Rebecca Elise Lamb
Quick Facts
Biography
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. She is known for 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.
Early life and education
Lamb was born and raised in Brisbane, Australia. 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).
In December 2016, Lamb graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with a Master's Degree in Advanced Theatre Practice.
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. 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.
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.
In 2015, Lamb played Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew for Phoenix Ensemble and reprised her role as Zelda Fitzgerald in The Last Flapper for Brisbane Fringe Festival. 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.
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) 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. 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".
Lamb is related to British actor Michael Rennie.
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Ian Potter Cultural Trust Award | Performing Arts | Acting / Directing | Won |