Shelley Hartle (she/her) has worked as an actor for the last 37 years on Whidbey Island, Washington. She studied acting at Seattle’s Freehold Theatre and appeared in Miss Julie (Christine) at the Northwest Actors’ Studio, also in Seattle. Her Shakespearean credits include Hamlet (Queen Gertrude), Macbeth (First Witch), and at ISF, Romeo and Juliet (Nurse), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Quince), Richard III (Queen Margaret). Other favorite roles include Dr. Livingstone in Agnes of God, Lady Sneerwell in The School for Scandal, Ethel Thayer in On Golden Pond, Clairee Belcher in Steel Magnolias, Mrs. Soames in Our Town, Polly Wyeth in Other Desert Cities, and Sister Angelita in Penguin Blues. In addition, Ms. Hartle has worked as a director for Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA), Island Theatre, and Whidbey Children’s Theater. She has narrated documentaries and has acted in several radio theater productions with David Ossman, who laughingly calls her his onstage wife. She has also narrated for the Seattle Peace Chorus. Ms. Hartle learned to fence when she played Charlotte Hay in Moon Over Buffalo. She also learned rudimentary twirling for the role of Twirler in Talking With. Trained in both comedy and drama, Ms. Hartle brings clarity, consistency and commitment to the roles she plays. She’s a team player who inspires others to bring their A-game.

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