Not Words	Short Play
2018	Lost in Bank	Short Play

Producer credits

Year	Title	Venue / Production Company	Notes
2014	The Last Flapper	Brisbane Arts Theatre	Australian Premiere Written by William Luce
2015	The Last Flapper	Reload Espresso Bar	Brisbane Fringe Festival
2017	Keep Them Close	Battersea Arts Centre / Theatre 1880	Written by Mathias Swann
2017	The Australian Girl	Theatre N16	Off West End premiere

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated Work	Result
2019	Regional Arts Services Network Community Fund	Performing Arts	Writing / Directing	Won
2016	Ian Potter Cultural Trust Award	Performing Arts	Acting / Directing	Won

References

1. Dionysius, Bobbi-lea. "The Last Flapper: Theatre Review". AussieTheatre.com. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
2. Byrnes, Tim. "Rebecca Elise Lamb's Complete Works of Shakespeare". Scenestr Magazine. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
3. "Student Profiles". Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
4. "The Last Flapper". Brisbane Arts Theatre. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
5. "Shakespeare Comedy with a 1950s Twist". Stage Whispers. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
6. "The Last Flapper at Brisbane Fringe Festival". The Brisbane Reviewer. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
7. "Grants Database". Ian Potter Cultural Trust. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
8. "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)". Brisbane Arts Theatre. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
9. "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged): Theatre Review". Scenestr Magazine. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
10. "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged): Theatre Review". Absolute Theatre. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
11. "Shakespeare in Two Hours". Courier Mail. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
12. "They Are Short But Very Sweet". Gold Coast Bulletin. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
13. "Spotlight Actresses". Spotlight. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.

External links

• Elise Lamb on IMDb