Performing Artist 

Q&A You are a performing artist.  What does that mean? I am an actor and dancer.  I can sing when needed. What would you like to do as an actor? I consider myself a physical actor and have a passion for action films.  I love the idea of performing my own stunts, particularly martial arts and wire-work.  The emotional rawness and intensity of classical theatre and Shakespeare appeal to me too.  I would like to explore a role like Medea.

What kinds of things have you done as an actor?

I have acted in films.  I have also performed in ensemble pieces on stage.  I spent 3 years with the Full Contact Improvisational Theatre Company, where we explored Keith Johnstone's Theatresports and Grotowski.  I have also studied mime and Tadashi Suzuki's work.

What kind of dance do you do?  Ballet, modern?

I studied ballet, jazz and modern when I was growing up.  I found these strictly-structured forms too restraining.  Like my acting work, I gravitated to more improvisational forms.

I worked with Naoko Maeshiba from 2002-2009.  In Naoko's work, the lines between actor and dancer blur.  As Naoko states on her website, naokibi.com, "Blending the old and the new, our work is a synthesis of dance, theatre, music and visual arts, bringing out exquisite darkness with vibrant festivity and illuminating the rich layers of abstracted narratives."  Naoko draws especially from her studies with Min Tanaka at Body Weather Farm in Japan.

For me, all actions of the body are dance.  I continue to discover how sensory images move the body.  Whether I am lifting weights, scrubbing the bathtub or on the dance floor, I am dancing.

Who is Minx Murphy?

Minx Murphy is my alter-ego.  She is a burlesque dancer.  She left her family's home in Kiln, Mississippi at age 15 to see the world.  She picked up various fantastic moves from her travels, including the Tibetan Tantric Hip Thrust Trance Inducer.  She was last seen performing in the Lobsterboy Burlesque Revue.

What do you do besides performing?

I founded Spitfire Fitness Arts, LLC, a fitness education business. I train clients privately, lead training camps and workshops, and teach strip tease and self-defense for women classes. 

For fun?

I like to keep moving.  I study martial arts.  My aim is to study the art of combat rather than any particular forms or techniques.  Currently, I train with Chuck Jeffreys in Combattitude, which I have also been teaching since June 2010. I enjoy yoga and dancing too.