VANESSA FORTIN
JasoN
Jason is a solo performance work that grapples with transformation, shame, and sexuality from a transmasculine experience. Wearing a disfigured men's suit with extra arms, too-long pants with bulging knees, and clutching a precious collection of Magnum XL condoms, a figure appears. He is wet, alone, and trying to feel better.
Unfolding over 60 minutes in an almost silent landscape punctuated by the crinkle of a plastic "THANK YOU" bag and the sound of skin on skin, Jason makes visible the internal efforts required to inhabit a body in transition. Borrowing from binary gendered expectations of sexuality—high-pitched moans, low growls, thrusting hips—he engages in a range of repetitive physical gestures: smacking, shaking, tumbling, throwing, in an attempt to transform emotional emptiness into pleasure and freedom.
Tangled in shame, charm, and sensuality, what emerges is contradictory, rhythmic, laborious, and sweaty. Confronting, funny, and tender, Jason offers an intimate window into the pain and pleasure of inhabiting a gender non-conforming body. Loneliness is put on display, and the audience is invited into a shared experience as Jason reaches toward a fantasy of leaving the confines of his body and being re-birthed as something new.
“This piece leans into the absurd while eliciting genuine moments of thrill and deep discomfort. Jason is a piece about the complexity of pleasure and discovery when gender identity isn’t straightforward.” -NEXT MAGAZINE
“Green is an entrancing performer. They move with both courage and vulnerability, keeping the audience on edge. Their ability to manipulate the tension in the room is almost wizardly; the tilt of the head is enough to send chuckles rippling through the seats.” - NEXT MAGAZINE
CREATIVE TEAM
choreographer and performer : Celia Green
collaborator and dramaturg: Augusto Bitter
costume designer : Malcolm Leblanc
rehearsal director:Tia Kushniruk
production manager: Steph Raposo
lighting designer : Karine Gauthier
promotional photos + video: Sara Melvin
PRESENTATION HISTORY:
Glasgow, Scotland - BUZZCUT Festival - Tramway / T1 - April 18th 2026
Toronto, Canada - SummerWorks Festival - The Theatre Centre / Franco Boni Theatre - August 13, 14, 16 2025
Montreal, Quebec -OFFTA Live Art Festival - Tangente Danse / Espace Vert - May 26 + 27 2025
DEVELOPMENT HISTORY:
Jason was developed with the support of LA SERRE ARTS VIVANTS, The Rhubarb Festival at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, The Toronto Dance Love-In, Toronto Dance Theatre, The National Ballet of Canada’s Open Space Residency, The Toronto Arts Council, and the Ontario Arts Council.
