Jennifer Lanier

Jennifer Lanier grew up in Greensboro, NC and received her classical acting training at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts under Gerald Freedman, Cigden Onat, and Robert Moyer. While in North Carolina, Jennifer founded the Lesbian Thesbians theatre company and also produced a number of independent projects.

She became a founding fellow of the A+ Schools Program, instructing school faculties in arts integration and curriculum enrichment. She also began working with Robert Moyer at the United Stage, bringing scripted and improvisational stories to young audiences throughout the South. The two even had a run at the Smithsonian Institution’s Discovery Theatre of Lanier’s original young audiences piece, Brer Rabbit Meets Coyote, exploring the challenges of growing up as an ethnically mixed person. Lanier expanded the piece into a solo comedy called None of the Above, which she has toured to colleges, theatre festivals, and Pride events throughout the country. She has a production company, Many Horses Productions, which produces variety shows, drag events, and theatre. She is currently Co-Artistic Director of Original Practice Shakespeare Festival (OPS Fest).

She has worked in regional theatre (Portland Center Stage, American Stage, Portland Playhouse, Ruth Foreman Theatre) touring theatre (People’s Art Action, Artists Repertory Theatre, United Stage), television (guest star on Leverage, Hawaii, Grimm), national & regional commercials, and film (Thin Skin, Scrapper, Last Champion). Lanier lives in Vancouver, WA with her wife, two sons, a costume-loving dachshund, a tornado of a kitten, and an anorexic tortoise.