Janie Gibson is a theatre artist; actor, director, theatre-maker and Linklater Voice teacher. Her practice is underpinned by in-depth training, and an ongoing creative inquiry into embodied voice and the transformative power of theatre. Through teaching, directing and performance she is searching for a connection to voice that reveals our inner life, and through expression, brings us into deeper relationship with ourselves, with each other, with community and with country.
Over the past 15 years her work has spanned Australia, Europe and the U.S.A. She has extensive experience in eastern European ensemble theatre, training with award-winning company Song of the Goat in Poland and co-founding the international theatre company Odra Ensemble. In the U.S.A she steeped herself in the embodied voice and text work of Shakespeare & Company and worked as a director on their critically acclaimed education program the Fall Festival of Shakespeare. As a theatre artist her original performance work has been developed and presented at Song of the Goat (Poland), Ultimavez (BE), L’Escorxador Cultural Centre (Spain), PACT Theatre (Sydney, AU), NEXT WAVE (Melbourne, AU), Tantrum Youth Arts (Newcastle), and BYDS (Western Sydney) (selected).
As a teacher she leads workshops and classes in Linklater voice, ensemble theatre, Shakespeare and theatre-making. She works with actors, artists, professionals and young people to unblock their creative impulses and free their natural voice. Now based in Awabakal country in Newcastle NSW, she teaches both online and in-person, with students from Sydney to Sweden.