LANETTE WARE-BUSHFIELD

Actor/Executive Producer and Coach

 

Determined to produce projects that leave audiences more comfortable with the uncomfortable, Lanette, otherwise known as: Auntie Lanette, launched A WWB Production, Inc. in 2017 as a way to uplift and shed light on marginalized communities who rarely see accurate depictions of themselves represented on screen.

​

A London Academy graduate with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Drama who has studied Cinematic Language at The Toronto Film School, is a licensed Red Cross Instructor, published writer, and certified basic Spanish teacher, Lanette was born on Manhattan's upper east side, hired for her first commercial at age three, began studying piano at age six and violin at age thirteen. Although a music major at The High School of Music and Art, NY, it was during her drama courses at Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY and London, England, that she would discover her passion for writing, classical literature and theatre. Lanette has also studied Image Consulting at The Fashion Institute of Technology, NY and received her earliest training in music theory, writing and directing from the Fiorello High School of Performing Arts and Diller Quaile Music School, NY.  

 

Lanette is a member of Women in Film, is a Lifetime Member of The Actors Studio, NY/LA, Acting Unions: SAG, AFTRA, AEA, ACTRA/UBCP and Lanette is a series regular on The Wedding Planners and can next be seen in the remake of Stephen King’s Firestarter, starring Zack Efron and as real life character Carrie Everett in the 2022 television series Five Days at Memorial based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book of the same name by Producer Sheri Fink, showrunner Carlton Cuse and Oscar award winning screenwriter John Ridley. 

 

In 2017, Lanette earned a Certificate of Entrepreneurship from the MaRS Entrepreneurship: Cohort, a course based on Stanford University’s Genome Report, which defines the framework for high-growth, experiment-driven entrepreneurship based on data from thousands of startups recorded over the past decade. In this course, Lanette learned to build and measure progress while isolating problems that serve audiences, thereby identifying, serving and validating customer service business models.

​

Lanette's original works have been published in The Globe and Mail, The Chillfltr Review, Urban Mediamakers, Reno/Tahoe, The Hobson Foundation, Dreamers, Aaduna and Mothering Magazines. She has taught public speaking, self-empowerment, and drama in Toronto, Vancouver and some of New York’s most at-risk schools. Recently hired as Consulting Producer on an original series created by a two-time Emmy award winning producer, Lanette has appeared in the films, "GIRL”, starring Bella Thorne and Mickey Rourke, DONOVAN'S ECHO", starring Danny Glover, "SUBURBAN GIRL", starring Alec Baldwin, "MUSIC AND LYRICS", starring Hugh Grant, and Drew Barrymore and "JESUS CHILDREN OF AMERICA" directed by Spike Lee. Her Film Festival circuit credits include the 2019 TIFF feature, “WHITE LIE”, the 2017 TIFF feature, “BLACK COP”, and the 2013 feature"EASY" which screened at both The Sundance Film and Toronto International Film Festivals. Lanette has had recurring roles on the television series: “DIGGSTOWN”, “TAKEN”, “PATRIOT”, “PURE” , “FOUR IN THE MORNING”, “GUIDING LIGHT” and "SUPERNATURAL" and has been featured on, "THE SOPRANOS", "WITHOUT A TRACE", "LAW & ORDER: C.I.", "JUDGING AMY", "THIRD WATCH", "LAW AND ORDER: S.V.U." and "ALL MY CHILDREN". Lanette co-wrote, co-produced and starred in three series set in NYC,  “EFFECTIONS”, a soap opera, "SECRET IMPRESSIONS" a Manhattan cable television drama and "THE JANET PROJECT" a mockumentary which screened for nearly a decade on Triggerstreet.com. Lanette has helmed her own radio show at 1340 WNHC New Haven, CT where she interacted with the local community on trend worthy tunes and political issues of the day. Both her WGA registered plays, "A MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" commissioned for development by the New Perspectives Theater, NY and one-act play, "CAIN IS ABEL" developed by Women in Theater (WIT), Los Angeles, CA received live staged performances. She is the originator of "CREATIVE WOMEN UP CLOSE" a New York, Los Angeles and Toronto based inspirational empowerment group dedicated to the support and engagement of female writers, directors and actors. She, along with MAD TV's Debra Wilson and other entertainers, regularly perform for youth communities in the Los Angeles area to support "Create Now!", a mentorship program established to aid disadvantaged youth via the arts.

​

Lanette is also the recipient of a special recognition award given by the New Jersey Coalition for the Arts for her film, "SMALL CHANGE", which she produced with the Center for Food Action (CFA), a Tri-State area not-for-profit organization that helps prevent hunger and homelessness by helping to improve the lives of individuals and families living in poverty. Lanette worked with, supported and directed youth storytellers at TADA!, a young people’s theater in New York, as well as "LYSISTRATA D.C.", a play for peace at The Electric Lodge in Venice, CA. She worked closely with playwright John Henry Redwood (THE OLD SETTLER) in helping develop his final work by performing the lead role in "AN 'OLE SOUL, A YOUNG SPIRIT" which was workshopped in New Harmony, IN.

 

In 2020, Lanette conceptualized the series SURVIVING GRACE, a coming of age drama currently in development with Brain Power Studios set in 1980s Spanish Harlem, NYC. Also in 2020, Lanette became Executive Producer of HONEYCAKE, THE TV SERIES, a multicultural animated series for the 2-5 year old demographic. In 2014, Lanette conceptualized and co-developed the series MONARCH 7, a science-fiction drama set in the year 2025. Literary Agent: Doreen Holmes of Integral Artists represents all three projects. In 2021, Lanette became Producer of: D!XON: PLAY.PAUSE.REWIND., a full length documentary being distributed by OUTtv, with support from LuluLemon and Pride Toronto, about the life and artistry of D!xon, a Black queer recording artist as they navigate life and music during the COVID pandemic.

​

 

​