Janie Gibson head shot

Janie Gibson​ is an actor, theatre-maker, director and teaching artist based in Newcastle, Australia. She uses the ritual of theatre as a forum for human connection; a site to hold radical ideas, witness multivalent perspectives and offer counter-narratives to the confinements of the dominant culture. She tells stories in the quest to redefine personal, cultural and political identity through the radical act of being seen and heard. The stories we tell and are told forge our sense of self. They influence how we act and are acted upon. The narratives we live in can limit us, or expand our sense of possibility. Stories are road maps. Stories can be medicine. Her theatre practice is born out of research and training in leading European ensemble theatre, contemporary performance and an ongoing exploration into the human voice. This search has taken her work around the globe in collaborations with Anu Almagro (Song of the Goat), Odra Ensemble (Song of the Goat, Poland), Ultimavez (BE), Shakespeare and Company (USA), Kristin Linklater (Orkney, Scotland) and nationally with NEXT WAVE, Tantrum Youth Arts, PACT Theatre, Roslyn Oades, BYDS and UTP. Most recently she designated as a Linklater Voice teacher in the Freeing the Natural Voice method; a vocal training designed to awaken the innate expressive and creative potential of the human voice. ​http://www.janie-gibson.com

Iwi affiliation

My ancestry is mostly Irish, part English with rumours of French. My family have lived as settlers in Awabakal and Wiradjuri country in Australia for three to five generations.

Rohe

I currently reside in the coastal region of Muloobinba, Awabakal country a.k.a Newcastle, NSW Australia. I grew up in this place and after developing my practice both nationally and internationally have recently returned home to start a theatre company and give back to my community.

How I got where I am today

I left Newcastle for the big smoke of Sydney in 2004 and found fertile ground to create new work in the contemporary performance communities of PACT Theatre, UNSW, Performance Space, UTP and BYDS. My search for rigorous ensemble theatre practices led me to train in Poland with Song Of the Goat Theatre in 2009/10 and learn from practitioners in leading European ensemble theatre. In Poland, I co-found the international company Odra Ensemble working in residence at Song Of The Goat theatre from 2011-2013. My search into embodied text and voice practice led me to follow the work of Shakespeare & Company in Massachusetts, U.S.A. After training with Shakespeare & Company I worked as a director in their critically acclaimed theatre in education program the Fall festival of Shakespeare. Following this path I am now a teacher of Freeing the Natural Voice; a vocal training designed to awaken the creative and expressive potential of the human voice. Now rooted in Australia, with strong international ties, my theatre making practice draws on the rigour and research of these traditions. In my new work, Voices Of Joan, I bring together my influences to create a work in my original creative voice. Now based in Newcastle I am establishing a company here. I intend not only to produce performances, but to transform the cultural life of the city. ​With programs in education, training and performance, my company will offer creative pathways for young people, upskill local artists and build new audiences for contemporary theatre.

Whānau

I have a wild and loving family. After many years living away from them, I feel the strength of being back in community with them.

Something cool

I really enjoyed recently ‘The Whole Table’ series; a discussion with Indigenous cultural leaders in the Australian theatre community on NITV/SBS ON Demand.

Voice Of Joan

Artform: Theatre

Development Status: Tour Ready

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Synopsis

Voices of Joan​ is a feminist, punk ritual which explores themes of sovereignty, sexuality, religion, courage and failure through the lens of iconic iconoclast Joan of Arc. In an intimate solo performance Janie unravels the tangled threads of misogyny and catholicism in search of Joan’s narrative in fragments of history, poetry and imagined reality. With direction by Anu Almagro (Song Of the Goat, Poland) the artists interweave text, music, movement and audience participation to create an experience that is not just a performance but an invitation to experience theatre as ritual. Janie trades clothes with the audience, plays a drag catholic bishop (shh - don't tell her Grandma!) and invites the audience to build Joan's pyre with her. With a wireless radio as their ‘time machine’ the artists tune into echoes of Joan in acts of courage and oppression throughout history in search of a road map for resistance in our uncertain times.

Creative Team and Crew

Janie Gibson (lead artist/performer)

Janie Gibson​ is an actor, theatre-maker, director and teaching artist based in Newcastle, Australia. She uses the ritual of theatre as a forum for human connection; a site to hold radical ideas, witness multivalent perspectives and offer counter-narratives to the confinements of the dominant culture. She tells stories in the quest to redefine personal, cultural and political identity through the radical act of being seen and heard. The stories we tell and are told forge our sense of self. They influence how we act and are acted upon. The narratives we live in can limit us, or expand our sense of possibility. Stories are road maps. Stories can be medicine. Her theatre practice is born out of research and training in leading European ensemble theatre, contemporary performance and an ongoing exploration into the human voice. This search has taken her work around the globe in collaborations with Anu Almagro (Song of the Goat), Odra Ensemble (Song of the Goat, Poland), Ultimavez (BE), Shakespeare and Company (USA), Kristin Linklater (Orkney, Scotland) and nationally with NEXT WAVE, Tantrum Youth Arts, PACT Theatre, Roslyn Oades, BYDS and UTP. Most recently she designated as a Linklater Voice teacher in the Freeing the Natural Voice method; a vocal training designed to awaken the innate expressive and creative potential of the human voice. ​www.janie-gibson.com

Anu Almagro (Director)

Anu Almagro (Salonen)​ is a Finnish actress, director and acting teacher working internationally around the globe. Her interest in performance work, deeply rooted in cultural traditions and born out of authentic and energetic connection between people, drove her to Poland for the first time in 2004. In 2007 she became a member of Teatr Piesn Kozla/ Song of the Goat Theatre, an international award winning theatre company based in Wroclaw, Poland and a teacher of the company's unique Coordination technique. The company tours throughout the world and performs in venues such as The BAM, New York and The Globe, London. She created her own theatre company, Odra Ensemble, which trained and performed in Wroclaw, Poland between 2011 and 2013. Finland based company Anu Almagro Actor Training Tmi follows invitations to share profound and holistic acting technique workshops with professional theatre makers as well with students throughout the world. www.anualmagro.com

Number of People in the Touring Party

3

Previous Seasons

Development: L'Escorxador Cultural Centre, Elche Spain | July / August 2019
Premier: L'Escorxador Cultural Centre in Elche Spain | August 2019
Presentation: Melbourne Fringe Festival | September 2019.
Adelaide Fringe Festival | March 2020
Edinburgh Fringe Festival at Summerhall 2020 (postponed)

Reviews and Quotes

"Janie Gibson channels the spirit of Joan of Arc in this breathtaking performance that addresses us, involves us – and makes us complicit in the outcomes...But we’re not just an audience, we’re part of this trial, this ritual – ...we’re the ones building the bonfire and placing candles in the pyre; it is up to us whether it’s to burn or to remember...she delivers a powerful history lesson that still needs to be learned, where the questioner may be silenced, but the questions remain". Mark Wicket Stage Whispers (Full review: https://www.stagewhispers.com.au/reviews/voices-joan

Technical Rider & International Touring Info (if applicable)

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The Performing Arts Network of New Zealand (PANNZ) Arts Market is New Zealand's premiere event for artists, producers, presenters and industry leaders from across the performing arts sector. 

Auckland
Feb 22 2021 To Mar 05 2021

An online symposium exploring ideas of basic income and the need for an approach to economy that puts creativity and care at its centre. Led by a panel of artists, researchers, economists, scientists and philosophers, the symposium responds to current and ongoing planetary crises, and positions creativity and social ecology as integral to shaping policy and systems of value.

The Symposium is a joint initiative of Arts Front, BLINDSIDE and Next Wave and was supported by the City of Melbourne COVID-19 Arts Grants.

Melbourne
May 28 2020 To May 28 2020