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Hello! Thanks for visiting my web site. I am an actress, singer, costumer and dialectician, living
in Los Angeles. Here is a brief synopsis of my most recent projects.
Due to webhost software issues, some photos may not be visible. Links are located at the bottom of each
page.
ACTING
In December, I will return to musical theater, playing the Widow Corney in Oliver!
with the Red Carpet Theater Company in North Hollywood. The last time I did this show (1992), I played Nancy.
I'm looking forward to singing Corney's songs, especially the oh-so-fun "I Shall Scream." Director is Mariko Ballentine,
a casting director for many years with Danny Goldman and Associates. Music director is vocal coach Kathy Matchiner.
Info is www.kmtheatricalproductions.com.
We will run December 4 through 13, with five shows per weekend, but a study will have to replace me in
the 8 p.m. show on December 12. That's closing night for It's a Wonderful Life,
which I am costuming, so I must be in Pasadena at the First Church of the Nazarene that night to retrieve 1940s costumes.
This is their perennial Christmas show, cute, heart-warming, very nicely done, and tends to sell out. I recommend it
highly. It opens December 5.
I worked in two film projects in September:
First was the feature film Chapped Lips, a comedy set in the Old West. This
film contains no expletives, no explosions, no blood, and no one gets shot. It's just a lot of laughs! I
play a genteel lady planning a trip to San Francisco. The cast includes Vernon G. Wells (you may remember him as
the villain Wez in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior), Joe Estevez (best known as the brother of Martin
Sheen, but a busy actor in his own right), Jesse Johnson (son of Don), and other familiar faces.
Imediately following that was Sam Karras' shivery film, Beneath, in which I played
the Closet Monster, wickedly preying upon the innocence of a little boy... Ah, but that's all I can reveal. This
role was a rare chance to do a re-e-eally creepy voice and to wear some hideous SFX makeup. How delightful!
In August I shot additional scenes for The Vanguard, a film in which I starred several
years ago, which is being expanded for feature distribution. In this dramatic feature based on a true story, I play
a Jewish teacher who is the victim of a gang of fanatical white-supremacists. Vernon Wells and Joe Estevez are among
the cast, as are Bryan Hanna, with whom I worked in Exodus?, and William F. Knight, probably the
most talented and polished actor with whom I have ever had the pleasure of working.
Last spring I appeared in my 42nd stage production, Next Stop, Broadway with the
Center Stage theater group in Pasadena. In this inspiring romantic comedy by Sandy Boikian, I underwent aging in order
to play the domineering grande dame of a church congregation who gives a hard time to the resident theatrical troupe.
In January I co-starred in Irina Borisova's dramatic film, Journey Home. I
played Mel, the outgoing owner of a neighborhood diner, with a Southern accent as warm as her heart. The film remains
in postproduction.
In December of 2008, I played NINE diverse voice characters in It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio
Play with Cornerstone Playhouse in Pasadena. I was also the costume designer of the play, which is set
in 1946.
In late 2008, I played the anguished mother of an accident victim in the cable television series Mystery
ER. The episode, directed by Jeff Daniels and entitled Ironic Discovery / Native Tongue,
is still re-running on Discovery Health Network.
Prior to that, I played an Indian woman in Adios, Mi Amigo. This dramatic
feature film by Kalpana Singh-Chitnis is about the abiding friendship between a hispanic man and a woman from India.
I played the woman's harsh mother-in-law. I have never worked in this dialect before, so the role was an exciting challenge.
The Indian cast and crew told me that I "fit in" and "wear a sari well," which was incredibly gratifying, and the producer
says that she now considers me to be one of her Punjabi actors. Well, Bollywood, here we come! The film is slated
for release in late 2009.
Earlier in 2008 I played a classic wicked witch in Swords and Savages, a sweet
little tale by Mitch Fiat, which combined elements similar to The Princess Bride and A Christmas Story
into the tale of an orphaned boy learning to accept his grandfather's love. I played Mrs. Warwick, the villainess
in the boy's recurring fantasy adventures. I had some sword-fighting scenes. In long shots I
was doubled by the stunt coordinator (who also doubled Antonio Banderas in his Zorro projects and
trained Russell Crowe in Master and Commander), but for my closeups I worked with the fencing master,
which was even more fun than I expected. My face and hands were painted red, teeth were yellowed, and monstrous talons
were applied to my hands. The special-effects makeup sessions were grueling, but the end result was worth the trouble.
El Cocinero was filmed in 2007 and screened in January of 2008 at Warner Brothers
Studios. In this grim drama by Jose Roberto Figueroa, I played a leading role as the mother of the victim of a
drug-dealing gang. I won't tell you what became of my dead son, but will only hint that the title of the film translates
as The Cook. ... In this bilingual film I worked with a director from Mexico and a cast
and crew largely from Puerto Rico.
In January of 2008, the History Channel premiered The Hunt for John Wilkes Booth,
in which I played the leading role of Mary Surratt, who was hanged as a conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
I also designed and created my 1860s costume for this television project, which was filmed in May of 2007 at historic
Fort Tejon. The episode is still being aired from time to time on the History Channel.
Immediately prior to that project, I played the supporting role of a medieval serving woman in Then
and Now, a comedic film with a moral, intended to encourage conservation and recycling, which was directed
by Seth Pinsker.
In April of 2007, I fulfilled a longtime ambition when I played a zombie in the comedy thriller It's
a Wonderful Death. Now really, doesn't everyone need a chance to play a zombie at least once?
What silly fun! The cast includes Vernon Wells, Jack Betts (of Spiderman and Office
Space) and Anthony Tyler Quinn, son of legendary actor Anthony Quinn.
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| It's weird and gooey in here, but not as bad as it looks. |
Filming is currently on hold for this episode of Costa Chica, a horror series by
producer/director David Heavener, for which special-effects makeup was done in 2007. I will be working in Spanish,
which I always enjoy, and it will be quite an exercise -- I get to rant and rave, be possessed by a demon, and die in a gruesome
way!
Here, the SFX team is seen making a life-cast of my head for my death scene. Now is this fun, or what?
I had this same gooey life-cast process done the previous October, but in that case it was from throat
to hips, as a body double for Catherine Deneuve in an episode of Nip/Tuck.
In late 2006, I played the enticingly complex role of Delilah in the dramatic action film Exodus? This
isn't exactly the Bible story. But the character lives up to her namesake opposite Bryan Hanna's Samson, in this crime
drama with a moral, directed by Jeremy Jason and slated for release in late 2009.
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| as Joanna, March 2006 |
Prior to that, I played the title role in Jae Hark Roh's thesis film for Art Center, Joanna.
This psychological-metaphysical drama employs dark dream sequences, Freudian implications, and a mystifying
premise. My alter ego was the child Joanna, who grew up, but whom the world never saw as an adult.
The film will be in postproduction for an indefinite period, as the writer-director has returned home
to Korea.
My 2006 interview in Backstage West is too large a file
to reproduce here, but if you are interested in reading it, use the link at the bottom of this page to contact me.
The article focused primarily on The Pretty Boy Project (see below).
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| Mama Pretty hands over cash to the Pretty Boys |
In 2005, I starred in a very funny film entitled The Pretty Boy Project, in
which I played the mother of three beautiful biracial con men. Did I say they were beautiful? More precisely,
they were the Pretty Boys!
Director Karl Reid describes this clever little stereotype-challenging film as
"a quirky, off-center tale of a nomadic mother and her three metrosexual, street-hustling sons."
HBO's website summarizes it this way: "Three metrosexual brothers challenge Oakland's most outrageous
thug to a $1,000 duel in this amusing short film, starring T. Ashanti Mozelle, Justin Wade, Claudis Caine, Tony Tucker and
Janet Vincent Lee."
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| I am seen driving the infamous old motor home. |
This film had a 2-year run on HBO beginning in December of 2006, after a
year of burning up the festival circuit.
It was a selection in eight film festivals, from Hollywood to New York. The film
won a Jury Award at CineVegas Film Festival in Las Vegas, Special Recognition in the Short
Film category. And in an interview on KNPR radio, a spokesman for the festival mentioned it as one of the films not
to be missed. It was also nominated for the prestigious Golden Gate Award as Best Narrative Short
at the 49th Annual San Francisco International Film Festival, and was also nominated for Best Actor and as
Best Short Film at the Independent Black Film Festival in Atlanta. A trailer can be viewed at www.theprettyboyproject.com. Here is the film's poster, which can also be seen on the website.
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| Julie't s rockin' nurse, 2005 |
Also in 2005, I costarred in the feature film Rockin' Romeo and Juliet, a
rock-musical version of the classic tragedy, in the comedic role of Juliet's Nurse. I also served as Shakespearean
dialect coach to the cast. The concept of this unique film was the brainchild of British director
David McGaw, who describes it as "a cross between Shakespeare in Love and The Rocky Horror
Picture Show." You can view the trailer at
http://www.oggimusic.com/featurefilm.htm. The film premiered in Hamburg, Germany in 2006, and was named as the "Independent Film Tip
of the Month" in the November, 2006 issue of Cinema Magazine. There are photos on my Costuming page and my Shakespeare
page.
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| Laura Napoli, Mark Petrie, Joe Hendrix, Stacey Jackson |
COSTUMING
Construction is underway on my costuming website. Meanwhile, here are some highlights:
"Janet Vincent Lee's costumes are noteworthy and fun."
- Backstage West
"...bright, whimsical costumes by Janét Vincent Lee."
- Los Angeles Times
Those were my reviews in March of 2006, when my work was seen on stage in the play Claire
Z. at Sacred Fools Theatre in Hollywood. I created 34 costumes from the
1960s era for this unique adaptation of the tragi-comedy The Visit by Swiss playwright Friedrich Durrenmatt.
The play was adapted, with music and innovative motion-and-gesture work, by director John Wuchte. Please see my
Costuming page for additional photos.
In December of 2008, I costumed It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play for Cornerstone
Theater in Pasadena, directed by Marc Pierson. The play is set in a 1946 radio broadcasting studio, where actors perform
the story on the air. The vintage costumes and accessories were a delight to design, find and create. (Photos
to follow.)
In 2009 I am again costuming It's a Wonderful Life for its third annual run, December
3 through 14. Lynn Christy directs this year, with several cast members returning. Performances are in the very
nice theater space of the First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena.
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| Justin Downing, with Amanda Bauer as the ghostly visitor from 1926. |
In 2006 I served as costume designer for the film Residual Effect, written
and directed by Jaime Lynn Riegel. This is the story of a haunting, for which I created 1920s costumes including
the two shown here.
The challenge was to create a dress for the ghostly visitor which was authentically mid-1920s in style, yet
modern enough to also be worn by a present-day teenager. A duplicate dress was then created for a double-exposure sequence.
The couple at left appeared in a sepia-tone portrait in the film.
Please see my Costuming page for additional photos.
Also in 2006, I served as wardrobe stylist and costume history advisor on the dramatic feature, The
Unknowing, set in 1890 in the American West. The film starred Jennifer Lutheran of Deadwood
and Randall Yarbrough. (Photos to follow when my Costuming site construction is completed.)
In 2007, I guest-starred in the TV series Designing Your Future (episode: Fashion
Design), where the panel of hosts interviewed me about various aspects of costume design. The series focuses
on careers in different design fields, and is aired on GCGI Skyline, a global satellite station with a large Asian viewership.
In 2002 I formed the country music band, Southern Thunder, in which I have been proud to take the stage
with some very talented and experienced musicians (see link below). After our very well-received concert in
2004 for the City of Mission Viejo as part of their Cultural Arts Series, we took a hiatus to work on the CD.
Since then I have been busy with film projects, and the band remains on hiatus with no immediate plans to reactivate.
In 2004 I recorded a CD entitled Southern Thunder, which includes several of
my original songs along with some golden oldies and contemporary hits. Two of these originals ("Southern Thunder"
and "Sunday Cowboy") will be featured in the film The Vanguard.
Thanks again for your visit. There are pages here illustrating some of the characters I have played, costumes
I have created, and excerpts from my résumé and reviews. If you have questions, feel free to send me an e-mail.
God bless!
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