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.