Elena Vannoni began her career as a classical dancer and, at the same time, earned a degree in costume design at Istituto d’Arte Porta Romana in Florence (ITALY). She made her acting debut when she was seventeen at the Greek Theatre in Siracusa, playing a role in “Agamemnon” and “Le Supplici” by Aeschylus. Following her acting experiences, she continued her theatre and classical studies at the Florence University of Literature and Philosophy, with a major in Music and Theatre disciplines. She attended a stage at the Florence Teatro Comunale (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino) – led by Academy Award winning costume designer Gabriella Pescucci – for the opera production of “The Sonnanbula” by Vincenzo Bellini, that granted her a position with Teatro Comunale in Florence as costume designer for the “Attila” by Giuseppe Verdi.

In 2000, she won the annual competition of the Arturo Toscanini Foundation in Parma as an assistant director of “La vedova allegra” by Franz Lehar. In 2001, she was accepted at the prestigious Accademia Nazionale d’Arte Drammatica “S. d’Amico” – the exclusive national school of directing that selects only two applicants a year – earning her degree in Theatre Directing with the production of “The Emigrants” by Slawomir Mrozek. From 2001 to 2004, she collaborated with productions of eminent Italian actors and directors (Marisa Fabbri, Domenico Polidoro, Roberto Mantovani, Mario Ferrero e Lorenzo Salveti). In 2005, she was awarded as Best in the Director in the National Prize of the Arts with the production of “A Marriage proposal” by Anton Cekhov.

In 2006, she received a grant to continue her studies at the l’Universität der Künste in Berlin, where she was later promoted to the position of guest professor, realizing the productions of Clitennestra from the “Agamemnon” by Aeschylus, “Miss Julie” by August Strinberg and “Berlin Alexanderplatz” by Alfred Düblin.

From 2007 to present, she has been working in Roma, Berlin and Los Angeles. She is the founder and President of the company TheatreFactory, that operates in Rome, Berlin and Los Angeles. She directed “The Pitchfork Disney” by Philip Ridley at Spoleto Festival and at Teatro dell’Orologio in Rome, at the Teatro dell’Elicantropo in Naples and Teatro Tor Bella Monaca in Rome. In Berlin, as a Producing and Artistic Director of the Studiotheater in the Engelbrot, she directed and produced “Frag-mente infernali” from the La divina mimesi by Pier Paolo Pasolini, “Bites” by Kay Adshead – also performed at the Teatro dell’Orologio in Rome –, “Miss Julie” by August Strinberg and “Die Spitzeder” by Martin Sperr.
After moving to Los Angeles, Elena was immediately involved in the intense and lively theatrical scene. She directed “A Report To An Academy” by Franz Kafka at The Actor’s Gang in Culver City and “Bites” by Kay Adshead at the Old Bank District Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles.