Ashley Austin Morris

Ashley Austin Morris
Born Ashley Sue Morris
1983 (age 32–33)
San Antonio, Texas
Nationality American
Occupation Comedian, playwright, actress
Years active 2004–present
Known for Francine Carruthers on The Electric Company

Ashley Austin Morris (born Ashley Sue Morris,[1] 1983 in San Antonio, Texas) is an American comedian, playwright, and stage, television, and film actress. She is best known for her role as Francine Carruthers in the revival of the PBS Kids children's series The Electric Company, which ran from 2009 to 2011.[2][3]

Career

After finishing high school, Morris joined a comedy troupe called "Viva La Vulva!" and contributed to the group's writing and sketch comedy.[2] The following year, she enrolled at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and co-starred in a production called Be Good, Daniel, a short comedy romance. She also wrote Libido Limbo, a play about Lady M, Nora, Blanche, and Medea being trapped in purgatory and being saved by Hillary Clinton, which was a finalist at Atlanta's Young Playwrights Festival.[4][5][6]

Morris moved to New York City after graduating from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and landed roles in off-Broadway productions, first as Edith in Die, Mommie, Die![2][7] and then in Paper Dolls.[8][9] She also performed stand-up comedy and starred for three seasons as Francine Carruthers, the leader of the Pranksters and a character with a very high opinion of herself and the power to generate violet word balls, in the 2009-2011 revival of The Electric Company, an educational children's program that employed sketch comedy and other entertaining devices to help elementary school children develop their grammar and reading skills and shown on the Public Broadcasting Service .

While performing on The Electric Company, Morris continued to also act on stage, including in the New York City off-Broadway productions Isabel and Bees, Love, Loss, and What I Wore,[10][11] and In the Daylight,[12][13] and appeared in episodes of the television shows Ugly Betty, The Good Wife, and Gravity.

After The Electric Company stopped making new episodes, she joined the rotating cast of Reading Under the Influence,[14][15][16][17] and appeared in episodes of The Big Bang Theory and Desperate Housewives.

She was also in the video for "K.I.A. (Killed in Action)" from the album Shaka Rock by Jet,[18] and had roles in the movies Premium Rush, Art Machine, Generation Um..., Putzel, and Joke Writer, and has a role in the forthcoming Sully. She has also continued to perform stand-up comedy routines, mainly in New York City.

Selected appearances

Film

Date of U.S. Release Name Role Notes
May 28, 2004 Be Good, Daniel (short) Maggie North Carolina School of the Arts
August 24, 2012 Premium Rush receptionist Columbia Pictures
October 12, 2012 Art Machine brunette Pie Face Pictures
May 13, 2013 Generation Um... girl date independent
April 8, 2014 Putzel Naomi Stouthearted Films
2014 Joke Writer Jess independent
September 9, 2016
(announced date)		 Sully Emily Warner Brothers

Stage

Date Name Role Production Company/Notes
October 10, 2007 (previews)
October 21, 2007 (official) – January 2008		 Die, Mommie, Die! Edith Arden
August 13, 2008 – August 23, 2008 Paper Dolls Lively Productions and Métropole Ink

New York International Fringe Festival
Fringe Award for Outstanding Ensemble

September 8, 2009 (preview)
September 20, 2009 (official) – October 11, 2009		 In the Daylight Charlotte Fontaine
June 30, 2010 – July 25, 2010 Love, Loss, and What I Wore also performed in San Jose, Cal. during 2013
April 6, 2011 (previews)
April 16, 2011 (official) – May 29, 2011		 Reading Under the Influence Kerry

Television

Date First Aired Name Episode Role Network or
Production Company
October 23, 2008 Ugly Betty Granny Pants (season 3, episode 5) Harmony ABC
January 19, 2009 Electric Company 3 seasons, 52 episodes Francine Carruthers Children's Television Workshop (PBS)
May 7, 2010 Gravity (TV series) One Cold Swim Away (season 1, episode 3) Naomi Starz
November 16, 2010 The Good Wife Bad Girls (season 2, episode 7) Corey Lutz CBS
August 28, 2011 I Just Want My Pants Back (pilot) Jocoby MTV
November 10, 2011 The Big Bang Theory The Ornithophobia Diffusion (season 5, episode 9) Laura CBS
March 25, 2012 Desperate Housewives Any Moment (season 8, episode 19) Mary Beth ABC
February 15, 2013 It Could Be Worse What’s Your Secret? (season 1, episode 3) Lisa Four A.M. Productions
March 4, 2013 Gracious Café Detox (season 1, episode 3) Ansley
November 10, 2013 Think Tank Job Creation (episode 1)
Panda Copulation (episode 3)
Prostitution (episode 4)		 Hannah A&E (web site)

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ashleyaustinmorriscomedy.com/pages.html
  2. 1 2 3 "Ashley Morris - Broadway Buzz". Broadway.com. 2007-10-18. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  3. ↑ "Ashley Austin Morris 04/21 by BlazinRy Radio - Entertainment Podcasts". Blogtalkradio.com. 2011-04-21. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  4. ↑ "Press Releases". Sesame Workshop. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  5. ↑ Mullen, Ellen (July 17, 2015). "Ashley Austin Morris". /thefleatheaternyc.tumblr.com. The Flea Eater. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "The Electric Company - Cast Biographies" (PDF). sesameworkshop.org. Public Broadcasting System. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  7. ↑ Gans, Andrew (October 10, 2007). "News:U.S./Canada - Charles Busch's Die Mommie Die! Begins Off-Broadway Run Oct. 10". playbill.com. Playbill. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  8. ↑ Gans, Andrew (August 13, 2008). "Paper Dolls, with "As the World Turns" Star Magnussen, Begins FringeNYC Run Aug. 13". playbill.com. Playbill. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "Lively Productions / Métropole Ink - Paper Dolls". irttheater.org. Interboro Repertory Theater. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  10. ↑ "Haylie Duff, Ashley Austin Morris Join Cast of Love, Loss, and What I Wore 6/30". broadwayworld.com. Wisdom Digital Media. June 22, 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  11. ↑ Gans, Andrew (July 19, 2013). "Dawn Wells, Dee Hoty, Sandra Tsing Loh, Ashley Austin Morris Star in San Jose Rep's Love, Loss, and What I Wore, Beginning July 19". playbill.com. Playbill. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  12. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (September 24, 2009). "Skeletons in a Family’s Dark Closet". New York Times. p. C7. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  13. ↑ Tortora-Lee, Karen (September 17, 2009). "Review - In The Daylight (Vital Theatre Company)". The Fab Marquee. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "Reading Under The Influence". Readingundertheinfluencetheplay.com. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  15. ↑ Cox, Gordon (March 11, 2011). "Off Broadway opens book on 'Reading'". Variety.
  16. ↑ Gans, Andrew (April 6, 2011). "Barbara Walsh Stars in Off-Broadway's Reading Under the Influence, Starting April 6". playbill.com. Playbill. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  17. ↑ Gates, Anita (April 20, 2011). "Here's to the Ladies Who Lurch". New York Times. p. C4. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  18. ↑ "JET - K.I.A. (Killed In Action) official video". You Tube. Jet. Retrieved 15 February 2016.

External links

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