Nell Teare

Nell Teare is an award-winning writer, director, producer, and actress whose career spans Broadway, independent film, television, and the literary world. A native Texan, Nell trained at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston before earning her degree from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. While still a student at NYU, she was cast in the original production of Memphis, which went on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical.

After relocating to Los Angeles, Nell worked at Center Theatre Group as part of the original production of Randy Newman's Harps and Angels, and it was around this time that she first found her way to Celebration Theatre — drawn, as so many are, by the power of a space dedicated to authentic LGBTQIA+ storytelling. She began her involvement as an artist and staff volunteer, and her connection to the theatre's mission only deepened from there, eventually leading her to serve as Celebration's Director of Development from 2011 to 2012.

As a filmmaker, Nell has completed over 200 projects, including feature and short films, live stage productions, music videos, commercials, web series, and more than thirty foreign language dubs for Netflix, Amazon, and Disney. Her debut feature film, Bolivar— in which she served as writer, director, producer, and lead actress — premiered with TheWrap and is now available across all major cable, satellite, and digital platforms through Freestyle Media. Her second feature, go-LOVE-go, a grounded gay romantic comedy, will premiere this year. She is currently gearing up for her third and fourth features set to shoot in Texas.

As a stage director, Nell has helmed original productions including Rock and Roll's Greatest Lovers at The Lillian Theatre and StandUpera at The Actor's Theatre, as well as classics like All Shook Up at the Morgan Wixson Theatre, and Anton in Show Business at the Hudson Theatre. In 2008, she founded Harmon Creek Press and published her first book, Celia and the Witches. She is also a member of Film Fatales, an organization championing gender equity in film and media.

A dedicated mentor and advocate, Nell has carried her commitment to LGBTQIA+ visibility and inclusion throughout her entire body of work. Her return to Celebration Theatre as a board member reflects a full-circle homecoming — from volunteer and company member to a guiding voice in the theatre's future. She brings with her an abiding belief in the transformative power of queer storytelling on stage and screen.