SAG-AFTRA / AEA
Sharon Gardner
Actor, Producer, Writer, Mama,Vocalist with The MutherFathers, Green Thumb, Foodie, Curious Explorer
Growing up in Arlington, VA, Sharon wanted to do nearly everything and be nearly everyone. With a twin sister and a younger brother, Sharon loved climbing trees, riding her bicycle, singing in the choir, and playing records on her turntable. Moved by stories big and small and with a vivid dream life, Sharon's open heart and imagination led her to the stage, where she could embody and explore characters and their worlds.
She played her first breeches role as Bottom in “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” at age 10, joined the children’s Arlington Repertory Company at age 12, and studied at the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. with founder Joy Zinoman, Marica Churchill, and Nancy Paris while attending high school at H.- B. Woodlawn. Sharon studied all aspects of theatre and history at The College of William & Mary, appearing in many mainstage shows, including “The House Of Blue Leaves” as tanned starlet Corinna Stroller, free spirit Collard Darnell in “The Wake of Jamey Foster”, dutiful Kristine Linde in “A Doll’s House”, matriarch Lady Capulet in “Romeo & Juliet”, and the aspiring artist Beth in Sam Shephard’s “A Lie Of The Mind”.
Moving to New York, Sharon trained in the principles and techniques of Stanislavsky, Grotowsky, and Meisner and, most influentially, with Floyd Rumohr in Michael Chekhov technique. She joined Floyd as a founding member of the Chekhov Theatre Ensemble (C.T.E.) and soon added producer, board member, fundraiser, and teaching artist to her credentials. Sharon worked as a master teaching artist with Chekhov Theatre Ensemble’s arts-in-education branch Stages Of Learning, bringing Shakespeare and theatre to public school children in grades 3-8 in all 5 boroughs of the city as well as the last school to exist on Governors Island. C.T.E. produced critically-acclaimed Off- and Off-Off-Broadway productions of “Macbeth”, with Sharon as a young Lady M., “King Lear”, with Sharon as Regan, and Christopher Durang’s black comedy “Baby With The Bathwater”, in which she etched a sweetly acidic Helen, praised by the playwright himself as one of the finest productions of the text.
In New York, Sharon spent a season earning Actors’ Equity points at the Pearl Theatre understudying major roles in Euripides’ “Oresteia”, William Congreve’s Restoration comedy “The Way Of The World”, and Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives Of The World”.
She appeared as Meggie in Nellie Bellflower (“Finding Neverland”) and Birnam Wood’s production of “A Summer Share” on Theatre Row, Thyona in SKT’s production of Charles Mee's "Big Love", and Isabelle Eberhardt in "New Anatomies", among many others.
Relocating to the West Coast, Sharon studied with Dee Wallace in the Valley, and then found a creative home with Warner Loughlin at the original Warner Loughlin Studio on La Cienega. She rejoined the Monday Master Class and the WLS community at the Cahuenga studio after the birth of her first child. Immersing herself in Warner’s imagination-based technique, developed primarily for on-camera performance, Sharon worked in scene study with Warner in the Master Class and Professional Workshop until Warner’s pivot away from teaching weekly class in 2016. Warner’s book, “The Warner Loughlin Technique” is an essential tool kit for the actor.
Additional sources of coaching and inspiration include Caryn West and her comprehensive and rigorous “Audition Intensive” at the Caryn’s Space For Actors and Brian Hill, agitator at The Actor’s Refuge.
Sharon's L.A. stage work includes grieving mother Becca in Malibu Stage Company's acclaimed 2009 production of "Rabbit Hole" with Oscar-nominee Katharine Ross ("The Graduate"), directed by Graeme Clifford, and co-starring Ovation-Award winner Tasha Ames, who won a “Best Supporting Actress” award for her role as sister Izzy, and fellow WLS alum Jeffrey Doornbos.
She vividly portrayed Marquise de Mertueil in Heiner Muller's "Quartet", inspired by "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" ( Five 2008 L.A. Weekly Award Nominations Including "Best Performance" & "Best Ensemble"), and all the female characters in Heiner Muller's "The Battle: ABC" (2006 L.A. Weekly Award "Best Ensemble"), both with City Garage Theatre.
Sharon's L.A. stage work includes grieving mother Becca in Malibu Stage Company's acclaimed 2009 production of "Rabbit Hole" with Oscar-nominee Katharine Ross ("The Graduate"), directed by Graeme Clifford, and co-starring Ovation-Award winner Tasha Ames, who won a “Best Supporting Actress” award for her role as sister Izzy, and fellow WLS alum Jeffrey Doornbos.
She vividly portrayed Marquise de Mertueil in Heiner Muller's "Quartet", inspired by "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" ( Five 2008 L.A. Weekly Award Nominations Including "Best Performance" & "Best Ensemble"), and all the female characters in Heiner Muller's "The Battle: ABC" (2006 L.A. Weekly Award "Best Ensemble"), both with City Garage Theatre.
2011, Sharon took on the title role of Medea in the workshop of Holly Derr's interpretation of the Euripides classic in "American Medea", with Mary Jo Deschanel ("The Right Stuff"), and many WLS actors, which Sharon co-produced with writer/director Holly Derr (Head of Directing Program, University of Memphis).
In the Autumn of 2018, Sharon co-produced a large-scale reading of award-winning playwright Kim Yaged’s thriller “Eterna Sonrisa”, portraying a NYC art dealer in this complex tale set in academia and the urban art world.
Please see the “Theatre” tab for more details on these and other shows.
Bringing wit to drama and depth to comedy, Sharon can soon be seen in the upcoming comedy "Me Time", with Kevin Hart & Regina Hall premiering Fall ’22 on Netflix, the thriller “The Death That Awaits” with Paul Johansson, Ron Yuan, and Katya Martin opening Halloween ’22, and thriller “The Portrait” with Virginia Madsen, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and Natalia Cordova-Buckley debuting in January ’23 on a major streamer. Short drama "The Other Mind" and short comedy “B.F.F.R.” hit the festival circuit in 2022.
Sharon guest-starred as a warm and authoritative physical therapist opposite Rocky Carroll on "NCIS", Ep. 1603, appeared as a sassy wife in "Modern Family", recurred as a selective fashion buyer in "The Bold And The Beautiful", and played a driven tech C.E.O. negotiating a private-equity deal in series "Cost Of Capital". She portrayed a closeted social worker and divorced mom in gritty pilot "Shrader House", a former Senate staffer confronting gun culture in "Range Junkies", and a pregnant, recovering addict and burgeoning artist in unreleased thriller series "Crackerjack". Sharon's L.A. stage work includes grieving mother Becca in Malibu Stage Company's acclaimed production of "Rabbit Hole" with Oscar-nominee Katharine Ross ("The Graduate") and the title role Medea in the workshop of Holly Derr's interpretation of the Euripides classic in "American Medea", with Mary Jo Deschanel ("The Right Stuff"). She vividly portrayed Marquise de Mertueil in Heiner Muller's "Quartet", inspired by "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" ( Five 2008 L.A. Weekly Award Nominations Including "Best Performance" & "Best Ensemble"), and all the female characters in Heiner Muller's "The Battle: ABC" (2006 L.A. Weekly Award "Best Ensemble"), both with City Garage Theatre. She's a mother of two and resides in Los Angeles with her family.
Sharon and The Mutherfathers at The Roxy (above)
Sharon and her kids for the 2021 holiday season (right)
Sharon ready to front for The MutherFathers
The MutherFathers play The Pretenders’ classic “The Middle Of The Road”, May 15, 2022, Playa Vista Band Shell, to benefit Branches Atelier. The MutherFathers is the parent rock band for the Reggio-inspired child development center and preschool in Los Angeles.
Bringing wit to drama and depth to comedy, Sharon is smart and strong, with a soupçon of sass. Her heart is in charge, no matter what her head may tell you.