ABOUT
Janet Constable Preston as Queen Margaret of Anjou in William Shakespeare's Henry VI Part II at the 2018 Maryland Renaissance Festival
Janet is an actor currently residing near Annapolis, and serves as an Associate Producer and member of the Board of Directors for Compass Rose Theater. She debuted her DC Metro area career with the November 2016 performances of A Delicate Balance as Claire at Peace Mountain Theatre Company, and in Annapolis with the role of Mrs.Higgins in Pygmalion at Compass Rose Theater, Spring of 2017. And in the fall of 2017 as Molly in a two woman show, Origin of The Species at the Strand Theater of Baltimore, and in the Keegan Theater WOMXN on Fire Festival production of Ten in DC. In 2018 Janet joined the Maryland Renaissance Festival as an actor in the Company of the Rose, performing varied Shakespeare plays and scenes and as the historical character Elizabeth Stafford Duchess of Norfolk, and in 2019 played Cassius in the MDRF newly formed Company of Women's performance of Julius Caesar.
Previously calling Cape Cod, MA home, Janet Constable Preston enjoyed a rich cultural experience not only as an actress but as the Executive Director of the Cape Cod Maritime Museum and subsequently the Cape Cod Museum of Art. In addition to Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret at Cotuit Center for the Arts, favorite credits on Cape include Maria Callas in Master Class at Eventide Arts and Terry ("Crazy Terry") in Sideman at Cape Rep Theater.
Prior to that Janet was privileged to produce and production manage short form programming for AMC in NYC. While in NY, raising her young son, she kept her acting chops up by coaching other actors, teaching and participating in scene study classes and doing cold and staged readings of Shakespeare.
It was in Miami, FL where her film and TV credits as well as many commercial credits gave her a start in front of the camera. Her guest starring role in Miami Vice was one of the first major roles cast locally, and was a breakout for her in that market. She then went on to act in theater again as well, helping to open and establish the Acme Acting Company in their new theater in the Design District in Miami. Her time there in Fool for Love and Laundry and Bourbon re-established an undying passion for the theater and for the people who work in it.
Straight out of college her desire to be on the stage solidified. Having switched her major from Theater to graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor's degree in Dance Therapy, her intended "day job”, she was thrilled to find that she was booking jobs as an actress, realizing her "dream job". Janet’s “Camelot”, her muse, was a then small theater in Malvern PA. Peoples Light and Theater Company, a vibrant growing theater with incredible talent, was a perfect place for professional development. Favorite roles there include Laura in The Glass Menagerie and her all-time favorite experience, playing Nana and the Crocodile in Peter Pan.
To Janet acting is a gift. No matter the medium, whether it be film, TV or theater, the portrayal of the heart and soul of the character, the sharing of the story, the sharing of the experience, is a gift. One to give, one to receive and one to cherish.