Singer / Actor / Cabaret Artist / Writer / Teacher / Aspiring Filmmaker, and World Traveler, among other creative pursuits ...
Joanne Schmoll — Singer, Actor, Diplomat — recently retired from a career in the Foreign Service and is returning to her first love of singing and acting. As a diplomat, Joanne combined her diplomatic duties with vocal performances around the world, including concerts in West Africa and jazz gigs in Myanmar and Jordan, among others. While serving in Myanmar, she appeared as a featured vocalist and Mistress of Ceremonies with the Orchestra for Myanmar under the direction of Maestro Sebastian See-Schierenberg performing an All-American music concert. Prior to that she appeared at the first Freetown Music Festival in Freetown, Sierra Leone to celebrate the end of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Before joining the Foreign Service, Joanne had an extensive career in theater and cabaret. She appeared as Rose Morton in the world premiere of "And the Curtain Rises" at Signature Theater with music by Joseph Thalken, lyrics by Mark Campbell and book by Michael Slade, and directed by Kristin Hanggi. Before that she appeared as Mrs. Zero in the Studio Theatre production of "Adding Machine – A Musical" which received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Musical. She appeared at the Kennedy Center in "A Little Night Music" during the acclaimed Sondheim Celebration, and in concert on the Millennium Stage. She also received a Helen Hayes Award Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical for her work as Shelby in "The Spitfire Grill" with Theater Alliance in Washington, D.C.
She is the creator of "TIN PAN LADY!", a 3-person musical theater piece honoring the work of women songwriters from Tin Pan Alley and their contributions to the Great American Songbook. Described as “a glorious way to spend an evening”, … LADY! premiered at Theater Alliance in February, 2009 and has since been performed in Maryland and Washington State. She also created and directed the concert performance "All The Things You Are ... the Musical Artistry of Jerome Kern," for the Roth Concert Series, and "Shakespeare & Song," with Cam Magee, for the Harman Center for the Arts. In Chicago, she created the role of Mette Gauguin in the world premiere of "Gauguin." Favorite theatrical roles include Venus in "One Touch of Venus," Amalia Balash in "She Loves Me," Cordelia in "Falsettos," Dunya in "Crime & Punishment," and Agnes in "Agnes of God," among others, at theaters ranging from the Arena Stage and the Olney Theatre Center to regional theatres across the country. While touring with The National Players, she played the roles of Ophelia in "Hamlet" and Hermia in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream."
Joanne’s solo musical performances include the one woman show So Many Divas ... So Few Contracts, The Women of Tin Pan Alley, The Music of Jerome Kern, and a holiday show entitled December Song, in venues such as the Corcoran Gallery and the Arts Club of Washington, with concert appearances in Seattle, Chicago, and Washington, DC. She was a 2004 Fellow at the Cabaret Conference at Yale and was selected as a semi-finalist in the American Traditions Competition for Singers in Savannah, Georgia in 1998 and 2000. In addition to club work, private parties and small concerts, she has performed extensively as a church soloist performing traditional and non-traditional sacred music. As a teaching artist for ArtsAccess, Joanne presented curriculum-based arts programs into D.C. public schools.
Additional career highlights include kissing Jeff Bridges, dancing with Don Knotts, insulting George Clooney, and surviving an attack with a broad sword from Tom Hanks.
Before joining the Foreign Service, Joanne had an extensive career in theater and cabaret. She appeared as Rose Morton in the world premiere of "And the Curtain Rises" at Signature Theater with music by Joseph Thalken, lyrics by Mark Campbell and book by Michael Slade, and directed by Kristin Hanggi. Before that she appeared as Mrs. Zero in the Studio Theatre production of "Adding Machine – A Musical" which received a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Musical. She appeared at the Kennedy Center in "A Little Night Music" during the acclaimed Sondheim Celebration, and in concert on the Millennium Stage. She also received a Helen Hayes Award Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical for her work as Shelby in "The Spitfire Grill" with Theater Alliance in Washington, D.C.
She is the creator of "TIN PAN LADY!", a 3-person musical theater piece honoring the work of women songwriters from Tin Pan Alley and their contributions to the Great American Songbook. Described as “a glorious way to spend an evening”, … LADY! premiered at Theater Alliance in February, 2009 and has since been performed in Maryland and Washington State. She also created and directed the concert performance "All The Things You Are ... the Musical Artistry of Jerome Kern," for the Roth Concert Series, and "Shakespeare & Song," with Cam Magee, for the Harman Center for the Arts. In Chicago, she created the role of Mette Gauguin in the world premiere of "Gauguin." Favorite theatrical roles include Venus in "One Touch of Venus," Amalia Balash in "She Loves Me," Cordelia in "Falsettos," Dunya in "Crime & Punishment," and Agnes in "Agnes of God," among others, at theaters ranging from the Arena Stage and the Olney Theatre Center to regional theatres across the country. While touring with The National Players, she played the roles of Ophelia in "Hamlet" and Hermia in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream."
Joanne’s solo musical performances include the one woman show So Many Divas ... So Few Contracts, The Women of Tin Pan Alley, The Music of Jerome Kern, and a holiday show entitled December Song, in venues such as the Corcoran Gallery and the Arts Club of Washington, with concert appearances in Seattle, Chicago, and Washington, DC. She was a 2004 Fellow at the Cabaret Conference at Yale and was selected as a semi-finalist in the American Traditions Competition for Singers in Savannah, Georgia in 1998 and 2000. In addition to club work, private parties and small concerts, she has performed extensively as a church soloist performing traditional and non-traditional sacred music. As a teaching artist for ArtsAccess, Joanne presented curriculum-based arts programs into D.C. public schools.
Additional career highlights include kissing Jeff Bridges, dancing with Don Knotts, insulting George Clooney, and surviving an attack with a broad sword from Tom Hanks.