Biography

Most recently, Janis directed the LAByrinth Stripped Production of The Complicated by Cusi Cram at 59 59 Theater. She is currently the Artistic Director of the Vermont Public Theater and directed their developmental reading of Texting Through Grief by Mary Bacon and James Still. She previously served as the Artistic Director of the Dorset Theatre Festival (DTF) from 2010 through 2023, during which time she directed many mainstage productions as well as developmental readings and workshops including: Scarecrow by Heidi Armbruster, Gorgeous Nothings by Mary Bacon and Purva Bedi, The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill by Lanie Robertson, and Out of the City by Leslie Ayvazian. As part of DTF's Pipeline Series, she directed A Stage of Twilight by Sarah T. Schwab starring Karen Allen, and A Life in the Theater by David Mamet starring Treat Williams. Janis oversaw the Festival's renowned New Play Development Programs, including its Fellowship and Commissioning Program; Pipeline Series; and Women Artists Writing Group (WAW), of which she is a member, and which is now in residence at The Women's Project Theater. 

Janis is a member of the Actors Studio Playwrights and Directors Unit. She trained as an actor, getting her start with the Steppenwolf Theater Company after which she headed to NYC and studied directly with Kim Stanley, Stella Adler, Uta Hagen, Lee Strasberg, and Sanford Meisner.  

Janis has been a faculty member at Bennington since 2000.