Interview with Jaycob Beven-Delaney and Triss Niemi
In this industry, you have to fight to be number one…
…And in this case, it’s:
Joe Rogan's number one enemy: Jaycob Beven-Delaney
And number one on WatchMojo’s list of Top 10 Busiest Girls in Meanjin: Triss Niemi
Triss Niemi and Jaycob Beven-Delaney, two of our residents in Backbone’s Seven Hills Hub, were kind enough to answer some of our questions about what they have been cooking up for the Backbone Festival in October.
A bit about our residents…
Poet, playwright, PhD candidate, actress…There’s no denying it, Triss Niemi wears a number of fabulous creative and professional hats. As she best describes it, she’s a “professional thought daughter.”
When she isn’t dashing about town, Triss is Artistic Director, Marketing Coordinator, and in-house Dramaturg for Emerging Queer Production Company ‘Flaming Carnations’ …And when she finds a second to spare, she is answering our questions about her upcoming show ‘Transcendent Acts’ in the Backbone Festival 2024.
Jaycob Beven-Delaney is a Meanjin-based creative artist and actor working with award winning theatre company, ‘Cheeky Monkey Club.’
Jaycob is using his residency to focus primarily on genre satire, creating stories that teach and entertain. His eccentric new show “Dax Savage: The Last Man on Earth” is another powerhouse production hitting the Ron Hurley theatre this October.
So Triss, tell us about your show!
Triss: ‘Transcendent Acts’ brings a group of transgender and gender diverse artists together for the purposes of devising a new performance work; we aim to explore what trans art can look like when the sys[cis]tem isn’t breathing down our necks as we create.
Triss is playing an important role in the shaping of Brisbane Theatre, creating space for queer and gender diverse artists in a groundbreaking work that Backbone is fortunate enough to facilitate.
Jaycob, how would you describe “Dax Savage: Last Man on Earth”?
Jaycob: My project is a post-apocalyptic, queer production that throws a man from today, 100 years into the future and poses the question has the world ended, or are we not keeping up with change?
What do you think audiences will say after watching your work?
Jaycob: “I only watch netflix, but after seeing this let me tell you, theatre is back!”
And…
“Whenever my girlfriend drags me to the theatre, I put my headphones in and listen to the Joe Rogan Experience, but I took my headphones out and finally I actually listened to someone else, this show is a marvel.”
Triss, do you have any predictions on how your work will be received?
Triss: I wish I could tell you!! That’s the magic of devising; we don’t know what the show will be until we make it! I’m excited to see what kind of weird, whacky, wonderful work the team and I are able to do together.
What has Backbone been able to provide you during your residency?
Triss: I am most grateful for the resources backbone has provided to bring this groundbreaking project to life.
Jaycob: As an emerging artist, having space to create and collaborate with other artists, with the potential for a performance outcome is invaluable and I am very grateful for the opportunity that has been provided to me.
