Bio
is the co-founder and artistic director of PURE Theatre. Under her leadership, PURE Theatre has developed into one of the premier theatre companies in the Southeast. She is responsible for programming and producing more than 90 Southeast Regional Premiere productions, 27 World Premiere productions and for developing multiple PURE programs that heighten PURE’s impact and amplify PURE’s position as a “community building theatre” (Charleston City Paper). Notable initiatives include PURE Lab, the division of PURE responsible for developing new work, and PURE Youth Companies, PURE’s education arm serving students in SC’s Title 1 Schools. She is also responsible for implementing PURE’s industry-leading streaming program, which scales PURE’s work and serves audiences and students locally and throughout SC, the US, and abroad. Under her leadership, PURE was awarded the SC Theatre Association’s 2020 Theatre of Distinction Award. Sharon is the recipient of the South Carolina Arts Commission Fellowship for Acting. She is an alumnus of Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and is a SC Liberty Fellow, and a member of the Aspen Institute and the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She has a degree in acting from Augusta State University and studied acting at Point Park University and the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Theatre. Selected Directing Credits: World Premieres – SEPTIMA, HONORIA QUIETLY DRAWING STRENGTH FROM HER TRUTH, FOLLY BEACH, A SUDDEN SPONTANEOUS EVENT, SHEEP’S CLOTHING. Regional Premieres – COMPULSION, MLIMA’S TALE, CHOIR BOY (MOJA Festival), SWEAT (MOJA Festival, Piccolo Spoleto Festival), THE ROYALE, THIS RANDOM WORLD, FATHER COMES HOME FROM THE WARS: PARTS 1, 2 & 3, SLOWGIRL, MARIE ANTOINETTE, PENELOPE, THE BIRDS, THE MOUNTAINTOP, THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY. Stage Acting Credits: TESTAMENT OF MARY, LIFESPAN OF A FACT, VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE (PURE Theatre); KING LEAR, TWELFTH NIGHT (Actors Theatre of SC); DANCING AT LUGHNASA (Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte). Television/Film: MR. MERCEDES (On Demand), RECKLESS (CBS), HOMELAND (Showtime), ONE TREE HILL (WB), ARMY WIVES (Lifetime), THE INSPECTORS (CBS) and SURFACE (NBC).