The Good Body with Jessica De Borja

Coming up soon we have Miller Performing Arts: The Good Body workshop, two days of physical theatre fun that uses works by local and international women writers to explore body image and beauty.  The workshop culminates in a short original theatre piece devised by the participants.

We’re really looking forward to this great workshop, and spoke to Jessica De Borja (a former YAFie, drama practitioner and educator) to gain a glimpse of what inspired her to create and lead it! 

Jess, what inspired you to run The Good Body workshop?
Over the years I've worked with girls and women of all ages, backgrounds, shapes and sizes. I've had conversations with mothers and daughters, young and old about how our bodies change and evolve; about how the world influences our ideas of how we should look and behave. The idea of providing a space where we could organically and openly explore these different thoughts- positive and negative- is ultimately what I want to create. 

Working in media and performing arts I've met people, women of immense talent, and we all have our own insecurities about the image we want to fit, the persona we want to present to the world. I hope this workshop will be able to help us shed these masks and images to create something honest, something that might influence us in our lives and in our art.

Why do you think body image and beauty are such important topics for  young people aged 14 – 30 to explore?
As a teacher, an aunt, a sister, a friend, I have seen and continue to see girls and women, including myself, struggle with the way we think and feel about our physical appearance. Feeling pressured to look a certain way and fulfil certain roles to show the world we are successful, happy and "normal". Young girls especially are influenced by media and all the photos and videos they have access to on a daily basis. I think recognising that beauty is not just about the physical, that there isn't a "right" or "perfect" size and shape is something we need to teach. More so, I think promoting self love is important. So many girls get taken advantage of because they feel pressured by society to do certain things and behave a certain way. If we opened up the dialogue more in schools and in safe environments then maybe we can help make a difference.

Do you think as we grow older, we view these topics in a different way?
Definitely. I think we always think about these topics throughout our whole lives but our opinions change as we change. The female body changes so much as we grow older; we go through so much physical, emotional and mental changes, and I guess this is why I wanted to open the workshop to just females. I wanted women of different ages to be able to share their different experiences with one another to create a piece of art that we can look back on and see how all of our differences made this one beautiful thing.

We know you will be using written works by local and international female writers… what is a piece that you have found particularly powerful?
One of my favourite pieces of work is a piece that one of my students showed me. I don't know if it's famous because she found it on someone's blog but it really left an impression on me as a teacher and having so many younger female friends and family members who look to me for advice.
 
Sierra Demulder—Ana
Dear Ana,
the truth is,
I would never speak to a child
the way I speak to myself

What topics did you wish you were exposed to when you were younger?
There's a lot! I think growing up in a somewhat forward thinking Asian city as Hong Kong yet still having to follow traditional rules and beliefs made it confusing growing up. Whether it's about race and culture or health and beauty, I always found that these topics still aren't as openly discussed as we think they might be.

Register now for this free workshop here! Registration closes on 18 July.