Actor
Recent acting credits in San Diego, CA include Hazel in The Children (Moxie Theatre) receiving a nomination for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play at the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Craig Noel Awards, Rosemary in Outside Mullingar (Scripps Ranch Theatre/Oceanside Theatre), various roles in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (San Diego Rep.), Joan in Melancholy Play (InnerMission Productions), First Witch & the Porter in Macbeth and Amy in Company (Vanguard), and Gala Brand in The Moonraker Affair (Lonesome Whistle Productions).
Since graduating drama school in London, Vanessa performed throughout the UK for the Royal National Theatre (London), the Belgrade Theatre (Coventry) and Forest Forge (touring). Favorite UK roles include Iago in Othello, Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest, and Mary in Our Country's Good (Workhouse Theatre), Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Belgrade), Mary Shelley in Blood and Ice (Edinburgh Festival), Donna/Oolie in City of Angels (Youth Connection), Christine in My Sister In This House
(The Union Theatre) and Hannah in Night Hawkes (Finborough Theatre), among many, many others.
Vanessa also performed frequent solo cabaret shows at prestigious London cabaret venues including The King's Head, The Canal Cafe, No. 3 The Green and Covent Garden's famous Theatre Museum.
Director
In San Diego, Vanessa has directed Dido & Aeneas by Henry Purcell (Bodhi Tree Concerts), Sofonisba by Callie Kimball (Zoom production for The Eastern Theatre Group), Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and Stephen Sondheim's Follies (in Concert for Coronado Playhouse), Katie Luther: the Opera (EveryDay Opera), Much Ado About Music (San Diego Symphony Orchestra), and assisted on Shockheaded Peter (for Cygnet Theatre) and Public Enemy (New Fortune Theatre) to name but a few.
Other productions include Desperately Seeking an Audience, Women Beware Women, A... My Name Is Alice, The Shakespeare Musicale, Beatrice The Butterfly, Shakespeare at the Opera, Shakespeare Faves & Raves, Love Letters, Macbeth and As You Like It.
Vanessa also directed many fundraiser performances and student performances for youth theatre companies.
Her next foray will be as Assistant Director for New Fortune's production of Public Enemy.
Voice & Dialect
Vanessa is in high demand as San Diego's most notable voice and dialect coach. As a trained, qualified voice specialist she has helped countless actors and students with their voice, text and dialect work.
In San Diego, Vanessa works frequently at Moonlight Stage Productions, Cygnet Theatre, San Diego Rep., The Old Globe, Backyard Renaissance, San Diego Musical Theatre, San Diego Opera, Bodhi Tree Concerts, Moxie Theatre, The Welk Resort, Scripps Ranch Theatre, Oceanside Theatre, and Coronado Playhouse among others.
Since moving to the US, Vanessa has taught classes for San Diego State University and Cal State University San Marcos, Canyon Crest Academy, Francis Parker School, North Coast Rep Theatre School and the San Diego Shakespeare Society. She also works with private students specializing in Shakespeare, Public Speaking, Communication and, of course, Dialect.
Favorite recent productions include The Little Fellow, Present Laughter, When The Rain Stops Falling, My Fair Lady, Hay Fever, The Vortex, Angels in America, Pride & Prejudice and Cabaret (Cygnet Theatre), Something Rotten, Ragtime, Kinky Boots, Matilda, Titanic, Shrek The Musical (Moonlight Stage Productions), Kinky Boots (The Hollywood Bowl), Billy Elliot, Crazy for You (San Diego Musical Theatre), Handbagged (Moxie Theatre), An Experiment with an Air Pump (Backyard Renaissance), Trouble in Mind, El Borracho and Exotic Dealdly; or the MSG Play (The Old Globe), Outside Mullingar, Baskerville (Scripps Ranch Theatre), Outside Mullingar, Good People (Oceanside Theatre Company), King Charles III, The 39 Steps, Cabaret, A Man of No Importance, The Importance of Being Earnest (Coronado Playhouse) and All Is Calm (Bodhi Tree Concerts, San Diego Opera and New York City Opera). She received the Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Specialty Artist from the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle for her body of work throughout 2019.
