Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

DANCIN' FEATS Secret stories fuel Joe Goode's 'Hush'
by Lauren Warnecke
2016-03-09

This article shared 4846 times since Wed Mar 9, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


First developed in 2013, "Hush" is an evening-length dance theater work by Joe Goode, on tour this week at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago. Goode, a writer and choreographer, has long been interested in multiple mediums, and Hush uses text, requiring his dancers to vocalize and physicalize his narrative in equal proportions. Inspiration and source material for the work came from a series of interviews; though the setting of six characters in a run-down bar is fictional, the stories came from real people.

"I let that be the text for the piece," said Goode in a phone interview with Windy City Times. "I interviewed people about moments in their lives where they were disappointed in themselves, or they had failed. Something happened, and life took a turn they weren't prepared for." Talking with young college students, mostly LGBTQ millennials in their late teens and 20s, Goode was surprised at how forthcoming interviewees were about their experiences on campus and elsewhere, particularly regarding identity and feelings of belonging.

According to Goode, the experiences of LGBT young adults has changed over the last several decades, though maybe not by as much as one might hope. "I was a gay teenager in Virginia," said Goode. "I was the only queer kid that existed. I felt that perhaps there was something deeply wrong with me. That wasn't quite the story that I was hearing." Goode went on to explain that young LGBT people have more agency, but still face feelings of alienation and isolation despite increased visibility of gay people in society.

"The piece is about more than that—more than the struggle of queer people—but it's definitely in there," said Goode. He spoke with female identifying college students who have grave concerns over their sexual safety and heightened anxiety about the realities of sexual assault and other crimes toward cys and trangender women on college campuses. "I spoke with highly educated, world-travelled women really feeling unsafe crossing the street," said Goode, saying that women felt continually "under the gaze," and several had been victims of sexual aggression or assault.

By speaking with these young people, Goode, who came of age during the 1960s and '70s, had forgotten what it felt like to feel unsure about the future. "Something important to them was friends—a sense of community. They find safety within a network of friends," he said, which perhaps contributed to their willingness to talk. By sharing their experiences, a long distance support network is woven into the fabric of Hush. Though the stories' owners are anonymous, the "who" is less important than the "what."

Most of the things Goode heard weren't surprising. The prevalence of sexual aggression toward women, the alienation and feelings of isolation among LGBT people are, sadly, supported by statistics. What surprised him was that, when asked, people were very forthcoming. Goode felt that these individuals wanted to share their stories in order to be of some assistance to others; having had few role models with whom they could identify, they perhaps saw and opportunity to be useful to someone who might be having a similar experience. These stories are not secrets because the people who own them are unwilling to tell, but because nobody had bothered to ask until now.

In addition to text, acting and dancing, Hush features a live Foley artist, which enhances the action onstage through exaggerated sound effects, particularly in the characters' most vulnerable moments. "These are the stories that we don't tell," said Goode, "about areas of our lives that we don't feel comfortable discussing. I wanted to break that apart. The moments that people are revealing those stories are super amplified." It creates a surrealist atmosphere, and brings moments of levity to heavy topics.

Part of Goode's investigation, rooted in times of struggle, is tied to how individuals cope and thrive despite serious challenges. Hush is the artistic extension of this investigation, and a companion community initiative titled The Resilience Project follows Hush on its nationwide tour. Where Hush's main focus is LGBT young adults, The Resilience Project allows other marginalized groups to tell their stories as well.

Recently, Goode's focus for The Resilience Project is working with combat war veterans dealing with post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, physical disability, etc., and/or their immediate family members. Goode creates a safe space for these individuals to physicalize their stories through movement, song and gestures to create an artistic expression performed for an audience. Each participant in the workshop gets a free ticket to Hush, combining very different communities in an artistic exchange.

"I didn't want to trivialize these very important stories. Movement adds a visceral quality, urgency, reality to the words, and allows them to experience their stories in a different way," said Goode, who has no formal training in psychology or dance therapy. "This process had a lot to teach me, because we all need to learn resilience. That's the way I focus the project." Many workshop participants have never seen a dance performance; likewise, many dance-goers have varying levels of exposure to this type of community engagement. "Audience members who are not in those communities [involved in the Resilience Project] come to it with different expectations. They leave different—the experience of those people is profound."

Joe Goode Performance Group presents "Hush" at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., on March 10-12. All performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30; call 312-369-8330 or visit colum.edu/dancecenterpresents . The theater is accessible to people with disabilities.

More Windy City Times theater news and reviews at the link: www.windycitymediagroup.com/gaynewsarticles.php .


This article shared 4846 times since Wed Mar 9, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical 2024-02-19
- Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ JoJo Siwa, Tom Holland, Bowen Yang, Pet Shop Boys, Mariah Carey 2024-02-02
- In the wake of Nigel Lythgoe exiting So You Think You Can Dance, queer personality JoJo Siwa is returning to the series, per Deadline. Siwa, who was a judge on season 17 of the Fox show, will replace Lythgoe, who left ...


Gay News

DANCE Choreographer Dwight Rhoden talks David Bowie, Alvin Ailey, queerness 2024-01-31
- In "STAR DUST: A Ballet Tribute to David Bowie," Complexions Contemporary Ballet co-founders Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson—backed by their Alvin Ailey lineage—and their dance troupe tackle many of the ...


Gay News

Chicago Dancers United and The Dancers' Fund become Chicago Dance Health Fund 2023-12-14
--From a press release - Chicago Dancers United, which has supported the health and wellness of Chicago's professional dance community through The Dancers' Fund for more than 30 years, announces that, effective January 1, 2024, the organization will operate and distribute ...


Gay News

DANCE 'Sugar Hill: The Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker' running Dec. 20-30 2023-12-12
- Tony-winning producers David Garfinkle and Dr. Ron Simons announced the world-premiere of "Sugar Hill: The Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker"—a holiday dream told in dance—which will play at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. ...


Gay News

MOVIES Rick Cosnett chats about 'Shoulder Dance,' Molly and Jason Momoa 2023-12-05
- In the new movie Shoulder Dance, which is out on streaming, friends Ira (played by out actor Matt Dallas, looking and sounding quite different than from his days on TV's Kyle XY) and Roger (played by ...


Gay News

DANCE Deeply Rooted performing Nov. 3 at the Auditorium Theatre 2023-09-27
- The Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Dr., is presenting Deeply Rooted Dance Theater—a Chicago-based contemporary dance company rooted in traditions of American and African-American dance—in a one-night-only performance ...


Gay News

Chicago Dancers United raises more than $365K at Dance for Life 2023-08-29
- Chicago Dancers United (CDU)—which supports the health and wellness of Chicago's professional dance community—welcomed 1,600 people to the 32nd annual Dance for Life on Aug. 19 at Auditorium Theatre, per ...


Gay News

Teen suspect arrested in killing of gay dancer 2023-08-05
- The New York Police Department arrested a suspect in the fatal stabbing of 28-year-old O'Shae Sibley, who was attacked last weekend at a Brooklyn gas station. According to The Advocate, Sibley, a professional dancer, had been ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Drag news, HIV-bias lawsuit, Disney, Brittney Griner, gay dancer 2023-08-04
- Swastika flag-toting neo-Nazis, some of them armed, were at a Wisconsin LGBTQ+ Pride celebration that included a drag show, The Advocate reported. Members of the neo-Nazi extremist group Blood Tribe joined other right-wing hate groups, like ...


Gay News

Billy Masters: Cattrall passive-aggressively returns just like that 2023-06-06
- "I kinda look like a 200-year-old pole dancer now! I don't think that's gonna happen, but thank you anyway." —Sylvester Stallone's response when Sherri Shepherd asks if he'll wear his tank top and booty shorts in ...


Gay News

ART on THE MART's summer programs include Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, Pride celebration 2023-05-11
--From a press release - CHICAGO, IL — ART on THE MART, an innovative digital art project that transforms a Chicago architectural landmark into a larger-than-life canvas, will introduce two new commissions this summer. Building Light, a new projection by Gensler, ...


Gay News

South Chicago Dance Theatre to debut 'Memoirs of Jazz' on June 10 2023-05-09
--From a press release - (May 8, 2023) Through the 1960s and '70s, Jazz in the Alley on Chicago's South Side was a hotbed for jazz and a meeting place for some of the country's prominent musicians, visual artists, poets, activists, ...


Gay News

Artemis Singers presents June 10 "Better Times Will Come" Pride Concert and Dance 2023-05-03
--From a press release - CHICAGO─Artemis Singers, Chicago's lesbian feminist chorus, will present "Better Times Will Come" Pride Concert & Dance, Saturday, June 10, at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Ave. ...


Gay News

Andersonville Midsommarfest to return June 9-11 in its 57th year 2023-04-30
--From a press release - CHICAGO (April 27, 2023) — The Andersonville Chamber of Commerce (ACC) is pleased to welcome summer with Andersonville Midsommarfest, one of Chicago's oldest and most beloved summer street festivals. Now in its 57th year, the ann ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.