Elaine Lee

Career

Elaine Lee graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Theater Arts from Stephens College. She took graduate classes in English Literature at the State University of New York at New Paltz from 2002 to 2003.

In 1976, she moved to New York City and found acting work. In 1980, she landed the role of Mildred Trumble on NBC-TV’s The Doctors for which she received a Best Supporting Actress 1980 Daytime Emmy Award nomination.

She was a founding member and artistic director of Manhattan-based theatre company, Wild Hair Productions.

Wild Hair began its run performing three plays written and performed by Elaine Lee and her sister, comedian Susan Norfleet Lee: Brief Lives, The Contamination of the Kokomo Lounge, and Starstruck. Starstruck, a science-fiction spoof with a largely female cast, was performed Off-Broadway at the N.E.T.W.O.R.K. Theater, from April 16 – May 10, 1980. Lee portrayed Captain Galatia 9, and Susan Norfleet Lee played Brucilla the Muscle. In 1983, Lee directed a revised production with a new cast that was performed at the Park Royal Theater, from April 16 – May 8, 1983.

Lee's Starstruck play grew into a comic-book series that has been adapted into audioplays and seen multiple spin-offs and sequels. It was nominated for the Jack Kirby award for Best Graphic Novel in 1985. The British Science Fiction Society magazine Vector listed it as a "groundbreaking work": "The original volume, 73 pages long, covers three decades of stories across the universe, and the non-linear approach has seen critics today comparing it to later works such as Lost and Watchmen. Much of the praise given to the latter, its innovation of non-linear graphic storytelling, use of supplement texts for story expansion, overlapping dialogue, unreliable storytelling and so on, was in fact pioneered by the greatly overlooked Starstruck."

Lee is a writer and co-producer for The AudioComics Company, which adapts comics and other original works into full-cast dramatizations with scores and sound effects. She adapted Locke and Key, based on IDW's graphic novel series by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. It was a finalist for an Audie Award. She also produced The Starling Project, which received Audie Award nominations for Original Work and Best Audio Drama, and an Earphones Award.

She co-adapted the Image Comic series The Perhapanauts which won a Silver Ogle Award, and also adapted and co-produced her "Honey West: Murder on Mars" (Moonstone Books) comics as an audioplay. Other co-productions include Starstruck, "The Batsons: The Trouble with Fang!", "The Batsons: Camilla's Crush", "Titanium Rain, Vol.1", and "The Domino Lady: All's Fair in War".

In 2011, Lee was chosen as an Artist in Residence at the National Audio Theatre Festival workshop. The NATF commissioned her play "TransMars Tango" for a live performance, starring Philip Proctor of The Firesign Theatre, and directed by Brian Price.

From 1995–2008, Elaine Lee wrote and developed work for children's animation in Germany, Denmark and Belgium. Her credits include Stevie Stardust, Troll Tales (A-Film), and The Mooh Brothers (Niolan).

In comics, Lee has written a wide variety of works for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and other publishers, including Indiana Jones and the Spear of Destiny, Prince Valiant, Ragman and Vamps. Lee worked as a colorist as well, most notably on several issues of The New Mutants and The Shadow for Marvel Comics and Dark Horse Comics and the first two issues of Starstruck. She also did color art and supervised art direction, did design work on her various Starstruck projects, such as the Starstruck Deluxe Edition, and for works on which she served as co-producer at AudioComics. She also served as Art Director for Stadium Entertainment.

With Susan Norfleet Lee, Elaine Lee co-authored the book Porch Dogs, under the pen name Georgia Sullivan. ISBN 0-9726863-0-4.