Elizabeth Elwood is a graduate of the University of British Columbia. In addition to her study of English and theatre, she also trained in the UBC Opera Workshop with French Tickner, studied piano through the Toronto Conservatory and took many years of voice training with the wonderful Luigi Wood. Under her maiden name, Elizabeth French, she sang for many years with the Vancouver Opera Chorus and acted principal roles with theatre groups around the Lower Mainland, including the North Shore Light Operatic Society, where she was the first recipient of the now well-established NSLOS scholarship for best performer in 1970.

Elizabeth taught English and drama in the Burnaby School District, and during this period, she directed a variety of productions including Blithe Spirit, The Mousetrap and The Reluctant Debutante. While raising her family, she spent many years involved in arts administration and community volunteer activity, subsequently being declared winner of the Burnaby Arts Council annual award for her contributions to the Arts in Burnaby.

In 1998, she and her husband formed Elwoodettes Marionettes, and after creating a number of musicals for the puppet company, Elizabeth wrote a mystery story, “To Catch an Actress”, which she later expanded into a three-act play. Under the title, Casting for Murder, the play was produced by the Vagabond Players in 2000, and has since been performed by several other Canadian companies. It also had it’s first US production in 2017.

Encouraged by the success of Casting for Murder, Elizabeth continued writing for the theatre, and she now has three more plays to her credit: Renovations, Shadow of Murder and Body and Soul. The first two have also gone on to other productions, and the latter was the recipient of two CTC awards in 2017. The success of her first play led to the publication of a mystery anthology. One of the major characters in the play, the feisty city councillor, Bertram Beary, was so popular with audiences that Elizabeth decided to develop a set of ten short mystery stories around him and the members of his family.  These stories were published under the title, To Catch an Actress and Other Mystery Stories.   There are now five additional books in the series, and all have received high praise for their clever plots and stylish writing. Elizabeth’s work has also been featured in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Malice Domestic’s Mystery Most Theatrical anthology and the Black Cat Mystery Ebook Club.

 

 

[box] ASSOCIATIONS[/box]

Burnaby Writers Society:  http://members.shaw.ca/burnabywriter/

Crime Writers of Canada:  http://www.crimewriterscanada.com/elwood-elizabeth

Vagabond Players:  www.vagabondplayers.ca