Philly Plain Dealer

When Jessica Fudim looks at ancient Grecian and Roman statues, she pays more attention to what isn’t there: the missing limbs, the now-unrecognizable facial features, and any other element that conjures up the question of “What is missing?” She wants to unearth the story beneath the stone.

Fudim chose to reimagine Medusa’s story because to her, it felt like there was something missing. For her latest piece, Venomous, we see Medusa not as the monster, but as the woman. 

Ancient Greek mythology has had a plethora of adaptations because while the stories are classic, they are malleable. These stories were sung, written, and now Fudim has utilized movement as her form of creative expression. 

Based on her own experiences, history, and biases as a woman, Fudim explores the idea that we have power over which narratives we want to associate ourselves with. “Consent is power…you don’t have to passively see the ideas [people create about you].” Venomous shows viewers that while people can create their own narratives, you don’t have to silently accept false perceptions of your character.

Venomous is an emotional, interactive performance–not above humor–where audience members are “coauthors” in portraying the story. They are encouraged to join in activities like “Mad-Libs” and dressing Medusa up to go to “Athena’s bitchin’ house party”. The point of including the audience? To combat the theme of isolation. As Medusa is unable to make eye contact without turning people to stone, Fudim makes sure her audience is felt, seen, and an integral part of her storytelling. 

“Every performance is different. The Mad-Libs are different. The way people look at me (or don’t look at me) is different.”

Fudim’s choreography in Venomous is versatile; at times minimalistic yet constantly packed with deep emotion. Her song choices are the paint and her movement is the brush, varying from short, blunt strikes to smooth, flowy strokes. Venomous is true art with various mediums, and is entertaining in more ways than one. Fudim is a natural, skilled performer.

“I think we need to rewrite [this story] so we are not stuck with these old versions. I love ‘old’ things, but some old things don’t serve us,” says Fudim.