Queenie van de Zandt is the daughter of Ria and Hans van de Zandt. Hans is the co-founder of the Canberra Dutch Club in the ACT. Queenie mentioned that she is very proud to be Dutch and that parts of her Dutch heritage have influenced her writing. In particular in her regular online offerings and performances as her hilarious Dutch-Australian comedy character and alter-ego Jan van de Stool.
Queenie van de Zandt
Queenie van de Zandt is an Australian actress, singer, comedian, recording artist, writer and arts educator. She has had an international career in the performing arts for over 30 years, working in theatre, television, film, cabaret and musicals. She is also a highly respected teacher and mentor and is the founder of the Australian Musical Theatre Academy. She was born in Canberra, Australia, in 1970. She began her performing career in the late 80’s, appearing cabaret shows and in productions of musicals such as Les Miserables, The Boy from Oz and Cabaret. She has spent over 30 years performing on stage, becoming one of Australia’s leading ladies of musical theatre and cabaret.
She made her television debut in the TV series All Saints in 2003 and has since appeared in numerous television series, including, most recently, The Newsreader (ABC TV), Upright 2 (Foxtel/Binge) and Safe Home (SBS).
Through her boutique production house, Amazon Woman Enterprises, Queenie develops and performs her own original work. Highlights include: releasing 4 albums (Amazon Woman, Other Stories…, Queenie van de Zandt – Live in Cabaret and Singing & Vocal Warm Up Exercises), and her award-winning show BLUE: The Song of Joni Mitchell which continues to tour around Australia and internationally. Her shows have received numerous theatre awards and she’s been extensively reviewed as having one of the best singing voices in the country.
In addition to her performing career, she is also a highly respected teacher and mentor and in 2015 co-founded the Australian Musical Theatre Academy.
Here are some of her notable achievements:
- Has been nominated for 21 theatre awards, including two prestigious Helpmann awards as well as Sydney Theatre and Green Room Awards, winning 8 times.
- Has released four albums
- Founded the Australian Musical Theatre Academy in 2015
To find out more about Queenie go to www.queenievdzandt.com
Jan van de Stool
Jan van de Stool is a fictional character created by Queenie. Since being unleashed on the world in 2002, Jan has been seen by over 1 million people online, on TV, in theatres and at events across the nation. The Dutch-born “musical therapist and singing psychologist” has become one of the most successful cult comedy acts in Australia, touring festivals nationally and reaching the semi-finals on television juggernaut Australia’s Got Talent in 2016.
As a comic hoax speaker, corporate imposter and comedic MC, Jan delivers ‘inspirational’ speeches, fake keynote addresses and roasts and jokes at corporate events, galas and charity concerts across the country. She has also hosted televised award shows such as hosting The Helpmann Awards, two years running, both years televised on Foxtel and the ABC.
Jan “lives” in Woy Woy, with her son Henk and Pieter, her husband and cousin. There she promotes her unique brand of therapy at the local Scout Hall. Jan is very proud to say, that through the power of her unique gifts, she has helped, literally, tens of people.
See also separate article on Jan van de Stool
‘Middle Ragged’ looking for menopause stories from Dutch-Australian women.
When Queenie began to write her newest theatre show, Middle Raged, a show which shines a light on and empowers a much-ignored demographic of our society – middle aged women – she was determined to make sure that Dutch/Australian women are represented in the show.
Because women over 40 are so often silenced in society, Queenie wants to give them a voice in her show. So, rather than create a show out of only one playwright’s research and imagination, Queenie is building the show out of the collected stories of middle-aged women from diverse communities across Australia. Together with her female creative team, she will then sculpt that material, to write the comical, confronting and ultimately uplifting theatrical show – Middle Raged.
Once written, some of Australia’s most well-known female actresses, comedians, and singers will perform these hilarious and heart-warming true stories about aging, raging, and changing.
Queenie is inviting any Dutch women, 40 years and over to contribute their experiences of, and stories about, going through ‘middle-age’, which will become the bedrock of her show!
If you’re interested in contributing your story, (anonymously if you choose, writing in Dutch or English), please click HERE (www.middleraged.com.au/your-story) to go to a survey Queenie has put together, about your experience of menopause, middle age and beyond.
