Rita is thrilled to make her debut at the Barter Theatre as Mary (Murder on the Orient Express) and Nina (The Royale)! After corralling a crowd by pretending to choke on a fishbone at the age of three, Rita Cole found her love for the stage. She has pursued theatre and film for 25 years and is ecstatic to still be performing. She received her BFA in acting from UCF and went on to perform at Walt Disney World. Ms. Cole is the recipient of the 2020 Carbonell Award for Best Supporting Actress and a number of Silver Palm Awards. She firmly believes that your day job and your hobby can be the same thing, and she continues to expand her repertoire by performing globally and taking film opportunities. A few of her favorite credits include: Esther (Intimate Apparel); Natella (The Caucasian Chalk Circle); Mrs. Muller (Doubt); Shanita (Skeleton Crew); Ruth (A Raisin in the Sun); Fefu (Fefu and her Friends); Charlotte (The White card); Minnie (Flyin’ West) Vera (Seven Guitars). Film credits: #Grown; Black Mary (Criblore Series); Michael, Emmadri, and The Mermaid; The Flea; To Each His Own; Pompano Boy; Water; and Jay. Stay tuned and follow Rita @iamritacole (IG) and Rita Cole (FB).