Puppet Showplace Theater Presents: “SpinS” by Janoah…anygoodjokes?

UnCommon Corner, Boylston St &, Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116

A pajama-clad unicyclist careens on stage, suitcase in tow. Unpacking, ze introduces the audience to a whimsical world of clothes-pin towers, erratic toothbrushes & gargantuan grins. Juggling with energy & presence, Janoah…anygoodjokes? constructs a playful performing-partner puppet from piles of props.​

SpinS frames skill through physical challenge, fashioning hilarious precariousness that is joyful and open. Objects and audience swirl into chaotic creation in this solo circus, recounting the learning and laughter of an itinerant performer.

“SpinS is not your usual flashy juggling show at all. There are no strict boundaries to adhere by, just an unrestricted flow of energy, story-telling and creativity for all.” – Melissa Arditti, 519

“Probably the most awkwardly impressive thing you’ll see all year … the experience seem(s) less like you’re watching a performance and more like you’re helping to put it on … A must-see for anyone who wants to let loose and smile like a child again.” – ***** Eric Trudell, Theatre in London

Puppet Showplace Theater is Boston’s home for puppet show joy — with shows nearly every weekend, for kids and adults, just steps from the Brookline Village T stop! Puppet Showplace is dedicated to presenting outstanding puppetry to diverse audiences through performances, workshops, and community outreach. From children’s birthday party performances to provocative Puppets at Night shows, our programming is designed to reach a large and diverse audience of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. View our full calendar at puppetshowplace.org

CactusHead Puppets

Janoah Bailin (ze/zir), aka janoah…anygoodjokes? creates and performs energetic, stimulating and educational shows for family audiences with zir unique blend of circus, puppetry, story and dance. Ze learned unicycling in the empty corridors of zir middle school, practicing after-hours.

Janoah grew up juggling with the Suspenders Juggling Troupe in Falmouth (MA) then traveled New England with the Circus Smirkus Big Top Tour. Ze graduated in 2014 from College of the Atlantic, focusing in performance and movement. Janoah now coaches the Gym Dandies Children’s Circus of Scarborough (ME), as well as the Children’s Circus of Middletown (CT). In 2016 ze helped form the Living Room Dance Collective in Portland (ME), a space devoted to contemporary movement and performance.

In the summer of 2019 ze toured SpinS, a full-length solo circus-puppetry performance, across the Canadian Fringe Festival circuit, including Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver, winning “Best Variety” in London. SpinS has since enjoyed a 12-show run at Maddy’s Theatre in the Children’s Museum and Theatre of Maine. In May of 2019 Janoah premiered meSSeS, a second full-length circus-dance performance in which the audience learns to juggle during the show. Ze has brought the show to The Dance Complex (Boston), Redfern (Keene NH), Oddfellows Playhouse (Middletown CT), APA’s Contact East (Halifax NS), SPACE (Portland ME), as well as the Cincinnati, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Hartford and Elgin Fringe Festivals (where ze won “Spirit of the Fringe” 2022).

Janoah has been a resident artist at the Barn Arts Collective in Bass Harbor and Subcircle in Biddeford (ME). Ze has been awarded the 2020 MAC Fellowship in the Performing Arts, NEFA’s 2021 Public Art Learning Fund, as well as numerous MAC Project and NEFA Dance Fund grants. Janoah currently performs internationally for festivals, stages and parades, leaving behind a wake of tumbled juggling props.

@janoahthejester

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