Vanessa Skantze

VANESSA SKANTZE began performing spoken word in 1993, touring the U.S. with Lydia Lunch and Exene Cervenka. She premiered her solo piece "EYE OF THE BEHOLDER" at Zeitgeist Theatre Experiments in New Orleans in 1996.

In 1997, Vanessa founded Teatro de la Psychomachia, Theater of the Soul Struggle, whose name expresses the desire for liberation from self-perpetuated barriers that fetter and frustrate the experiential and expressive freedom of mind and body. The first Psychomachia production was "I AM A CITY BESIEGED BY THE ARMY OF THE DEAD: An Incarnation/Invocation of the writing of Antonin Artaud," performed by Vanessa, Sal Muolo and an array of percussionists. In 1998 Vanessa was a featured performer at the 1998 MULTIKULTURNITEDEN festival in Maribor, Slovenia with her original piece "LITANIES/INCANTATIONS."

Vanessa delved into Gnostic writings to create a movement piece exploring the first-century sacred poem "THE THUNDER: Perfect Mind," which she presented coupled with her own work "ASCENSION" in 1999. She created a work in Spanish and English entitled "PASSION," which she premiered in September 2000. Her most recent solo performance was "THE ALTAR OF DEAD WOMEN," performed at Easter 2001. Vanessa incarnated "MEDEA" in a new adaptation of the Euripides play by New Dramatists playwright Joe Goodrich, which had its première in New York at Six Figures Theatre Company's Artists of Tomorrow Festival in September 2002. She recently completed her feature film debut in "SYMBIOTICA," directed by Nicholas Faust with a script written by Joe Goodrich.

Vanessa is an accomplished practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga, which she teaches. This practice endlessly informs her awareness of the body's mystery and possibility. She has put out a CD of spoken word recordings entitled PARIAH on her own hija del fuego label. With collaborator ce She has created sculptures in steel, copper and stone, which she exhibited in New Orleans at Delgado Comunnity College, Barrister's Gallery and City Art Studios. In Seattle she has shown her work at gallery 1412 and CoCA. While in New Orleans she became a Vodou initiate and studied Haitian drum rhythms which she performed at ceremonies. Currently she sings and plays percussion with local Seattle musicians.