December 2004

The Passion of Joni Dark Tour Information


The Our Own Voice Theatre Troupe, a theatre company based in Memphis, Tennessee, which for fourteen years has been producing original theatre concerned with mental health in its community, is pleased to announce plans to tour its 2004 production, The Passion of Joni Dark.

Described by local journalists as “the most consistently surprising, entertaining, and thought-provoking group working outside of Chicago”, Our Own Voice is seeking opportunities to share its unique approach to theatre with a wider audience and bring its methods of inclusiveness and empowerment to the attention of actors and spectators across the country.

The Passion of Joni Dark is the ideal introduction to the company, a production both tragic and satiric, performed by an ensemble characterized by diversity, and addressing very powerfully themes that have been central concerns of the troupe from its inception: the stigma of mental illness and the impact of consumerism on mental health.

The Our Own Voice Theatre Troupe was founded in 1990 as a theatre company of mental health consumers, dedicated to raising consciousness about the stigma of mental illness and provoking dialogue about issues within the mental health system. Initially an itinerant troupe, performing in hospitals and community mental health centers and targeting mental health service providers as its principal audience, the company expanded its vision when it had the opportunity to become a resident company at the experimental theatre space, TheatreWorks, in 1994.

With a modestly equipped technical facility as a home base, the troupe was able to develop more sophisticated productions, and began producing three original performance pieces a year. In addition, finding that limiting the troupe to “mental health consumers” was stigmatizing in and of itself, Our Own Voice stopped differentiating between the so-called “mentally ill” and the so-called “normal” and adopted its policy of inclusiveness.

The workshops from which Our Own Voice productions evolve include everyone interested in participating, regardless of “ability” or “disability”, and roles are developed in productions for each participant according to his or her strengths. The result has been a switch in emphasis away from the concept of mental illness and toward the idea of mental health, as it applies to all members of society. Productions celebrate individual empowerment, attack intolerance and embody the values of cooperation and mutual respect.

The Passion of Joni Dark represents a return by a more mature company to themes it explored in its earliest productions. It is based on the trial of Joan of Arc, imagining what a twenty-first century equivalent of that confrontation might be. Joan of Arc, who was inspired by voices to lead the opposition to the occupation of her country, becomes Joni Dark, a rebellious teenager who hears voices encouraging her to protest the war in Iraq. Instead of being called a heretic, she is labeled schizophrenic and locked up in a psychiatric hospital. Instead of an inquisition by the Catholic Church, she is subjected to representatives of the contemporary arbiters of normality, science and consumerism.

Joni Dark is a guest on The Dr. Bill Show, a popular “reality” show, where she is interrogated by a charismatic TV psychotherapist and coerced into accepting treatment for her visions in the form of anti-psychotic medication. The pervasive influence of pharmaceutical corporations is underscored by the frequent commercial interruptions throughout the program for everything from Aleve to Zyprexa. In the end, Joni Dark, like Joan of Arc, finds her salvation in an act of martyrdom.

The touring production of The Passion of Joni Dark features an ensemble of ten actors. It can be adapted to almost any performance space and technical demands are minimal. The performance runs about two hours, including an intermission. The Our Own Voice Theatre Troupe prefers to interact with its audience both before and after each performance and always welcomes the opportunity to have dialogue with spectators about the issues raised by its work. In addition, the troupe is available to conduct theatre and movement workshops in conjunction with its performances. These workshops offer participants an introduction to the games and exercises that the troupe uses to develop its productions, facilitating individual expression while fostering interpersonal sensitivity and a sense of community.

For more information about booking a performance of The Passion of Joni Dark, please send us an email or call (901)274-1000 and leave a message.