BIO

Janeece Freeman Clark is the Producing and Founding Artistic Director of Vanguard Theater Company She is a Producer, Director, Scholar, Actor and Artist Educator. A 2022 Tony nominee for excellence in Arts Education, she serves on the Musical Theater Faculty at Manhattan School of Music and is also a Professor of Theater at Seton Hall University where she has directed the main stage productions of: Oklahoma, She Kills Monsters, The Revolutionists, and 26 Pebbles. Her New York productions of Everything is Fine Until It’s Not, and A Portrait of Ray, have won numerous awards and critical acclaim. Her TYA (Theater For Young Artist) production of Showtime with Shakespeare premiered at George Street Playhouse and NJPAC, followed by two successful National Tours.

Janeece is the founding Artistic Director of Vanguard Theater Company, a regional theater based in Montclair, NJ. Vanguard’s mission is to challenge social and cultural narratives through theater dedicated to DREAM: Diversity, Reciprocity, Education, Activism, and Mentorship. Under Janeece’s direction Vanguard has presented NYC productions of: Runaways, Spring Awakening, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Children's Letters to God, A Little Princess and New Jersey productions of Memphis, Hairspray, Heathers, Carrie, The Music Man, Songs For A New World (film), Next to Normal, Walk In My Gravity, Into the Woods, Chorus Line, Spitfire Grill, Rent, Bring It On, Passing Strange, and A Portrait of Ray. In addition to VTC’s mainstage offerings, their robust educational programming equips the younger generation with the tools to be professional performers as well as gatekeepers within the industry. Janeece has created signature programs such as: Broadway Buddy which pairs Broadway artists with mentees who are aspiring to a professional career in the industry; VTC Next which trains and mentors a diverse group of up-and-coming “theater-gatekeepers” (writers, producers, directors, choreographers, stage managers, etc.); and DreamVTC which teaches the importance of artist activism alongside performance skills.

Janeece has cultivated and produced video media revolving around the “Origins of Blackface Minstrelsy”; she has presented TEDx talks centered on Social Justice, Diversity and Inclusion; and has created theatrical curriculum for institutions such as New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Young Audiences Arts for Learning.

Janeece received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and her master’s from Rider University. She serves on the Executive Board for the NJ Theater Alliance and serves as the special advisor for Seton Hall University’s Arts Council.

As an actor, Janeece has appeared on Broadway, off-Broadway, national tours, television, film, commercials, and voiceovers. Janeece resides in South Orange, NJ and is married to Broadway Actor, Dwayne Clark, with whom she shares two children: Jada & DJ.