photo by Jim Barcus
The playwright, performer and Charlotte Street writer in residence breathes new life into classic stories
“We are all Robin Hood” is actor and playwright Elaine Elizabeth’s theme for summer 2026. It’s a reference to her play Robin Hood, with co-writer Shelly Verden, which premiered at The Arts Asylum in August. The two felt a cheery Monty Python-esque romp was called for in these dark times.
“Joy and laughter are powerful tools in effecting change,” said Elizabeth, who recently shortened her professional name from Elaine Elizabeth Clifford to Elaine Elizabeth. “The tales of Robin Hood are filled with examples of communities coming together and sharing resources, helping each other. “Highlighting these themes was really important to us as we worked on this adaptation — it’s how we coined the phrase ‘We are all Robin Hood,’ and the mission of the show itself just kind of stuck after that.” For the production, artisans and vendors set up in the lobby, alongside booths featuring different humanitarian community organizations, like Boots on the Ground and Our Spot KC.
Elizabeth just completed her second and final year as writer in residence at Charlotte Street. As she describes her work, “I use a synergistic approach to music, movement and language within my creative practice, which allows modern audiences to connect to classic stories in a new and engaging way. Combining these different elements also allows for collaboration with artists from all disciplines, and cultivates an ensemble mindset that will enrich and sustain our vibrant community.”
Before Robin Hood, was Mother of Monsters, a paean to Mary Shelley and the circumstances in which she created her novel, Frankenstein. The play was also written with Verden and realized with assistance from an ArtsKC Inspiration Grant. In a memorable scene, Shelley, the authoress, discusses her own frightening dreams with Elizabeth, her main character.
Mother grew out of Elizabeth’s love of all things Gothic and her admiration for Shelley as an original feminist and brilliant writer (who during a weekend in 1816, at the age of 18, outshone her more celebrated writer companions, Percy Shelley and Lord Byron, in a ghostwriting contest). The play debuted at The Arts Asylum in November 2024 and, a year later, toured to Hannibal, Missouri. Additional Midwest stops are planned.
Fellow actor/performer Luke “Skippy” Harbur saw the Hannibal production and was impressed. “My immediate reaction was ‘how can this be made into a movie?’ he said. “I think we just witnessed an A24 film script ready to be produced for a massive audience!”
In addition to playwriting, Elizabeth appears onstage and behind. She performed in Macbeth with the 2026 Shakespeare Festival (the weird sisters were a highlight) and, before that, in the KC Actors production of Everybody, The Head of Medusa with KC Public Theatre, Vilna: A Resistance Story with The White Theater, and Dracula with KCRep, where “she slayed onstage as Lucy,” according to Korey Childs, artistic director of Arts Asylum.
Elizabeth also directed a production of Macbeth in Olathe in June 2025 and recently directed (along with a minor acting role) Joel Feigenbaum’s musical Wink at the Arts Asylum in July.
She graduated from the University of Nebraska in theatre performance with a minor in dance. As a senior she was part of a choreography/dance/dialog project, which spurred her longstanding interest in multidisciplinary presentations. After graduating she relocated to KC, where she had family and arts connections.
Elizabeth says she was a storyteller from day one. As a child she read constantly, wrote adventure tales and forced her brothers into her skits. She grew into, as she describes it, a lit and history nerd, always attracted to putting her own spin on well-known tales.
As a director/producer, she plans to get certified in both intimacy coordination and stage combat. As a creator/writer, she continues her interest in developing a multidisciplinary style. “Music and movement are how we, as humans, connect to ‘the other’ — something beyond, or something buried so deep inside that we don’t have the words to express it fully. I want to tap into that connection to make the stories I tell that much more meaningful to people.”
