Jane Gennaro is a New York-based performer/writer/artist whose body of work explores our relationship with our bodies, society, and nature in diverse formats from one-woman shows—The Boob Story, Reality Ranch (The American Place Theatre); Heebie Jeebies (Culture Project/Impact Festival), to hybrid monologue/art shows: Shaking the Goose Egg (The Workshop Theatre, Rogue Space, Times Square Alliance); Feed the Models ( Fashion Institute of Technology etc. ), and Storytales/Coloring in Circles (The Claverack Free Library.
Gennaro started as an illustrator and stand-up comic. Her singing impressions of rock stars led to television appearances on Today, PM Magazine, and Sunday Comics. She hosted SHOWTIME’s White Hot Weekend Report, and voiced skits on “The Late Show with David Letterman, while performing at New York’s top comedy clubs including The Original Improv, Catch a Rising Star, and The Comic Strip as well as The Toyota Comedy Festival. Cabaret credits include “Those Gennaro Sisters”, a singing comedy act with her sisters Ellen and Mary Jo (Carolines, The Duplex, Horn of Plenty, Studio 54, West Bank Cafe), and her solo show series, “Me Jane”.
A radio personality, and comedy writer, Gennaro did commentary on NPR’s All Things Considered. She was the rare female writer/cast member on the” Imus in the Morning Program” (WFAN). Other writer/performer radio credits include The American Comedy Network (ACN) and Joey Reynolds (WNBC). Gennaro was signed to a lucrative contract to be a traffic reporter in the afternoon drive despite not knowing how to drive or for that matter, where the boroughs were. Though not a fan of the sport, Gennaro became the color commentator on cable’s The Cavalcade of Boxing and host of Cable TV’s Cue On J, interviewing seminal New York City personalities. Highlight: Dick Gregory at The Bitter End.
A successful commercial actress for over 35 years, Gennaro is known for voicing national network campaigns, promos, audiobooks, and radio commercials. Hundreds of voice-over credits include satires (NPR) cartoons (Umi Zumi, The Wrong Coast, Smoking GunTV); promos (Unsolved Mysteries, World Wrestling Federation); documentaries (The Kinsey Report); industrials (Unicef, Novartis); and PSAs (American Cancer Society). You’ve heard her voice on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, HBO, MTV, Discovery, Nickelodeon, Lifetime, Showtime, Sci-Fi Channel, and Cartoon Network. On Camera, Jane was a principal player in many National Network commercials selling everything from breakfast cereal to toilet paper (Total, Sugar Crisp, Charmin, Ritz Crackers, Jiff Peanut Butter, Heart Guard, Alka Seltzer, NyQuil, Denny’s, Olive Garden, Toyota, Chevy, Sears, Wisk Detergent, Toys R’ Us, Crest Toothpaste, Dial Soap etc.)
Gennaro has played multiple roles in audio dramas for the Seeing EarTheatre. She impersonated Joan Rivers on the novelty record Can We Talk (Rhino), Cyndi Lauper on Every Dawg Has Its Day (RCA), and she’s Lillian—a musician suspected of murder in the audiobook, Too Dead to Swing. Among wild creatures, Gennaro has been both grandmother and baby bear, and a contingent of singing mice in Scholastic audiobooks (Boom Chicka Rock, Goodnight SleepTight). She wears the Santa pants as the snappy sleigh-driving Mrs. Claus in the podcast Christmas is Coming. (Panoply) and is known by video game fans as Maude Hanson (The Ice Cream Lady) on the original Grand Theft Auto, and the villainous Nicole Horne in the Max Payne series (Rockstar). Gennaro plays Ann in Patrick Wang’s independent film, A Bread Factory Part Two; Walk With Me Awhile, and she’s looped in The Deuce (HBO).
Hold on! It’s 2024! I’m excited! About Storytales; A retrospective exhibition/ performance of Coloring in Circles; a monologue marrying childhood adventures with projections culled from forty years of illustrated journals.
What else? Oh yeah! I’m tweaking Hip Story; the saga of my quest to get my bone back after hip replacement surgery. It wasn’t easy. Made me wonder—What’s mine? Really and truly belongs to me? Turns out that depends on who’s in charge. All I know I can depend on is dying. Mortality is not afraid to commit. That intrigues me.
My art studio resembles a stage set spotlighting reliquaries composed of small dead animals, skulls, bones, and typewriter mechanisms. I imagine various art assemblages having their rooms in a big house of Storytales open to the public. A theatrical “happening” I can see happening —if i don’t die first. C’est la vie!
Meanwhile, I’m playing with this damn website! To create a cohesive story—that’s my Mission! — challenge? —obsession? —headache/delight? Thankfully, my job is just to ask the questions. Yikes! I wrote that in the first person!