Jillian Armenante is a Director/ Actor/ Producer/ Writer who was named Best Director by the prestigious NewFilmmakers LA. She is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, SAG/AFTRA and the Producer’s Guild of America.
In the theatre, Ms Armenante recently directed POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, the season opener at ACT Theatre in Seattle. She directedTHE TURN OF THE SCREW at Oldcastle Theatre Company which was winner of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association Award and voted one of Berkshire Eagle’s10 Best shows. She directed and produced a presentation of FRAN & LENI at Dixon Place in NYC. Armenante worked in Iraq where she participated, with a grant from the US State Department, as a director for the Art of Social Justice Festival and the Iraqi premiere of Heather Raffo’s play NINE PARTS OF DESIRE which was covered by American Theatre Magazine. She directed the West Coast Premiere of Jackie Sibblies Drury’s WE ARE PROUD TO PRESENT… at the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles which won Best Production at the LA Weekly Awards and was an LA Times Critic Pick and received an Ovation Award nod. She directed and produced the World Premiere of LOVE LOVES A PORNOGRAPHER at Circle X Theatre which won a Drama Critics Award and a Best Director Garland Award. She produced, directed and co-wrote the World Premiere Musical LAURA COMSTOCK’S BAG-PUNCHING DOG at Circle X Theatre which won Theatre LA’s Ovation Award and the LA Weekly Award for World Premiere of a Musical. She produced, directed and co-wrote the World Premiere IN FLAGRANTE GOTHICTO at Circle X Theatre which won Best Directing, Best Writing as well as Best Production at the LA Drama Critic Circle Awards. Ms Armenante also won the coveted Ted Schmitt Award for Most Outstanding Debut of a New Play at the LA Drama Critic Circle, as well as Best Playwriting at the LA Weekly Awards. She won Best Director and Best Production at the Los Angeles Garland Awards. She directed and produced the World Premiere of GREAT MEN OF SCIENCE No 21&22 at Circle X Theatre which won a Best Production, Theatre LA’s Ovation Award and Best Production at the LA Weekly Awards as well as being BackstageWest Critic’s Pick, LA Times Critics’ Choice and a Dramalogue Critic’s Choice. She directed and wrote the educational touring show World Premiere of CONQUEST OF FEARS as well ME, MYSELF & HARVEY at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. She produced and directed CAMILLE at Alice B. Theatre. She produced MEMORY TRICKS at the Broadway Performance Hall. She directed and produced RUNNING FROM BOOMERANGS, EXQUISITE TORTURE and TRIPLETS IN UNIFORM at Annex Theatre. Ms Armenante directed and produced the cross-cast production of GREASE at Alice B.Theatre.
In film, Ms Armenante produced and directed the comedy STUCK starring Heather Matarazzo, Joel McHale, Felicia Day and more. She won Best Director Lady Filmmakers Film Fest and Best Comedy Feature and Best Director Artemis Film Fest and many more… She produced the feature film DARK HARBOR Jessica Sipos, and Xander Berkeley, which was an official selection of the Catalina Film Fest, the Pasadena International Film Fest and many more… She produced and directed THE LIST starring Saffron Burrows which won the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival Best Film. She executive produced, wrote, directed and acted in the original series KITTENS IN A CAGE based on the play by Kelleen Conway Blanchard, with Michelle Monaghan and Misha Collins. KITTENS was selected for the New York Television Festival and received a Best Feature Award as well from NewFilmmakers LA. Kittens has won a multitude of awards including…Temecula Independent Film Festival: Best Comedy Feature & Top 5 of Festival, IndieFest Film Awards: Award of Excellence, LA Spotlight Film Festival: Best Feature Film, LA Comedy Festival: Best Feature and Best Ensemble, Grand Prize, Best Comedy Feature, Official Selections of NewFilmmakersNY, Downtown Film Fest LA, Independent Filmmakers Showcase and many more… Jillian Armenante was named Top 100 New Media Content Creators by the New Media Film Festival. She co-wrote the theme song and directed the music video for KITTENS IN A CAGE with Capitol/Blue Note band Vintage Trouble. She also co-wrote the song ALL I ASK and directed the music video with Tony nominated American Idol, Constantine Maroulis.
As an actress, her film credits include VICE, HAIL,CEASAR!, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, BAD TEACHER, A MIGHTY HEART, NORTH COUNTRY and GIRL, INTERRUPTED. Her TV credits include PHYSICAL (recurring), SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS (recurring), BETTER CALL SAUL, FRESH OFF THE BOAT (recurring), SCANDAL, THE FOSTERS, SHAMELESS, PARTY DOWN, CASTLE, THE CLOSER, PRIVATE PRACTICE, GREY’S ANATOMY, E.R., SIX FEET UNDER, THE WEST WING, and NORTHERN EXPOSURE. She was a series regular (130 episodes) on the CBS Drama JUDGING AMY for which she won a TV Guide Award.
Jillian’s theatre acting credits include THE CIDER HOUSE RULES by John Irving, adapted by Peter Parnell and directed by Tom Hulce at the Seattle Rep Theatre, The Mark Taper Forum in LA & The Atlantic Theatre in NYC. For this role she received a Garland Award, a Theatreworld Award for Debut on the New York Stage and a Drama Desk nod.