AS A PERFORMER:

Elliana Karris (she/her) is a Boston based actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, teacher, and lover of trinkets. Born and raised in Las Vegas Nevada, Elliana began taking dance at the age of three and has been hooked on performing ever since. Early on, Elliana learned the ropes with hometown mentors Voltaire Verzosa, Jane Bartell, and Lynn Fitzpatrick. In her teen years, Elliana found a passion for tap dance and has since trained loyally from tap masters Tony Coppola and Dianne Walker. The Leon Collins tap rep along with theatrical, rhythm, and funk tap styles continue to hold a special place in her heart.

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In May 2024, she graduated cum laude from Emerson College with a BFA in Musical Theatre, working closely with professors Christopher Shin, Scott LaFeber, Jon Goldberg, Ilana Ransom Toeplitz, Sabrina Learman, Amelia Broome and Nicole Lewis. To say they changed her life and outlook on theatre is an understatement!

 

Since starting her professional career, she has been fortunate enough to work on all kinds of material ranging from jukebox musicals to cult classic shows and even new works! Working with professionals like Courtney O' Connor, Dan Rodriguez, Marisa Kirby, and Tony award composer Richard Maltby Jr. have just been the cherry on top! She has no idea what's in store next, but she's ready for whatever adventure lies ahead! ​​​​

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AS A CREATIVE:

Along with performing, Elliana dabbles in her own creative work as a choreographer and educator. She has been lucky enough to continue teaching performance at Positively Arts Inc, a nonprofit developed by Pilita Danesh-Simpson who's mission is to "empower youth through performance and artistic discovery". 

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SOME FUN FACTS (THEATRE RELATED & NOT):

Let's be real: she loves her full legal name, but we can drop the formalities! Elliana's nickname with her friends and family is Ellie, and she goes by that most of the time.

 

Some of Ellie's favorite roles to date include Hope Cladwell (Urinetown), Holly (The Wedding Singer), Hélène (Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812), and Serena (Legally Blonde). Some dream roles of hers include Amalia Balash (She Loves Me), Portia (Something Rotten!), Frenchy (Grease), Kathy Seldon (Singin' In The Rain), Clara (The Light in the Piazza), Cassie (A Chorus Line), Fastrada (Pippin), and any woman in the Sondheim canon.

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Ellie trained as a pre-professional ballroom dancer for over ten years! She learned American Smooth, International Latin, and American Rhythm styles from ballroom champions Mariusz Zakrezewski, Dana and Tony Delgado, and Donovan Kirrane. She hopes to keep incorporating ballroom more into her day to day life.

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Ellie has a deep love for filmmaking. Besides being very active on the Letterboxd app, she ran her own blog "Confessions of a Film Junkie" during the pandemic.

 

Some of Ellie's other interests include (but are not limited to) podcasts, traveling, thrifting, museums, history, astrology, and collecting Jellycats (she has over fifty! Jellycat, if you need a brand ambassador please reach out via the Contact tab!).