Genevieve Blanchett

Genevieve Amelie Blanchett (born 1971) is an Australian theatrical costume and set designer. She has worked extensively with the Sydney Theatre Company and other Australian theatre groups designing sets and costumes.

Blanchett was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia as the daughter of a Texan naval petty officer who came ashore in Melbourne and met her mother, a Melbourne schoolteacher. Her father, Robert, later worked in advertising after marrying her mother, June. He died of a heart attack when she was eight years old. She has two older siblings, the oldest, Robert, is an information systems engineer, and her older sister, Cate, is an Oscar-winning actress.

After receiving a Diploma in Design from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 1993 Blanchett became a theatrical designer. In 1999 she designed the short film Bangers, which starred her sister Cate.

The Australian Museum commissioned the head of its Theatre Unit, Yaron Lifschitz, to create an exhibition entitled Thirst: reflections on water in Australia. He appointed Blanchett his production designer in 1998. 'I didn't want to make a typical exhibition with objects for viewing. I was more interested in emotional responses, a meditation on the subject.' she said. To do this she painted the large rectangular space black and placed a few large structures, some historical objects and some large-print text panels within it. She then enhanced the environment with a complex sound piece by Raffæle Marcellino using music and natural sounds to create a quasi-sonata about water.

She is a yoga practitioner. She has supported political causes such as the opposition to mandatory sentencing in 2000 and has written credibly about political economy. Her theatre design activities have been shelved since 2002 while she studied political science and humanities as an undergraduate at the Australian National University.

Blanchett studied Architecture at the University of Sydney during 2004 and was awarded a scholarship to attend the Global Studio as part of the World Congress of Architecture in July 2005. She took the People, Places, Situations: Response exhibit discussing refugees, internal displacement and urban poverty to the World Planners Congress and the UN Habitat World Urban Forum in Vancouver, during June 2006. At the 2006 RAIA National Architecture Awards on 26 October 2006, Blanchett, jointly with Jennifer van den Bussche was awarded the 2006 RAIA Student Prize for Advancing Architecture for their work in producing the pps:r exhibition and touring its work.

Productions
1995
*Audacious (Griffin Theatre Company) - Production Designer
*Moonwalkers (Griffin Theatre Company) - Production Designer
*Blackrock (Sydney Theatre Company) - Costume Designer

1996
*Wolf Lullaby (Griffin Theatre Company) - Set Designer
*Playgrounds (Sydney Theatre Company) - Set Designer

1997
*The Herbal Bed (Sydney Theatre Company) - Set Designer

1998
*Closer (Sydney Theatre Company) - Set and Costume Designer
*The Cripple of Innishmaan (Sydney Theatre Company) - Set and Costume Designer

1999
*Bangers - Production Designer
*As You Like It (Druid Theatre Company) - Set Designer
*Cyrano de Bergerac (Sydney Theatre Company) - Set Designer
*Lyrebird: Tales of Helpmann (Sydney Theatre Company) - Set Designer

2000
*The Great Man (Sydney Theatre Company) - Set and Costume Designer
*The Recruit (Sydney Theatre Company) - Set Designer
*The Ham Funeral (Company B) - Set and Costume Designer

2001
*Don Juan (Sydney Theatre Company) - Set Designer
*The Forest (Queensland Theatre Company) - Set Designer

2008
*The Modern International Dead (Griffin Theatre Company) - Designer

Awards & Nominations
* Green Room Award-Best Drama Stage Design -Nominated-Wolf Lullaby (1997)
*Mike Walsh Fellowship (1999)
*Australia Council Theatre Development Grant (1999)
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