About Us

Elise Wilkinson

Collaborative Arts Theatre was founded in 2006 in Charlotte, North Carolina by Elise Wilkinson and Joe Copley.

We are a non-profit, professional theatre company dedicated to producing plays by the finest classical and contemporary playwrights that engage and inspire audiences.

Joe Copley

We seek out opportunities to partner with local talent and to fill in the gaps in Charlotte's cultural landscape – in particular classical theatre, site-specific productions, and professional-level training opportunities for local actors.

Each spring we produce the Charlotte Shakespeare Festival, a free Shakespeare festival in uptown Charlotte.

Collaborative Arts Theatre is a 501c3 non-profit corporation. All donations are tax-deductible.

Mailing Address

Send donations and other correspondence to

Collaborative Arts Theatre
P.O. Box 32875
Charlotte, NC 28204

Awards and Nominations

Best Supporting Actress, Comedy: Elise Wilkinson
for Fiction (Abby)
- Creative Loafing's 21st Annual Theatre Awards

Sweet Sixteen For 2007: Fiction, The Sublet Experiment
- Creative Loafing's 21st Annual Theatre Awards

Best Performing Arts Overachiever: Elise Wilkinson
Since when does a company that specializes in Shakespeare rep do its moonlighting with a guerilla environmental production in a Dilworth condo? Since Wilkinson and her envelope-ripping Collaborative Arts decreed it shall with Bad Dates last fall, the coolest event of the season. In just over a year, with an impressive array of talent, Collaborative Arts has reinvented The Green with winsome free outdoor presentations of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It. Wilkinson and Collaborative have won multiple kudos from the Loaf and the Metrolina Theatre Association — plus a whopping $49K grant from the Women’s Impact Fund, clamoring for an encore.
- Creative Loafing, Best of Charlotte, 8/1/07

Outstanding Comedy Production (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
- Metrolina Theatre Association

Best Free Event (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
- Charlotte Magazine

Nominations

Best Director, Comedy: Joe Copley
- Creative Loafing's 21st Annual Theatre Awards

Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Female: Meghan Lowther (As You Like It)

Outstanding Perf. by a Supporting Actor – Female: Greta Marie Zandstra (As You Like It)

Outstanding Costume Design: Kimberly Pixton Millar (As You Like It)

Exemplary Element or Effect: Stan Peal (As You Like It)

Exemplary Element or Effect: Doug Roaten, Michelle Busiek, and Joe Smith (As You Like It)

Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Shiela Snow Proctor (Fiction)

Outstanding Performance by an Supporting Actor - Female: Elise Wilkinson (Fiction)

Outstanding Set Design: Andrew Gibbon (Fiction)

Outstanding Production: Bad Dates

Outstanding Direction: Elise Wilkinson (Bad Dates)

Outstanding Performance by an Actor – Female: Laurie Riffe (Bad Dates)

Outstanding Direction: Elise Wilkinson (A Midsummer Night's Dream)

Exemplary Element or Effect: Elise Wilkinson (Bad Dates)

Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Kristen Jones (A Midsummer Night's Dream)

Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Beth Yost (A Midsummer Night's Dream)

Outstanding Sound Design: Total Event Productions (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
- Metrolina Theatre Association