Shelley in a promo pic for Close Ties, 1983
Shelley was very active in the stage scene back in the early 1980s. It's where she honed her chops as an actress. In 1981, she received glowing reviews for her work in the Jack Heifner play Vanities, surprising critics as well as her detractors. She then ventured further and did Elizabeth Diggs' Close Ties in 1983 and likewise received glowing reviews. Directed by Arwin Brown, it was about the struggles of a New England family coping with the senility of the clan's matriarch. Shelley played Anna, one of the matriarch's daughters, and wowed again critics. Her performance in both plays was proof that, yes, she could act.
