Jane Gennaro
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, Feed the Models (Rogue Space, Adelphi University, World Monuments Gallery, Adelphi University, Westover School, Fashion Institute of Technology).
Gennaro started as an illustrator and stand up comic, whose singing impressions 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 popular singing comedy act with her sisters Ellen and Mary Jo (Carolines, The Duplex, Horn Plenty, Studio 54, West Bank Cafe) and her own show “Me Jane”.
A radio personality, and comedy writer, Gennaro has been a commentator on NPR’S All Things Considered, and was the only female writer/cast member on the” Imus in the Morning Program” (WFAN). Other writer/performer credits include The American Comedy Network (ACN) and Joey Reynolds (WNBC). Gennaro was a substitute host on WABC and even had a short-lived gig doing the weather on WOR. Gennaro developed a following as the funny Traffic Reporter on WNBC’s afternoon drive (even though she did not know how to drive and wasn’t quite sure where the boroughs were). Though not a fan of the sport, Gennaro was hired as the color commentator on The Cavalcade of Boxing . Her on camera personality also got her a job interviewing seminal NYC personalities on Cable TV’s Cue On J ( highlight: Dick Gregory atThe Bitter End).
A successful commercial actress for over 35 years, Gennaro is known for voicing national network campaigns, promos, audio books and radio commercials. Hundreds and 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 has starred in 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 and more).
Gennaro has played a variety of characters in various audio dramas with 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 audio book,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 The Deuce (HBO).
Today I’m excited about “Hip Story”—a monologue about my quest to reclaim my femur head featuring cool art I make out of small dead animals and bones—including one of my own. Yikes, I wrote that in first person.
