Photo Credit: Deborah Lopez Photography
Carson Elrod
Theatrical Representation: Artists & Representatives Agency
1-212-505-1400
Commercial & VO: KMR
1-646-989-4994
Actors Equity Association, SAG/AFTRA
THEATRE ROLE Theatre Director
Peter And The Starcatcher Prentiss Broadway Alex Timbers/Roger Rees
Reckless Tim Timko, Roy Broadway Mark Brokaw
Noises Off Tim Allgood Broadway Jeremy Sams
Twelfth Night Andrew Aguecheek Classical Theatre of Harlem Carl Cofield
The Alchemist Dapper Red Bull Theatre Company Jesse Berger
Seize The King Buckingham/Chorus Classical Theatre of Harlem Carl Cofield
The Who’s TOMMY Ernie Denver Center Sam Buntrock
Time Flies Toby/Reverand/Others Barrington Stage Company Tracey Brigden
What We May Be Glen Berkshire Theatre Festival Greg Edelman
CLUE Wadsworth Bucks County Playhouse Hunter Foster
The Merry Widow Njegus The Metropolitan Opera Susan Stroman
The Chinese Room Daniel Williamstown Theatre Fest James MacDonald
A Soldier’s Tale The Soldier Tanglewood B.S.O. Bill Barclay
The Liar Cliton Classic Stage Company Michael Kahn
Taking Steps Tristram Barrington Stage Sam Buntrock
Midsummer Nights Dream Mendhellson/Puck/etc. Boston Symphony Orch Bill Barclay
Important Hats of the 20th Century Sam Greevy Manhattan Theatre Club Moritz VonStulpnagel
Lives of the Saints Toby/Fifi/Manny Primary Stages John Rando
Bedroom Farce Trevor Westport Country Playhouse John Tillinger
School for Wives Alain Two River Theatre Mark Wing Davey
The Heir Apparent Crispin Classic Stage Company John Rando
The Tempest Caliban NYSF Central Park Lear Debessonet
The Explorer’s Club Luigi Manhattan Theatre Club Mark Bruni
All In The Timing Bill/Don/Swift/P.Glass Primary Stages John Rando
The Heir Apparent Crispin (Battis Award) Shakespeare Theatre DC Michael Kahn
All’s Well That Ends Well Muskos Interrogator The Public: Central Park Daniel Sullivan
Measure for Measure Pompey The Public: Central Park David Esbjornson
Measure For Measure Lucio/Froth/Barnadine The Public: MOBILE UNIT Michelle Hensley
In The Wake Danny CTG/Berkeley Rep Leigh Silverman
Peter And The Starcatcher Prentiss NYTW/La Jolla Playhouse Alex Timbers/Roger Rees
How The Other Half Loves William Westport Country Playhouse John Tillinger
A Flea In Her Ear Camille Williamstown Theatre Festival John Rando
Time Of My Life Adam Westport Country Playhouse John Tillinger
Arsenic & Old Lace Dr. Einstein Baltimore Center Stage Irene Lewis
Oliver Twist Dodger/Narrator A.R.T., TFNA, Berkeley Neil Bartlett
The Drawer Boy Miles Westport Country Playhouse John Tillinger
Based On A Totally True Story Ethan Keene Manhattan Theatre Club Michael Bush
The Cherry Orchard Yepikhodov Yale Repertory Theatre Bill Rauch
The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow Todd Yale Repertory Theatre Jackson Gay
Misalliance Gunner Baltimore Center Stage Irene Lewis
House/Garden Jake Mace Manhattan Theatre Club John Tillinger
Comic Potential Marmion/4 more Manhattan Theatre Club John Tillinger
Cavedweller Nolan/Grandaddy NY Theatre Workshop Michael Greif
Our Town George Gibbs La Jolla Playhouse Michael Greif
Waiting For Godot Vladimir East River Park Amphitheater Andrew Grosso
The Importance of Being Earnest Algernon The Hangar Theatre Ron Bashford
Comedy Of Errors Dromio of Syracuse Colorado Shakespeare Fest. John Dennis
Merry Wives of Windsor Pistol Colorado Shakespeare Fest. Robin McKee
Merry Wives of Windsor Pistol Shakespeare and Company Tina Packer
Love’s Labour’s Lost King of Navarre Shakespeare and Company Carey Upton
Romeo and Juliet Mercutio Sedona Shakespeare Patrick Page
Twelfth Night Feste Sedona Shakespeare Lisa Volpe
Guided By Voices Solo Show Paul Walker Theatre (NYU) Erica Schmidt
FILM ROLE Director
The Weekend Cooper (RC Cola) Brian Avers
Wedding Crashers Flip Cleary David Dobkin
When A Stranger Calls Station Officer Simon West
Kissing Jessica Stein Sebastian Charles Herman Wurmfeld
TELEVISION ROLE Network
Carnivale Grover HBO
EVIL Larry Bibb Paramount +
The Good Fight Josiah Nile Paramount +
Elementary Rueben CBS
Hight Maintenance Defense Lawyer HBO
Deadbeat Vesuvius HULU
30 Rock Travis NBC
Law & Order: Criminal Intent Sex Museum Security NBC
The Medium Roger NBC
Out of Practice Ted CBS
Girlfriends Dr. Hicks UPN
Married To The Kelly’s Doug ABC
Carnivale Grover HBO
The Andy Dick Show Andy’s Guru MTV
LIFEGAME Himself (Series Regular) TNN
IMPROVISATION/COMEDY
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre’s GRAVID WATER: Recurring Performer with Jason Sudeikis, Scott Adsit, etc.
HOST (M.C.) for Williamstown Cabaret. August 2017, 2016, and 2008
HOST for NYU’S Ultraviolet Live January 2005/2008 benefiting The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life. (Introduced the world to Stefanie Germanotta, aka LADY GAGA)
HOST for Slant Theatre Project’s Halloween Gala 2010 at The Tank
Co-Founder of the sketch/improv troupes: Waiters To Be, Single White Males, The Hypothetical 7, The Teenage FBI, and The God Squad.
TRAINING
MFA from New York Univerity’s Graduate Acting Program: Zelda Fichandler Chair. Ron Van Lieu, Head of Acting. Deb Hecht- Speech, Shane Anne Younts- Voice, Jim Calder- Movement, Chris Bayes- Clown, Dan Cordle-Games, Deb Lapidus-Singing, Hovey Burgess-Circus, Jed Diomand-Alexander, among dozens of other guest teachers, artists, directors, and speakers.
Shakespeare and Company. Lenox, MA. Tina Packer, Artistic Director. Dennis Krausnick, Head of Acting.
BA from the University of Kansas: History (honors) and Theatre.
Upright Citizens Brigade. Improvisation Levels 1-3
People’s Improv Theatre. Workshops with Armando Diaz and Ali Farahnakian.
Improv Olympic West. Los Angeles. James Grace, Artistic Director. Levels 3-6. (Founded and performed with many long-form improvisation “house teams”)
AWARDS
2022 Calloway Award from the Actors Equity Foundation for outstanding performance by an actor in a classical play
2017 Drama League Award Nomination for The Liar
2014 Lucille Lortel Nomination for Best Supporting Actor for The Explorer’s Club
2013 Lucille Lortel Nomination Best Supporting Actor for All In The Timing
2011 Emery Battis Award for Excellence In Acting from The Shakespeare Theatre DC for the role of Crispin in David Ive’s The Heir Apparent
2006 Drama League Award nomination for the role of Ethan in Roberto Aguaire Secasa’s Based On A Totally True Story.
1999 Princess Grace Foundation Award for Acting.
1999 Robert and Gloria Hausman Award Winner for Acting
Profiled in American Theatre Magazine May 2007
USUAL SUSPECT at New York Theatre Workshop
TEACHING
Williamstown Theatre Festival- Master Teacher Summer 2016
Red Bull Theatre Company- Clown Master Class 2016
NYU’s Graduate Acting Program- Guest Lecturer DECEMBER 2012
Youth On Stage All Stars Program- Acting Teacher SUMMER 2012
YALE-Guest Lecturer NOVEMBER 2010
NYU’s Tisch School of the Art Undergraduate Program- Guest Lecturer FALL 2011
University of Kansas-Guest Lecturer OCTOBER 2006
Nassau County Community College- Adjunct Professor FALL 2006
ADVOCACY
Co-Founder/Co-CEO Arts Workers United. Arts Workers United is a 501c4 founded to center the nation’s 5.2 million Arts Workers as a legislative priority commensurate with their socioeconomic contribution to the country.
Co-Founder Be An #ArtsHero. Be An #ArtsHero was founded during the COVID-19 pandemic to educate, organize, and mobilize Arts Workers to apply pleasure to Congress to bring relief to the devastated Arts & Culture sector. Be An #ArtsHero helped expand unemployment insurance, extend subsidized COBRA benefits, pass the Save Our Stages Act, and successfully convinced Congress to hold a historic hearing on the Power, Peril, and Promise of the Creative Economy.
Principal Counselor for Actor’s Equity Association 2017-2020. During Carson’s tenure, the dues cap on Equity’s wealthiest members was abolished, assuring that Equity’s most successful members paid the same percentage of working dues as everyone else. Also, during his governance, Equity adopted a new philosophy for negotiations called “Judge It By The Budget” which pivoted the Union from negotiating with theatrical employers based on the number of seats in a venue to a particular employer’s financial position and ability to pay. This nuanced approach allowed small theatres to pay less in wages as they built their audience and revenue stream while demanding that long-standing and incredibly well-resourced theatres paid their Equity members a fair wage.
Co-Founder #FairWageOnStage. In addition to serving on the 2016 Off-Broadway negotiating team for Actor’s Equity, Carson founded a grassroots organizing campaign that successfully educated and organized the entire New York Off-Broadway Equity community in solidarity to demand a paradigm-shifting contract. The result was up to 82% wage increases on a single contract without a strike.