Jan Cornall
Encyclopedia
Jan Cornall is an Australia
n singer, comedian and writer. Known for her contributions to queer music through the group Baba Yaga
during the 1970s and the hit musical Failing in Love Again (1979), Jan Cornall was a leader in the women’s comedy and cabaret resurgence of early 1980s. She has contributed to Australian community theatre, addressing issues facing regional and rural women, and had a long involvement in forging cross cultural links with Indonesian
and Australian
writers and artists.
Born in Melbourne
, Australia, Jan Cornall started performing at young age in school plays and musicals. She studied speech and drama at Melbourne Teacher’s college under the tutelage of Max Gillies
. She began her performance career as a founding member of the Tribe experimental theatre group in 1968. During this time they performed ‘Happenings’, ‘Guerilla Theatre’ and ‘Street Theatre’, leading the Vietnam War moratorium marches in Melbourne with a series of street performances. The Tribe group were regulars at the famous La Mama
theatre (Melbourne) where they met and later merged with the Australian Performing Group (APG) at the Pram Factory Theatre.
In 1973, Cornall performed alongside Red Symonds, lead guitarist of Skyhooks, in the play ‘The Ride Across Lake Constance’ by German absurdist Peter Handke
. Following this time, Cornall travelled overseas, performing solo as a singer/songwriter, before joining the all girl Latin jazz band, Baba Yaga, in Portland Oregon. She recorded the album ‘On The Edge’ with the band as vocalist and percussionist.
On her return to Australia, Cornall joined the radical arm of the Pram factory "Nightshift", performing in Marguerite Duras
’ play ‘L’Amant Anglais’ and the world premiere of Stephen Sewell
’s play ‘Traitors’. In 1979, Cornall was invited to be writer in residence at the Pram Factory, where she wrote and performed in her hit musical ‘Failing in Love Again’. With musical partner Elizabeth Drake, they performed alongside Jeannie Lewis
, Margaret Roadnight and Robyn Archer on the Australian festival circuit and with Cabaret Conspiracy in Sydney
In 1983 Cornall went solo, performing her one woman comedy on stage with Gretel Killeen
and Wendy Harmer
at the Gap Women’s Comedy Shows in Sydney and regional NSW. At the end of 1984, after touring nationally with a number of shows, Cornall gave up performing to concentrate on writing for theatre and film. She received a New Writers Fellowship from the Literature Fund of the Australia Council for The Arts. Her resultant play ‘Escape From a Better Place’ was performed by four theatre companies, later adapted for ABC Radio Drama and read at the International Women’s Playwrights Conference in Athens in 2000.
During the 1990s Cornall wrote the screenplay ‘Talk’, an Australian feature film directed by Susan Lambert. ‘Talk’ showed in New York
as part of a US tour and was reviewed in the Village Voice. Cornall went on to write two musical plays for the Women On a Shoestring theatre company about Australian farming women and the unknown stars of the Australian silent film
industry.
In 2000, Cornall worked as writer on a unique project with Australian Tibetan musician Tenzing Tsewang, dramatising the story of his journey out of Tibet
. Directed by Brian Joyce, ‘Hanging Onto the Tail of a Goat’ was the first solo theatre production by a Tibetan performer in Australia. It showed in Melbourne
, Wollongong, Penrith and Sydney’s Opera House Studio. At the same time she began teaching writing workshops and retreats in communities, writers centres and colleges. In 2004 Jan ran her first writers retreat in Ubud, Bali in conjunction with the inaugural Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.
Her time spent in Indonesia
began collaborative relationships which she continued to develop over the following years with an Asia Link residency in Jakarta in 2006. During this time Cornall wrote 'Take Me To Paradise', a novel, and composed and recorded Singing Srengenge in collaboration with noted Indonesian poet Sitok Srengenge and jazz pianist Imel Rosalin.
At festivals in Indonesia, Cornall returned to performance after an absence of 20 years, performing her spoken and sung word at literary festivals and performance art at Perfurbance #2, #3, #4, street and village festivals in Jogjakarta. As an arts and travel journalist, Cornall’s articles and have been published in Jakarta Post, RealTime Arts, Arts Hub, Urthona Magazine and The Daily Telegraph. In January 2008 Jan took part in Gang Festival in Sydney
, an artist run exchange between Australian and Indonesian
artists.
Cornall is currently working on a short story anthology with Indonesian short story writer Triyanto Triwikromo, and a stage version of Take Me To Paradise, with Indonesian artist Jumaadi, poet Sitok Srengenge, musicians Deva Permana and Wendy Anggerani.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n singer, comedian and writer. Known for her contributions to queer music through the group Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga or Baba Roga is a haggish or witchlike character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant pestle, kidnaps small children, and lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs...
during the 1970s and the hit musical Failing in Love Again (1979), Jan Cornall was a leader in the women’s comedy and cabaret resurgence of early 1980s. She has contributed to Australian community theatre, addressing issues facing regional and rural women, and had a long involvement in forging cross cultural links with Indonesian
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Australian
Australian people
Australian people, or simply Australians, are the citizens of Australia. Australia is a multi-ethnic nation, and therefore the term "Australian" is not a racial identifier. Aside from the Indigenous Australian population, nearly all Australians or their ancestors immigrated within the past 230 years...
writers and artists.
Born in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia, Jan Cornall started performing at young age in school plays and musicals. She studied speech and drama at Melbourne Teacher’s college under the tutelage of Max Gillies
Max Gillies
Max Gillies AM is an Australian actor.Gillies was a founding member of the experimental theatre company, the Australian Performing Group, which was active throughout the 1970s....
. She began her performance career as a founding member of the Tribe experimental theatre group in 1968. During this time they performed ‘Happenings’, ‘Guerilla Theatre’ and ‘Street Theatre’, leading the Vietnam War moratorium marches in Melbourne with a series of street performances. The Tribe group were regulars at the famous La Mama
La Mama
La Mama may refer to:* La Mama - a German disco group* La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in East Village, Manhattan, New York City, founded 1961* La Mama Theatre in Carlton, Victoria, Australia, founded 1967...
theatre (Melbourne) where they met and later merged with the Australian Performing Group (APG) at the Pram Factory Theatre.
In 1973, Cornall performed alongside Red Symonds, lead guitarist of Skyhooks, in the play ‘The Ride Across Lake Constance’ by German absurdist Peter Handke
Peter Handke
Peter Handke is an avant-garde Austrian novelist and playwright.-Early life:Handke and his mother lived in the Soviet-occupied Pankow district of Berlin from 1944 to 1948 before resettling in Griffen...
. Following this time, Cornall travelled overseas, performing solo as a singer/songwriter, before joining the all girl Latin jazz band, Baba Yaga, in Portland Oregon. She recorded the album ‘On The Edge’ with the band as vocalist and percussionist.
On her return to Australia, Cornall joined the radical arm of the Pram factory "Nightshift", performing in Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Duras
Marguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:...
’ play ‘L’Amant Anglais’ and the world premiere of Stephen Sewell
Stephen Sewell
Stephen Sewell may refer to:*Stephen Sewell , early Canadian lawyer and politician*Stephen Sewell , Australian screen and play writer-See also:*Steve Sewell , former American football player...
’s play ‘Traitors’. In 1979, Cornall was invited to be writer in residence at the Pram Factory, where she wrote and performed in her hit musical ‘Failing in Love Again’. With musical partner Elizabeth Drake, they performed alongside Jeannie Lewis
Jeannie Lewis
Jeannie Lewis is an Australian musician and stage performer whose work covers many different styles such as folk, jazz, Latin, blues, opera, rock, fusion. Her music often includes a strong social consciousness and she is capable of making very strong political statements in her work.-Early...
, Margaret Roadnight and Robyn Archer on the Australian festival circuit and with Cabaret Conspiracy in Sydney
In 1983 Cornall went solo, performing her one woman comedy on stage with Gretel Killeen
Gretel Killeen
Gretel Killeen is an Australian journalist and author. Killeen is well known for being the primary host of Big Brother Australia from its inception in 2001 until the 2007 season ....
and Wendy Harmer
Wendy Harmer
Wendy Harmer is an Australian author, writer, radio show host, and comedienne.-Early life and career:...
at the Gap Women’s Comedy Shows in Sydney and regional NSW. At the end of 1984, after touring nationally with a number of shows, Cornall gave up performing to concentrate on writing for theatre and film. She received a New Writers Fellowship from the Literature Fund of the Australia Council for The Arts. Her resultant play ‘Escape From a Better Place’ was performed by four theatre companies, later adapted for ABC Radio Drama and read at the International Women’s Playwrights Conference in Athens in 2000.
During the 1990s Cornall wrote the screenplay ‘Talk’, an Australian feature film directed by Susan Lambert. ‘Talk’ showed in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
as part of a US tour and was reviewed in the Village Voice. Cornall went on to write two musical plays for the Women On a Shoestring theatre company about Australian farming women and the unknown stars of the Australian silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
industry.
In 2000, Cornall worked as writer on a unique project with Australian Tibetan musician Tenzing Tsewang, dramatising the story of his journey out of Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. Directed by Brian Joyce, ‘Hanging Onto the Tail of a Goat’ was the first solo theatre production by a Tibetan performer in Australia. It showed in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Wollongong, Penrith and Sydney’s Opera House Studio. At the same time she began teaching writing workshops and retreats in communities, writers centres and colleges. In 2004 Jan ran her first writers retreat in Ubud, Bali in conjunction with the inaugural Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.
Her time spent in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
began collaborative relationships which she continued to develop over the following years with an Asia Link residency in Jakarta in 2006. During this time Cornall wrote 'Take Me To Paradise', a novel, and composed and recorded Singing Srengenge in collaboration with noted Indonesian poet Sitok Srengenge and jazz pianist Imel Rosalin.
At festivals in Indonesia, Cornall returned to performance after an absence of 20 years, performing her spoken and sung word at literary festivals and performance art at Perfurbance #2, #3, #4, street and village festivals in Jogjakarta. As an arts and travel journalist, Cornall’s articles and have been published in Jakarta Post, RealTime Arts, Arts Hub, Urthona Magazine and The Daily Telegraph. In January 2008 Jan took part in Gang Festival in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, an artist run exchange between Australian and Indonesian
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
artists.
Cornall is currently working on a short story anthology with Indonesian short story writer Triyanto Triwikromo, and a stage version of Take Me To Paradise, with Indonesian artist Jumaadi, poet Sitok Srengenge, musicians Deva Permana and Wendy Anggerani.