play is growing and birthing. Out
of that, I began to really understand
that I had an aptitude for directing
and for engaging with a play … that
led naturally to playwrights bringing
me stuff and saying, ‘Can we work
on this piece?’ I also did a lot of
work assisting. I assisted Al Pacino
and John Gold Rubin. There were a
bunch of different directors who let
me be an assistant to them and watch
the process. Eventually, I started
developing my own content and
working on my own plays.”
southern vermont’s
leading ladies
On Female Leadership
Dina Janis, Artistic Director of Dorset Theatre Festival
Dina Janis
Dina Janis is the Artistic Director of Dorset Theatre Festival. She is a
member of the famed Actors Studio, has taught at Bennington College since
2000, and from 2005 to 2008, she ran the LAByrinth theater company’s well-
known lab intensive at Bennington. She has served as one of the contributors
to the renowned Kilroy List for the past two years, which works toward
addressing gender equity in new play production on a national level.
On Theatre and Acting
“I was born in Chicago and when I came to New York, I was studying with
Stella Adler. It was an amazing experience. I used to volunteer at The Actors
Studio as an observer and then eventually auditioned and became a lifelong
member. I was so blessed to have so many people like Ellen Burstyn, Al
Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Harvey Keitel that were involved in running
sessions. It was really a trial by fire, because the membership would show
up every Tuesday and Friday, and people would get up and work, and they
would get critiqued by the people there. It was a competitive environment, so
you had to hold your own.”
On Directing
“A natural evolution of working on new material is that you become very
involved in the kind of conversations that are happening in the room as the
40 manchester life | manchesterlifemagazine.com
“Women in leadership roles in the
theater is still really something
new. It’s definitely been a long
time coming. And frankly, in
these daunting political and social
times, when you look at what the
theater is doing, and film as well,
in insisting upon making real
change in diversification of casting
and programming, I think that’s
important. It’s inspiring to be in that
environment at this moment.”
On Getting “Hooked” by
Vermont
“[Coming to Vermont] was really
not by design. I had been in New
York for more than 20 years. My
older son was 5, and I was expecting
another son. I just felt like I wanted
to get out of the city for a little
while and get some perspective.
Coincidentally, Bennington was
looking for someone to replace an
acting teacher. I had no plans of
staying and I ended up getting
hired to teach one course at
Bennington. That evolved into an
ongoing teaching relationship there.
Eventually we really moved up here
full time, and my kids all grew up in
Vermont and went to school here.”