is an actor, writer, and director of stage

and film. Recent credits include Mare of Easttown (opposite Kate Winslet), Cop Shop (with Gerard Butler), and Dynasty.

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On stage, she has worked with Shakespeare Theatre Company (DC) and MCC (NYC), among others. She has also worked in Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo using theater to address post-genocide reconciliation, good governance, and land conflict, and has been a guest faculty teaching devising at Stephens College in Missouri.

 

Vanita has also practiced as a civil and human rights lawyer: prosecuting genocide in Cambodia, crafting legislation in the Philippines, representing children with disabilities in special education proceedings domestically, and developing and maintaining affordable housing during post-Sandy recovery and the national foreclosure crisis. 

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She holds a JD from Yale Law School and an MFA certificate in ensemble-devised physical theater.