“Limitless to Impact Lives:” Resident Actor Cody Elsensohn on the Meaning of Live Theatre

We sat down with Cody Elsensohn, a Season 45 Resident Actor with our company, to hear him express how the power of live theatre has impacted his own life as a human and an artist. Read on below:

As a kid I always wanted to be an artist. I used to lay belly-down on the floor with a sketch pad as big as my body and doodle for hours on end. I was known in my family as “the art kid” and would be gifted markers, pen sets, and paper for birthdays and holidays alike. As I grew, this shifted into painting–acrylics, watercolors, oils, canvases, and brushes filled birthday gift bags through these next years. After that, I was committed to becoming the next Cake Boss, so I would build dramatic cakes and decorate those in the following years. It wasn’t until late in middle school that I would transition from physical art to performance art.

I remember and credit so much of my inspiration to Disney’s High School Musical, as silly as it sounds. I thought, “Ohhh, I want to be a movie star,” yet I don’t think that as a kid I understood that what I loved in this “movie” and what I wanted to do was what the characters were doing IN the movie–live theatre. After the first production I performed in during high school, I never stopped aggressively pursuing theatre. At that time in my life I gained so much on a personal level from engaging in live theatre that I never considered the power and perspective woven deeply into this art form until I formally studied theatre in college. This is when the meaning of theatre became apparent to me, and when I started to develop a voice in my own artistry. 

I believe that theatre is powerful and limitless in its ability to impact lives and change perspectives. Theatre is home to creativity and collaboration. Theatre provides the space for people to be themselves, to play, to learn more about who they are by stepping into others’ shoes. The potential of what can be done with all this power is provocative. 

For these reasons, I’ve grown to value my artistic voice and prioritize making lastingly positive impacts in my work. I hope to use my artistry to bring joy, reflection, and change to a world from which so many feel excluded. I am proud to represent the Latinx community and the LGBTQ+ community on stage this season. I see an opportunity through the power of live theatre to push for progress, representation, and reform on and off stage for theatre practitioners, theatre patrons, and the general public alike. I am thankful to have the opportunity to make a career out of a deep-seated, innocent passion for expression and art, and I hope to continue to share my joy and love for theatre in meaningful ways to come!

Cody is ecstatic to join Charleston Stage in its 45th Season as a Resident Actor! A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Cody earned his B.F.A. in Acting from the University of Southern Mississippi in May of 2022. Some of his recent credits include Billy Cane in Bright Star, Jerry Hyland in Once in a Lifetime, Actor 1 in The Stinky Cheeseman, and Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Cody would like to thank his family, friends, and teachers who endlessly encourage and support him; it is highly valued! Keep up with Cody by following his Instagram: @cody.elsensohn

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