Bio
I was born and grew up in Westchester, New York. My father, Charles DeCarlo, was president of Sarah Lawrence College from 1969 to 1982. My mother was a cellist and painter. So I grew up in rarified circumstances. I went from a sheltered suburban kid to a very unsheltered kid in the atmosphere of sex, drugs, and rebellion. My father was picketed! At the age of 16 I ran away to London. Several years later I was deported back to America. Nothing like coming home in disgrace!
In school in New York City, I wrote and drew. I became an aspiring cartoonist, until in my early 20s I found my true calling: sketch comedy.
Dignity. Always dignity.
As a member of the sketch comedy trio The Cheap Histrionics Theater company, along with James Racheff and Dominick Caputo, we performed around the country and had a radio program, "Cheap Histrionics Of The Airwaves!" Some of our material was featured on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered". Later I developed cabaret material and solo shows.
The Second Most Feared Woman In Fashion.
I was profiled by The New York Times for my play "Diary Of A Mad Fashionista", based on my comic fashion blog, supposedly written by "the second most feared woman in fashion". Tim Gunn said to me, "I love that blog!" The article was headed: "Personality Plus: A Twin Takes Over".
Books include "The Devil You Say" and "Strong Spirits", published by Avon; "Cervix With A Smile: The Plays Of Elisa DeCarlo" published by Exit Press; and "The Abortionist's Daughter: A Novel" published by S&D Productions. I have written for New York Magazine and was a staff writer for Sarah Lawrence magazine. Strangely enough, it was in the early aughts and had nothing to do with my father!
For over 20 years I performed solo shows around the country, in theaters and on college campuses. There is more information on them on my "Stage Work" page.
Me and Me - the story of my relationship with my father and my career as a drag king.
In my other life, I've been a teenage criminal; had a SWAT team called to my apartment (never found out who called them); spent time in some of New York's finest psych wards; written a half ton of fanfiction; recovered from alcoholism; had several small strokes; and was diagnosed as bipolar in 2001.
Currently I'm writing a graphic memoir, wedding my two loves, drawing and prose.