Kim Shively (SHE/HER)

Consent and Boundaries with Minors, Consent-Based Acting Studio and Rehearsal Halls, Intimacy Education, Intimacy Choreographer, Intimacy Coordinator

ATL, NYC, LA, North and South Carolina
www.kimshivelycreative.com
www.21CActor.com

Kim Shively is an Associate Professor of Acting in the Department of Performing Arts at Elon University, where she teaches acting, directs productions, and mentors emerging theatre artists. Widely recognized as an expert acting teacher and pedagogue, her students regularly work across the industry, including on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in major regional theatres, national tours, streaming platforms, broadcast television, and commercial media. She has received teaching excellence awards from Elon University’s College of Arts and Sciences in recognition of her commitment to rigorous training, ethical practice, and student mentorship.

Shively is the co-Artistic Director of Piedmont Shakespeare Company; a professional theatre company launched in 2025 serving the Piedmont region of North Carolina. In its inaugural summer season, the company performed for more than 1,500 audience members, advancing its mission to provide accessible, high-quality classical theatre while creating professional opportunities for regional artists and emerging performers.

She is also Guiding Faculty with Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE) and works internationally as a theatrical intimacy educator, choreographer, and coordinator, leading workshops and trainings for universities, theatre companies, and professional organizations around the world. Her work focuses on integrating consent-based practices into actor training, rehearsal processes, and performance pedagogy.

Her research and writing have made significant contributions to the field of contemporary actor training. She is the co-author, with Amanda Rose Villarreal, of The Theater Artist’s Guide to Consent-Based Pedagogy, a text examining ethical practices for teaching and directing young performers and offering adaptations of TIE’s best practices for working with minors in educational and professional settings. She is also the co-author of Applied Meisner for the 21st Century Actor, a widely used acting text that has been adopted by colleges and universities across the United States and Europe, and was recently chosen by the National Alliance of Acting Teachers for a year-long study. Her scholarship also includes the article “Education in Theatrical Intimacy as Ethical Practice for University Theatre,” co-authored with Susanne Shawyer and published in the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, along with publications in The Players Journal (NIU), Methods (Pace University), Theatre Topics (Johns Hopkins University Press), and the Routledge volume Objectives, Obstacles and Tactics in Practice: Perspectives on Activating the Actor.
Beyond the classroom, Shively maintains an active career as a director and theatre maker. Her directing credits include the post-Broadway Premier of Lempicka, Carrie: The Musical, Spring Awakening, the university premiere of Moment by Deirdre Kinahan, Trojan Barbie by Christine Evans, The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe, and a world premiere workshop of The Inferior Sex by Jacqueline Lawton. She has presented research and led workshops internationally at venues and conferences including the Berlinale, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), the North Carolina Women’s Theatre Festival, and the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC).
As a performer, Shively is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA and has worked professionally in theatre, television, commercials, hosting, and voice-over. Her stage credits include work with Rhino Leap Productions, Piedmont Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare Orange County, Laguna Playhouse, and Asolo Repertory Theatre. Television appearances include Guiding Light, As the World Turns, The Young and the Restless, and CSI: Miami, along with more than a dozen national commercial campaigns both on camera and as a voice-over artist, including a 7 year campaign with Toyota on camera and radio.

Shively holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Chapman University and an MFA from the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Her work centers ethical, collaborative, and consent-based practices in actor training while preparing the next generation of performers for the demands of the contemporary profession.