About the Company
Through dramatic storytelling and imaginative stagecraft, Elements Theatre Company approaches both classic and modern works with honesty and authenticity. Members of Elements Theatre Company have trained with teachers from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Shakespeare Company, London’s National Theatre, Central School of Speech and Drama and Shakespeare & Company. The company has studied with Patsy Rodenberg, Joanna Weir Ouston, Glynn MacDonald, and Sue Lefton, and their voice training holds specific emphasis in the Linklater method. Constantly furthering their own training and education Elements pursues regular courses of study focused on specific techniques, playwrights, and methods, in theatre “hubs” around the country and internationally (London in 2005, New York in 2009, Chicago in 2012). Elements also commits itself to sharing that knowledge with others, in the form of workshops, panel discussions around themes of art and life, and actors’ retreats, both on tour and at home on Cape Cod.
Founded in 1992, Elements Theatre Company performs throughout the year at Paraclete House on Cape Cod in Orleans, Massachusetts. They tour nationally and internationally, performing and leading workshops and discussions at theatres, conferences, schools, and religious organizations.
About the Director
A founding member of Elements Theatre Company, Sr. Danielle Dwyer has either directed or performed in nearly seventy productions since the company’s inception. Classically trained but also skilled in contemporary drama, Sr. Danielle earned her Master of Arts Degree from England’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and the University of London. She also studied voice, acting, and writing with Joanna Weir Ouston at Central School of Speech and Drama (London, England); with David Male at Cambridge University (Cambridge, England); and, at Shakespeare & Company (Lenox, MA). She has also studied Shakespeare at the Stella Adler Studio in New York City, and as a member of the Company, trained in the Michael Checkov Technique with Lenard Petit in New York City.
Dwyer’s directorial experience ranges from the timeless humanity of Shakespeare (King Lear, Merchant of Venice and Julius Caesar) and Chekhov (The Cherry Orchard) to the biting comedy of Oscar Wilde (Lady Windermere’s Fan) and Yasmina Reza (God of Carnage) to the razor-sharp wit and deeply felt humanity of Alan Bennett (Talking Heads).
The Theatre Company’s Impact
“As the company mission statement indicates, Elements Theatre Company is about more than entertainment: every piece they undertake explores the breadth of humanity – its horror, its loveliness, and its humor – with honesty. These actors hold up the mirror for themselves and in turn give us, the audience, the courage to look into that mirror too, and not shy away from what we find.” —the late Julie Harris, 5-time Tony Award winning actress and Arts Empowering Life Board of Reference
“Elements Theatre’s repertory stage company always delivers top-notch productions …a remarkably talented cast of actors who breathe articulate life into each line of Shakespeare’s poetic prose.” —Barnstable Patriot, USA
