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Since training at Auckland's influential Theatre Corporate, New Zealand actor Jennifer Ward-Lealand has worked extensively in theatre, film and television for over 30 years.  She has excelled in both dramatic and comedic roles, as well as numerous roles in musical theatre and cabaret.

As an accomplished singer, she presents her own shows, Falling in Love Again and The Look of Love, Evocative/Provocative, at festivals and venues in New Zealand and Australia.  She has recorded Falling in Love Again to cd (click here for info).  She is also in demand as a tutor of musical theatre.

Jennifer was a founding board member of the Watershed Theatre and a co-founder of The Large Group and The Actors' Program. She is currently President of New Zealand Actors Equity, Patron of Q Theatre, and serves as a trust board member of Arts Regional Trust and Silo Theatre. In the 2007 New Years Honours List, she was named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit "for services to theatre and the community." 

Jennifer to Host Architecture Awards Dinner

Jennifer will host the New Zealand Architecture Awards Dinner on 24 May 2013 at Viaduct Events Centre.

            

 

Jennifer to Speak at Danish Actors Association Congress

Jennifer will be a guest speaker at the Danish Actors Association Congress in Copenhagen on 26 May 2013.



 

Jennifer Voices Dorable Duck on Buzzy Bee and Friends

Jennifer voiced Dorable Duck in a new season of Buzzy Bee and Friends, now showing Monday-Friday at 6:30 a.m. on TV2. 

The show also features the voice talents of Madeleine Sami, Stephanie Leibert, Richard Simpson, Merv Smith, John Barker, and Danielle Cormack.

Click here for the official Buzzy Bee website; click here to read an interview with Buzzy Bee creative director William McKegg on The Big Idea.

There is also a Buzzy Bee interactive storybook app available for iPad.  Jennifer narrated the first story," A Christmas Tale".  Available from the US or NZ iTunes store.

Jennifer Studying Te Reo Maori

After several years of evening classes, Jennifer has been accepted into the Maori language programme Te Aupikitanga ki te Reo Kairangi at Te Wananga o Aotearoa.  The programme runs from mid-March until mid-December 2013.

Recent Work
 


Jennifer was in the week-three cast of the NZ premiere of Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Nora & Delia Ephron, at Fortune Theatre, Dunedin, 18-24 March 2013.

"Proving that a great show is always in fashion, Love, Loss, and What I Wore, with its starry rotating cast of New Zealand's finest actresses...uses clothing and accessories and the memories they trigger to tell funny, poignant stories that all women can relate to, reaching out to those sifting through their closets in search of what they've loved and lost".

  
Jennifer played Oscar's (Oliver Driver) mum, Penny, in the 3rd episode of Sunny Skies. Watch it online here.

Penny: "I saw a note about a will-reading and assumed your father must have kicked the bucket, so--come to comfort you".
Oscar: "You told me my father was dead!"
Penny: "And now he is!"
 
Jennifer was one of four singers in Silo Theatre's Brel, directed by Michael Hurst, at Auckland Town Hall, 1-24 November 2012.
"Jennifer Ward- Lealand was the highlight of the show ... she stands out amongst the ensemble ... impossible to look away from". (Lumiere Reader)
 
     
 

Jennifer was a guest artist at Lakeside Rotorua 2013-Come Together, on 9 March 2013 at the Village Green, Rotorua.  The annual family concert also featured Tina Cross, Russell Harrison, and Michael Murphy, with musical director Mark Dennison.

"Jennifer Ward- Lealand mesmerized the crowd with her performance as show performer Marlene Dietrich". (Rotorua Daily Post)
 
 
J E N N I F E R   W A R D - L E A L A N D   O F F I C I A L   W E B S I T E
        Acknowledgements & Thanks                    Click here for contact information.