Charlotte Native Anna Elise LaFrance Shines Overseas

As the saying goes, “There is no place like home.” After all, home is the place where we feel the most comfortable, the area where we know every corner, and, in the quieter moments, we look to when needed. 

Sometimes in order to truly grow, however, it is necessary to leave the comforts of the towns and cities we know best, and for Anna Elise LaFrance, it took traversing from the Queen City over the Atlantic to a new continent for her to learn just how far her creativity can go.

After graduating from Northwest School of the Arts in 2017, LaFrance made her way to London to study at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance, then The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. 

She has since seen success in UK theatre, and more recently branched out to start her music career, releasing her debut single “It’s All Happening” over the summer. 

One of LaFrance’s biggest accomplishments in the UK was to produce and star in KJ Hinterland’s Pretend for London’s Etcetera Theatre in March 2024. 

Following the lives of Sophie, Holly, Zoe, and finally Cat, Anna’s character role, Pretend revolves around the friend group’s experiences in the theatre scene of London’s West End. 

As described by Etcetera, “The story revolves around the close-knit friendship between Sophie, Holly, Zoe, and Cat, aspiring actresses who have dreamed of making it big on stage since childhood. As they land coveted roles in a highly anticipated production, they are euphoric at the prospect of realizing their dreams together. 

“However, their debut is fraught with challenges,” it continues. “Each woman must confront personal demons and grapple with betrayals and secrets threatening their unity. After a devastating truth is revealed, they come together to help Sophie in a life-threatening battle against her body following an unintentionally injurious procedure.”

Poised as a queer drama and taking place amongst backstage dressing rooms, the play is a hyper-focused exploration of the complexities regarding female friendship and romance, the pursuit of success, and the harsh realities of living in the spotlight by night while facing everyday challenges when the curtains close. 

London art review Unmarked Theatre wrote glowingly of LaFrance’s performance in an early reading.

“As good as the ensemble are [in Pretend], there is a clear standout, Anna Elise LaFrance, who plays the complex character Holly. She excels in finding balance between the comedic relief & portraying a character who is (spoiler alert) cheating on her girlfriend, the sweet & at times naïve Cat,” the reviewer wrote. “Although only a staged reading, LaFrance manages to wholly embody the character and masterfully navigate her complexities. One would hope for a full run just to see her character come to life entirely.”

Anna attributes a lot of her success in producing the play to what her hometown had done for her as an artist and creative, directly linking Charlotte’s ability to nurture its own through its venues and the opportunities they bring to those starting out.

“Charlotte will always hold a special place in my heart,” Anna shares, “and I will always return home to visit and encourage the artistic scene that helped me get to where I am today.”

From theatre to music

This year has been a big one for LaFrance on more than one stage, as she recently showed off her multi-hyphenate side when she released her debut single, “It’s All Happening,” in July. 

The single features LaFrance’s energetic vocals with vibrant keys sprinkled over drums and soothing eclectic guitar, a casual yet upbeat celebration of finding and enjoying new life experiences. 

Anna invokes mountain landscapes, moonlit locales and city lights — “Courtside seats/ easy streets/ newfound beats/ Santa Barbara…) as a way to cast a bit of magic for listeners, drawing pictures for our imagination and adding in a bit of color with her cheerful vocal inflections. 

The poppy feel of the song draws the listener in and gives an unseen inspiration to go find what’s worth seeking, all while LaFrance speaks from a first-person point of view.

Related Reading: Actress Kadey Ballard Straddles Stages With Nascent Musical Career

“The inspiration behind this song originated from an incredible experience I had on Lookout Mountain in Laurel Canyon — a place steeped in rich musical history. As you may know, this magical area was once inhabited by iconic artists like Joni Mitchell, Jim Morrison of The Doors, Carole King, and Gram Parsons. Walking the same paths and breathing the same creative air that fueled these legendary musicians greatly inspired me.” 

Though she explicitly cites the West Coast as the inspiration for the song, one can’t help but link the warm track with LaFrance’s experiences overseas, including in theatre. Since leaving Charlotte, she has struck out for herself as a creative in an entirely different country, something that’s hard enough to do in your hometown — or continent. 

“It’s All Happening” isn’t just the name of her first track, it is the experience that this multi-talented 25-year-old is going through in this moment, as the small worlds around her open up to her ambitions. 

Given the extra dimensions of her own story so far, the song is a wonderfully hopeful message for anyone looking to include something more upbeat and inspirational to their playlists.

Looking across horizons

LaFrance’s journey is her own, but it’s far from unique to the Charlotte scene, as locals have recently been successful in expanding beyond the borders of the Southeast and even the country. 

Whether it’s Elijah Von Cramon’s Paint Fumes touring North America with Australian DIY punks The Chats and blazing their own headlining tours across Europe or, more recently, math-rock unit Cloutchaser’s Japan excursion in July, Charlotte artists are breaking out in full force, letting folks know the strength of the Queen City scene. 

With the constant construction happening within our city each year, bulldozing cultural touchstones of the Queen City like Tremont, The Chop Shop, or even Crown Station’s old intimate location in Elizabeth, it can feel like the city’s culture crumbles a little each day. 

While that is partly true, I take an alternate view to pair with it: Charlotte’s gone from being just an incubator of talent to becoming an exporter of it. 

In the most punk way, our artists are taking over other locales with everything they learned and honed here, and with LaFrance’s story to reflect on as the most recent example, I lean on that as why Charlotte can be seen as a rising force in music and arts on the East Coast.