Elizabeth Searle

ELIZABETH SEARLE (Libretto, Concept and Book) first wrote about 'Tonya & Nancy' in her novella Celebrities In Disgrace, which the New York Times Book Review called 'a miniature masterpiece.' She is the author of four books of fiction: My Body To You, Celebrities In Disgrace, A Four-Sided Bed and most recently Girl Held In Home. She has a new novel forthcoming in 2016. She created both the concept and libretto for both Tonya & Nancy: The Opera and Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera. The Rock Opera will be produced in NYC as an official selection at the New York Musical Festival in July 2015, produced by Paul Boghosian and NYMF. The rock opera, with music by Michael Teoli, premiered in Portland, OR, with triangle productions, produced and directed by Don Horn. It won strong reviews ("Brilliant and touching") and was nominated for Portland Area Music Awards. It went on to be reworked and produced by Paul Boghosian and Harborside Films in Boston at the ART's Club Oberon theater where it made a critically acclaimed run in 2011. In 2013, it had a staged reading in NYC and in 2014 sold-out club dates in Hollywood. The show has drawn national and international media coverage. The one-act Tonya & Nancy opera, with music by Abigail Al-Doory Cross, has been performed in Boston and at Opera Vista in Houston, TX, where it was chosen as one of the top three new operas of the year. It was produced in Minneapolis/St. Paul in 2010 and in 2014, with Previews 'on ice.' Elizabeth's novel A Four-Sided Bed is now in development as a feature film. Bravo Sierra Pictures produced a short film of Elizabeth's Celebrities in Disgrace. The film premiered at the Woods Hole International Film Festival and has screened at festivals around the country. Elizabeth's one-act play Stolen Girl Song was performed in ME and MA in 2013. Elizabeth's theater works have been featured in stories on GOOD MORNING AMERICA, CBS, CNN, NPR, the AP and more. She teaches fiction and scriptwriting at Stonecoast MFA and lives in Arlington, MA with her husband and son.