Tara Cheyenne Performance
Body Parts
Photo credits: David Cooper
Tara Cheyenne Performance
TCP has been creating and touring original content throughout BC since 2007 and we’ve developed lasting community ties everywhere we've travelled. The company is a leader in community engagement, audience and artist development, offering workshops, discussions, and mentorship opportunities with each project we create. Our work bridges the divide between dance and theatre bringing about deeper understanding, exciting collaborations, and new audiences. We are known for our humour, pathos, cultural relevance and have been described as “standup comedy with dance breaks”. We have been presented in Vancouver by The Cultch, The Firehall, The Dance Centre, The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts among others, and have toured nationally, internationally and extensively throughout the province, including Smithers, Nelson, Kelowna, Salt Spring Island, Victoria and Terrace
Body Parts
Body Parts is a solo performance by veteran artist Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg in which she tries to perform her show but gets comically side-tracked by her own body issues and the absurdity of performing them. Something has gone terribly wrong! Part stand-up comedy, part Greek tragedy, part performance art, part contemporary dance, this solo is the result of the ever-changing nature of creating art during a pandemic and our inability to talk about our bodies. Created from interviews, symposiums and round-tables with people of diverse ages, backgrounds and perspectives who identify as female, non-binary or on the femme-spectrum, the movement has been mined from our unique struggles with body image, and the comic/tragic relentlessness of "cultural" pressure. Body Parts was adapted into a film in 2021 that toured digitally from February-May 2021. The film was directed by Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg, David Cooper, Kate Franklin, and Josh Martin. The film and live performance are available for presentation separately or in tandem with Talking and Dancing workshops led by Tara and discussions post-show.
Photo credits: David Cooper
Performance History
Goggles (adaptation), September 2023, Progress Lab, Vancouver BC.
The River, July 2023, Smithers, BC.
Body Parts Live, February 2023, the Cultch, Vancouver BC.
Body Parts the Film, February 2021, Progress Lab, Vancouver, BC.
I can't remember the word for I can't remember, February 2018, Firehall Arts Centre,
How to Be, April 2017, the Cultch, Vancouver, BC.
empty.swimming.pool, Feb 2017, The Dance Centre, Vancouver BC.
Porno Death Cult, March 2014, The Firehall Arts Centre
Project Details
Project created by: Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg
Key Collaborators: Body Parts was written, choreographed and performed by Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg and created with the outstanding consulting team of Justine A Chambers, Caroline Liffmann, Melanie Yeats, Kate Franklin, Jamie Robinson, Zahra Shahab, Josh Martin, and Lisa Gelley.
Audience: Contains mature content and explores body dysmorphia and eating disorders. Please take care of yourself while watching. For more info, resources and help, visit: https://keltyeatingdisorders.ca. Created from and for (not exclusively) discussion with other female and non-binary identifying individuals
Length in minutes: 65 minutes - Full-length work
Space required: This work is built for theatre, for online presentation (with existing feature length film), or a hybrid of both these methods.
This piece is somewhat adaptable as long as the rope ladder could be hung safely.
Preparation required: 8 hours minimum required to tech the performance
General technical requirements: Dependant on the components of the piece being presented. Projector + screen for film screenings. Lav mic for large venues, sound system, basic/adaptable lighting plot, must have grid or other rigging system for the set piece of a rope ladder, other props include long ropes made of clothing.
Availabilities: Available from Mid April to June 2022.
Available October -December 2022, January 2023, March 2023, and April through June 2023.
Available December 2023-August 2024
Number of performers on tour: 1
Number of support staff on tour: 2; Sound, Lighting/TD.
To note: Tara's child travels with her on tour bringing the touring number to 4 (1 performer, 2 support staff, 1 Jasper)
Community Engagement Activities
TCP offers Talking and Dancing workshops to artists and non artists interested in the form of speech and movement that Tara works with. We would love to present these workshops to female and non binary identifying individuals in the context of Body Parts presentation. These workshops are open to individuals at all ages and level of experience. These workshops would ideally be presented on a different day than the performance. A 90 minute Talking and Dancing workshop is $250.
To truly connect with your community and follow up on the messages brought up in the show, we strongly recommend Body Parts be presented with a post show discussion. These discussions are moderated by a professional facilitator and typically run from 30-45 minutes in length. The fees associated are $150 for the discussion and $100 for the moderator.
Contact: admin@taracheyenne.com
Manager: Hannah Meyers, admin@taracheyenne.com
Website: taracheyenne.com
Facebook: taracheyenneperformance
Instagram: taracheyennetcp