Elle Shaw | Actor, Producer, Festival Director

Tell us a bit about your acting career. When and how did you get started, and what first drew you to film? 

In my second year of college I took an acting class as an elective. I was always curious about acting and thought there might be something there. It turns out I LOVED the class. Soon after there was a production of The Vagina Monologues that came to our university so I auditioned and was cast in two monologues. One of them was rather comedic and when the audience laughed, that was it for me. At the time I was too afraid to switch my major so I finished my degree and then my husband and I moved West so that I could properly train and pursue acting. 

I have always had a love for film. My brother and I both worked at the big movie theatre in my hometown and watching films with my dad was a favorite pastime. I loved watching people on screen and allowing them to make me feel things I otherwise didn’t know how to allow or access.

How about producing? What’s your experience been like behind the camera, and how does it compare to your experiences in front of it? 

I rather stumbled into producing but it seems to align with my natural skillsets and a piece of my personality so I’ve really come to enjoy it. Being in front or behind the camera use different sides of my brain so they really don’t compare other than the collaborative aspect, which is my favorite part of being an artist. I love working with a team or a director or other artists to come together to create something as one.

What are some of your favorite roles you’ve played, or projects you’ve worked on over the years? What draws you to a project? 

I played a cop in a short film named Wolves. This is one of my favorite roles thus far as I got to do research and chat with a member of the crisis team in the LAPD. It also challenged me in ways that I did not expect due to the nature of the story.

It sounds cliché but if the role scares me or I think I can’t do it then I know I have to. As a human my goal in life is to be challenged and to grow so that is no different in my art.

You also serve as Festival Director for the Salute Your Shorts film festival. How did you first find out about the festival? What does the position entail, and what has the experience been like? 

I first found out about the festival via a posting in WIMPS. It’s a large group of women in the film industry. I then researched the festival and applied as they were looking for programmers to join their team.

This is my first year stepping into the Festival Director role. It has certainly been challenging. Mostly because I just had a baby. Everyone has been incredibly supportive as my schedule has adapted, which has been amazing. My position produces the event that is the festival. This year we are making changes and trying to expand the festival in new ways, which has been a lot of fun to spearhead alongside our Artistic Director Erin Brown Thomas. I find each week that I’m becoming more comfortable and finding my lane, which is adding to my confidence.

In addition to film, you also have a fair bit of stage experience, and produced a critically-acclaimed tour of a show called The Creeps. Tell us a bit about that, and the experience of producing for the stage versus producing for the screen. 

Working with Catherine Waller on her one woman show, The Creeps has been a highlight of my producing career. We didn’t know one another but I loved her show and offered to help, leading to my stepping in to produce the tour and later the show alongside her. We have traveled with the show and had much acclaim, which has been a bonus to the entire experience. 

Producing in general is mostly a series of anticipating problems and solving them. You help make the project a reality and each project's needs are different, which keeps it interesting. The difference between stage versus screen is not all that different really, it’s just the medium.

What have you got in the works right now? What's next for Elle Shaw?

Right now I’m just focused on the Festival as we are in programming mode and ramping up for full Festival preparation. I’m really focusing on what’s in front of me right now without looking too far ahead. Being present for my two little ones under 2, and the Salute Your Shorts Film Festival have my current attention.

I’m also writing my first feature film. I have plans for it but one thing at a time. 

What advice or words of wisdom do you have for anyone looking to pursue a career in film?



My advice would be, if you really love it no one can stop you from doing it. Remember that when times are challenging.