Shelly Hudson
CEO/Founding Producing Artistic Director
Shelly Hudson began her career in arts education 25+ years ago when returning to her hometown after college and saw the lack of opportunities for collaboration and youth arts education. Over the years Hudson has worked with over 1,000 early careers artists from around New England with many going on to have careers in the arts of their own. In 2016, Shelly returned to the region to create Amplified Arts, whose mission is to enhance the Greater Claremont community and its creative economy through shared arts experiences. For AMP, that includes live, and locally sourced theatre, interactive film screenings, special events for and to benefit our community, as well as a Pop-Up Art Gallery that supports local artists, who can exhibit and sell their art through Streetside Gallery.
Amplified Arts and its artists work to create theatrical works of artistic excellence through our award-winning Academy for early-career artists ages 13 – 18 and our critically acclaimed adult (18+) Company. All of AMP’s programs are inclusive and accessible and those programs work to empower and inspire the imagination of the artists, audiences, and community members by providing access to one-of-a-kind arts experiences. It is at the core of what makes Amplified Arts a great fit for Sullivan County, an underserved region in New Hampshire.
Winner of the 2016 NH Theatre Awards: Vision and Tenacity Award, Shelly has held the position of Executive Director at several arts/business organizations in NH including The Performer’s Playground, an award-winning youth theatre company, which she founded in 2004, and Red River Theatres, the award-winning art-house cinema located in our state’s capital where she developed media arts education programming and over 30 interactive movie events. She has also functioned as the Executive Director for the NH Theatre Alliance, a statewide nonprofit that works with NH theatre companies and artists to foster collaborative conversation, resource-sharing, and audience engagement. Her desire to bring the world of “straight” theatre to underserved regions of the state has allowed for a rewarding creative career for Shelly which in turn has created opportunities for the communities that she has served.
Shelly’s directing resume includes:
Live Theatre: Picnic At Hangin Rock (2021 – Theatre In The Woods Series), M* (2020 – Theatre In the Woods Series), Midsummer Night’s Dream* (2020), Blithe Spirit (2019), Shakespeare In Love (2019 – NH Premiere)**, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (2019)**, The Country Wife* (2019)**, Much Ado About Nothing* (2018), Agnes of God (2018), The Laramie Project (2018)***, HOLES (2018), The Great Gatsby (2017), Hamlet *( 2017 )***, Diary of Anne Frank (2016) The Importance of Being Earnest* (2016), Romeo & Juliet*(2015), Rocky Horror Picture Show Shadow Cast (2012 – 2015), The Little Princess (2012), Wonderland (2011), Little Women (2010) **, James and The Giant Peach (2009) Tom Sawyer (2009), High School Musical (2008) Dracula (2008), The Crucible (2007) Lord of the Flies (2007) Pride & Prejudice(2006), PAN *(2006), Wizard Of Oz (2006), Once Upon A Mattress (2006) JUNK (2006) Treasure Island (2005), Medea (2004), No Exit (2004), A Midsummer Nights Dream* (2003), The Hobbit (2003), Harvey (2003) A Night With Shakespeare* (2001) Oliver! (1999), All The World’s A Stage (1998) The City @ (1997)
Virtual Stage: 26 Pebbles (2021)
Film: To Be Continued @ (short film 2004), Assimilation @ (short film 2005), One Dark Flame @ (2006)
* Original Adaptation by ** Nominated for NH Theatre Award *** Winner of an NH Theatre Award @Written By
Headshot provided by Sid Ceaser Photography
Cover Photo courtesy of Kristin Small Photography from “The Importance of Being Earnest” 2017