Stephanie Jack
Stephanie Jack is an Australian Singaporean actor and writer. She has lived in six countries and on board a yacht. She is a graduate of Harvard’s American Repertory Theater Institute, and the creator of 'Mixed Up', a YouTube series exploring mixed race identity. Her artistic work is propelled by a keen desire to bridge cultural divides. Having returned to Tasmania during Covid-19, Stephanie is finding island life immensely rewarding. More about her can be found at www.stephanie-jack.com.
TASMANIAN VOICES

Kitchen of dreams

by Stephanie Jack
29 Sep 2020

Znood el sit is a Middle Eastern dessert delightfully named after the plump “custardy” part of a woman’s upper arm. As I bite into it, crisp pastry gives way to a luxurious, yet somehow light, custard filling. It is dusted with crushed pistachios and smells like roses. I devour it in two bites. I don’t mind if it goes straight to the wobbly parts of my arms.

TASMANIAN VOICES

Under a high sky

by Stephanie Jack
15 Jul 2021

Tasmania gives me this freedom of taking a break from the human world. You can go somewhere, and even if you’re still in your human drama, being melancholic on the beach, the beach is bigger, the wind is bigger. It just puts you in your place...

People

Clipped wings

by Stephanie Jack
28 Dec 2020

Island dwellers often talk about the way Tasmania slowly, softly enfolds its visitors, keeping them here longer than expected, sometimes forever. It took a global pandemic for me to experience this firsthand. For a decade, Tasmania was just a place I retreated to when I needed respite from my peripatetic lifestyle. During those years I lived in Bristol, Boston, Moscow, Los Angeles, Singapore, London and Shanghai, pursuing university degrees, an acting career, and ill-fated relationships. 

TASMANIAN VOICES

City girl, roadkill collector

by Stephanie Jack
10 Dec 2020

Sonja Cook defies easy definition. She is a fashion designer turned “roadkill collector”. A Slovakian city girl, and a Tasmanian with a fondness for self-sufficient rural living. We meet on a sunny Sunday morning at Sonja’s house in Franklin, where bushland opens out into undulating green fields. Her quaint, 1.5ha property is home to chickens, cows, a brightly-painted wooden caravan, fruit trees, vegetable patches, and flowers in vibrant full bloom. It feels like Europe.