Jennifer Stannard

Jenny in her first mask
Aged 3½

Jennifer became fascinated by tribal masks and headdresses as a child growing up in Africa, before moving to Papua New Guinea. There she was introduced to the awesome mask and ceremony of the mud men, impressing on her the cultural and spiritual significance of the craft, and inspiring a life time of mask making that has evolved with her career in the theatre industry.

Jennifer developed the mask making skills she acquired in her teens whilst working on a variety of regional theatre tours. Her work as wardrobe supervisor, designer and props maker gave her access to a variety of experimental materials including foam, vacuum forming and latex before creating her own unique paper maché technique. Armed with these skills and a vivid imagination, she recaptured the inspiration and experiences of her childhood by incorporating nature’s colour and textures into her work.

European art and drama significantly influenced Jennifer’s professional career when in 1990 she began the study of Commedia dell’ Arte – the improvisational street theatre of Italy from which slapstick comedy originates. Completely immersed in its form, she dedicated her time to perfecting the art of molding leather into masks, a highly specialised and rare skill over five hundred years old which was considered almost all but lost. Designing and creating her own complete set of Commedia masks based on the original archetypes, she created a touring exhibition named Masque which visited both festivals and educational institutes. Masque officially opened the Carnevale festival in 1997 at the prestigious Greenhill Gallery, Adelaide and was launched by the Italian Consul Dr. Roberto Colamine.

Sharing her knowledge and passion for the mask with students from pre-school to university has lead to a series of workshops both in mask making and Commedia performance, and saw the formation of a Commedia troupe with Jennifer as both designer and director. She encourages and develops creativity in her students by producing blank masks ready for decoration.

Previous theatrical productions include HAMLET – La Boite Theatre, Brisbane, POPULAR FRONT – Brisbane Theatre Company (QLD Regional Tour), SHERWOODSTOCK – Lyric Theatre, Brisbane, LILLIES OF THE PADDOCK – NORPA (NSW Regional Tour), DEEP BELLS RING – Brisbane Theatre Company (QLD Regional Tour), WHAT'S MIME IS YOURS – QLD Arts Council (Regional Tour), OPENING CONCERT – Adelaide Festival of the Arts, A RESPECTABLE WEDDING and most recently costume designer for A CARMEN (World Premiere) – both with Byron Bay Theatre Company.

© May 2003