Jenn Goodwin

If I Should Stumble II

Sometimes when things fall apart they are actually falling into place - Unknown

Created by Jenn Goodwin, in collaboration with and performed by Anita Nittoly, Sarah Doucet, Zoja Smutny, Brandy Leary, Kaja Irwin, Jasmyn Fyffe, Lua Shayenne, Nicola Pantin, Caroline-Nicolas Gordon and Jenn Goodwin.

Performer Anita Nittoly uses stairs as both her stage and her nemesis in this movement installation.  Nittoly shines and stumbles as she personifies the concept of falling from grace, while actually falling (gracefully and otherwise) while other aspects of her self take alternative approaches.

In this performance, Goodwin is particularly interested in personal power, female comradery, the cracks in ones’ confidence, the spectacle of a persona, the faux pas’, missteps, mistakes, and the challenges and resilience particularly of women in day to day life. 

Vertigo is the conflict between the fear of falling and the desire to fall - -Salman Rushdie

COSTUME DESIGN: Sarah Doucet

MUSIC: Tanya Tagaq. Song: Uja from the Album Animism. Re-mixed by Tino Zolfo.  Thank you to Six Shooter Records.

Somewhere between human and animal, land, sky and dance floor, we find ourselves here.

We listen for when to move, still, fight, work, try, try harder, surrender and stand. A snapshot of effort, discovery, fall and recovery, under a shared big sky, caught in a moment, in a space in between.

Credits

Choreography: Jenn Goodwin in collaboration Anita Nitoly, Elke Schroeder & Sarah Doucet

Performed by: Anita Nittoly & Elke Schroeder.

Costumes and rehearsal direction/outside eye: Sarah Doucet

Music: Boris, Holy Fuck

Curated by Art Spin- Layne Hinton & Rui Pimenta

Video by Francesca Chudnoff

A solo, a duet, a trio. With blanket, with hair. Through attempts at comfort, protection, concealment, trapping, suffocation, warmth, hostility, and weight, these partners do their own dance choreography and have their own experience.
To do, to don't touches on themes of being enough. Good … enough. Being affected, repetitive, being every day. Trying to be better, be enough. Trying to get out of bed, be in the world, take it in, keep it out, change, or make change. It considers the possibility to hold sorrows of the world, and one’s own, while not forgetting the big picture, or the the day to day. Holding hope and fear in the same moment. There is no running away. Though running feels good. Walking is a controlled fall. Falling forward. Falling apart is not the best option, though falling feels good. Can't go over it, Can’t go under it. There is a lot to do. And a lot to don’t. Give me all your anger, I will bury it like a treasure.

Photo credit: Erato Tzavara, Natalie Roth

Video (short version) : Francesca Chudnoff

Choreographed and performed by Jenn Goodwin

Music by Sandro Perri, Peregrine Falls, Mixed by John Dinsmore

Text “I Really Should" by Kelly Mark

A heartfelt and humourous exploration of the consequences of our daily mishaps in all their beauty, barbarity and banality. Cross a street three seconds later and a speeding bus barely misses you. A typo completely changes your identity. A turn to the left at a crowded party and you never meet the love of your life.

An exploration of mistakes we make that affect our daily lives, to the ones that may cost us our life. From spelling mistakes to near death experiences, taken from real life scenarios.. and mistaken moments.

Accidents is a playful yet poignant look at our attempt to be perfect, avoidance of discomfort, fear of failure and the beauty and challenges learned by the natural occurance of accidents and mistakes. From the banal to the beautiful to the barbaric...

Created and Directed by Jenn Goodwin
Created with and performed by Valerie Calam and Alicia Grant
Video by Walter Willems
Lighting Design by Geoff Bouckley
Sound/Music: Death Fom Above (1979), Japancakes, Cat Power, Polmo Polpo

Thank you to Sarah Doucet and Ame Henderson who were an integral part of the creation of this work.

With collaborators/performers: Valerie Calam, Luke Garwood, Kristy Kennedy, Jared MacSween, Zoja Smutny and Heidi Strauss. Roxanne Luchak (video) and Laura Nanni (dramaturg)
Curated by Kim Simon for Gallery TPW R&D. 

Special Thanks to Jeremy Mimnagh, Camilla Singh, Walter Willems, Ame Henderson and The Theatre Centre, for their input in the development of the work.

Working across disciplinary institutions, Your Timing is Perfect was developed within the context of a lens-based gallery, traditionally imagined as a space for wall works. Through the conceptual frame of portraiture, the work explores the possibility of connection across time -- with strangers and friends, performers and audiences, between a sense of self and the collective and the walls of a room. Participants in the work see themselves and their stories as objects, icons and images, looking at practices of looking, how we see and are asked to see. An intimate 360 degree durational performance/movement experience, audiences are welcome to come and go from the work at their leisure. Stay for ten minutes or for four hours.

Score (as of January 6th 2013)

See everyone that walks in the room / Offer instructions / Welcome / Introduce yourself and others / You can ask questions

The Story starts with We / We are all here together / Right now / Not for long

You are an individual within a group / Portraits can overlap when there is only 1 person talking / Do not overlap talking portraits / Your portrait is a part of the whole / The whole is your portrait

You are in this together / You can ask for help / You influence the space, the order, the audience / You are influenced by the space, the order, the audience / Just being is enough

Stay connected to the wall / The wall is your partner / The wall is your frame / The wall is your canvas / The wall is a restriction and an opportunity

You can change the lighting / You can add video / You don't have to stop with the song

Let things take the time they need / Vary your speed / Be aware of time, or ignore it, get lost in it, fight it, welcome it / Spend time together / You are responsible for your experience

Document what is happening / Start where it ended / Keep going back to the writing

Find opportunities to move / Move during punctuation

See each other / Listen to each other / Listen to the room / What is happening is really happening / Be affected / Don't pre-plan / Make connections / Make it yours

Fight/struggle/aim for presence / Let what is happening in the room inspire you / Doing nothing is something

It doesn't always have to make sense / Try to be honest (most of the time) / Seeing you search, receive and recover is ok / Everyone is a participant / It is ok to struggle with presence and performance / Discomfort, uncertainty and boredom are valid / Entertainment is too

Notice / Pay attention / Accept

The small moments make up the big picture / Every day is epic > http://gallerytpw.ca/rd/jenn-goodwin-reflections/ > http://gallerytpw.ca/rd/jenn-goodwin/

Thank you: The Theatre Centre, Roxanne Duncan, Franco Boni, Gallery TPW, Kim Simon, Gary Hall, Sam Cotter, Leila Timmins and Nicole Cropley, Justine Chambers, Neville Quinlan, Brendan Gall, Valerie Gelinas, Guntar Kravis, Natalie Roth, Dan Surman, Sean Hooper

Special Thanks to Camilla Singh, Jeremy Mimnagh, Walter Willems and Ame Henderson for their input in the development of the work

Photos by Guntar Kravis

Video by Jeremy Mimnagh

1997

Sneaker is a duet co-choreographed by Sarah Doucet and Jenn Goodwin. Sneaker is a story of two women who after a night out decide they are going to hitch hike out of town. It has been performed in various venues in Montreal and Toronto including streets, studio, cabaret and club environments to great success. The Globe and Mail said: The humorous Sneakers depicted two ladies after a night carousing on the town. The two are hitch-hiking, but it is for a metaphoric ride to a better place. What gives this piece depth is the haunting inner turmoil that lies behind their world-weary, sarcastic demeanour.

Choreography by Jenn Goodwin & Sarah Doucet
Performers: Sarah Doucet & Jenn Goodwin
Music by Luke Doucet

Photos by Raina Kirn

Stink explores the natural vs artifice, movement vs stasis, restriction vs release. Attached to a tree by elastic bungy cords and harnesses,  dressed in astro turf and air fresheners, the acrobatic and animlaistic performers struggle and extend themselves to find escape, or eventually acceptance. 

Performers: Sarah Doucet, Marlee Cargill, Nicola Pantin. Sylvie Bouchard, Molly Johnson. Mariana Medellin-Meinke, Zhenya Cerneacov, Jenn Goodwin. Tania White

Musicians; Ed Hanley. Blake Howard, 

Choreographed and performed by Jenn Goodwin

Sound score: Sandra Dametto

Video: Natalie Kovacs

Liar is a solo choreographed and performed by Jenn Goodwin that explores issues of truth, confessions and lies. With a backdrop of projection of text and images, Goodwin dances to an original score by media artist Sandra Dametto that includes excerpts of text from soap operas and pornographic films. In this work, she explores through text and movement, various "societal" lies from Santa Clause to sex to taxes and love. While also exploring personal confessions again through movement and text from smoking to self-pleasure to knitting and loneliness. The piece is lyrical and highly physical with breaks of "reality" as Goodwin steps outside the performance to allow the audience to decide what is true, and what is not. 

”Inspired by work of American concept artist Jenny Holzer and beautifully performed by Goodwin herself. The title is a misnomer, because the droll, stream-of-consciousness text/movement piece contains as many truths as it does lies. Sandra Dametto's minimalist score, infused with fragments of real soap-opera dialogue, is the backdrop against which Goodwin set this dance of true, and not so true, confessions. In fact, all our lives contain soap-opera elements, with fresh disasters lurking around every corner. Goodwin's Liar is a glimpse of an all-too human woman and the defence mechanisms she has put in place in order to cope”. - The Globe & Mail.

Wet - a diary of desire [part I of The Wet Project] 
An abstract movement diary that touches on lust, shame, frustration, excitement, boredom, pleasure, ecstasy, porn, friction, love and sex. 

Conceived and Directed by Jenn Goodwin in collaboration with Justine Chambers

Performed by Justine Chambers

Soundscape: Ed Hanley
Lighting Design: Sharon DiGenova
Text: Lisa Gabriele, Malcolm Brown (pixel board) 

Spit [part II of The Wet Project] 
Smoking solos, gum chewing combos, necking duets and spitting images. Phase II of The Wet Project, Spit explores the body fluid- Saliva. With images projected on a dripping wet backdrop Spit is a look at addiction, lust, desire and saliva. 

Conceived and Directed by Jenn Goodwin in collaboration with performers Justine Chambers, Sarah Doucet, and Darryl Tracey
Soundscape: Ed Hanley/Peaches
Video: Dar Higden and Jenn Goodwin

Costumes: Gillian Steinhardt

Go [part III of The Wet Project] 
Public, Private. Spoken, unspoken. Set & video is used to expose the private and morph the public. Exposing what is going on behind closed doors while also distorting and magnifying what we see outside the doors. 

Conceived and Directed by Jenn Goodwin in collaboration with performers Justine Chambers and Sarah Doucet,
Music/Sound: Broken Social Scene, The Bug, Kelly Mark
Video: Jeremy Mimnagh

Set: Tempermetal

Created and performed by Sarah Doucet & Jenn Goodwin. 

Originally curated by Kelly Mullan and Jenna Morrison at Tangente Montreal.

Skid takes a look at guitars and the movement that moves them and us. 

Music: Zeena Parkins

(Live music: Julietta McGovern)

A theatrical solo that explores living to extremes- and sometimes close to death, in search of a greater sense of life. A search for self by ridiculous, reckless as well as precious means and memories. The risks taken to feel deeper, live fully, work harder, stay strong, get connected, get lost… be found.

Choreographer/Dancer: Jenn Goodwin

Text: Jenn Goodwin

Lighting: Sharon DiGenova

Composer: Ed Hanley

Video: Jenn Goodwin and Judy Singh. With excerpts of David Hinton’s  -“Birds”

With thanks to The Canada Council for the Arts and The Ontario Arts Council

Created and performed by Jenn Goodwin.

Video by Walter Willems

I'm Sorry…

I didn’t mean it

I wasn’t thinking

Im embarrassed. I cant believe I did that. It’s a fine line really isn’t it. I ignored the signs.

I didn’t understand the instructions

I had no idea

I was framed

I was drunk

I was hurt…

I had other plans

I deserve it

Im cleansing

It was too late to call

I needed to feel something

You were away

It was cold out

I didn’t want to sleep alone

Im holding it for a friend

Im not from here

I was Pre menstral

It was a spur of the moment decision

I didnt know you would take it like that

You can be so sensitive

I was Nervous

I didn’t want to send the wrong message

The networkwas down 

The sun was in my eyes

I went out on a limb

I have to go

I was faking it

I don’t know when to stop

I cant say no

I got sick of waiting

I listened to my gut

Hey…I was misquoted

I was brought up catholic

I did it for the money

I did it for love

I didn’t know it was my last chance

I didn’t know it meant so much

I don’t own a watch

I haven’t slept

I was bored

I was in heels

I could not control myself

It wasonly 1 night

I blame myself only. And maybe you alittle bit.

I fell asleep

I fell of my bike

I was falling in love

I felt ignored

I was falling apart

I felt confused

I just fell into it

I didn’t think it would actually hit you

I didn’t know it would hurt

I was at my wits end

I was fucking pissed off

That song was playing

I couldn’t sleep

I pressed snooze

I pressed send

You pushed my buttons

You pushed your limits

You pressed play

I was distracted

I lost my patience

I lost track of time

I lost my confidence

I lost your number

I lost my keys

I lost my phone

I fucking lost it

He was greek

the lighting was perfect

He told me what I wanted to hear

I was on vacation

I left it at home

Im on my way to a wedding

Ive just come from a funeral

You looked at me and I melted

My defences were down

My parents were teachers

I am the youngest of 3

I am spoiled

I was lonely

I was high

I was listening to public enemy

I was between a rock and a hard place

you said you loved me

I thought I could handle it

It was highly recommended

It was cheap

I asked for it

I was young

It seemed poetic at the time

I didn’t ask questions

I didn’t understand the directions

I believed the hype

It was on sale

I believed you

I hoped for the best

I hoped to for something else

I was star struck

It was a 2 hr special of the simpsons

I forgot
 

I was taken for a ride

He took me for someone else

I took it standing up

I took it for the team

I was taken by him

I took the brunt of it

I took the heat

I took what I could get

I don’t know what its going to take

I don’t know when to stop