Just back from another awesome cancer survivor celebration event in Sylvania, OH, where I was the keynote speaker and performer. It was so much fun!

Again, the planning committee did a fantastic job with available resources. The event was held in a small hospital auditorium, and we managed to squeeze everyone in (great turnout for the event!). Simple, tasty food before the show, and dessert afterward.

During the show, a cool thing happened: an unexpected moment! There were several children in attendance, and at one point in the show, this cuuuute 4-yr-old boy ran across the front of the stage, headed back to his seat. This kind of interruption is actually really fun for me, because I get to improvise and make a joke to acknowledge the ‘interruption’. I try to keep every moment entertaining! So we all had a good laugh.

We love you, Sylvania! Can’t wait to see you again!

Photos by Jeff Walles

Posted in: Jonna Tamases, Jonna's Body Play, Keynote Speaker, Mad Web, One-Person Shows, Performances, Speakers Bureau, Survivor Celebration

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, one of the things I love best about being a keynote cancer speaker is ‘communing’ with other survivors after my performance. Hearing their stories is so moving. And so often they tell me how empowered they feel after watching my performance, which just makes me so happy.

Recently in Sylvania, OH, I met one wonderful lady, Mary Beth. She let me pet her incredibly soft, newly-growing-back hair. That was a treat. I could have rubbed her head all day!

Mary Beth also wrote about the performance for her blog: http://www.1015theriver.com/pages/Mary-Beths-Journey.html?article=11355802. Thank you, Mary Beth!

I’m sorry that it’s the bummer of cancer that compels us, but I’m thrilled to be brought together in love and understanding. I love the cancer community!

Posted in: Jonna Tamases, Jonna's Body Play, Jonna's Body Play Reviews, Keynote Speaker, Mad Web, Meet the filmmakers, One-Person Shows, Other Engagements, Performances, Q & A, Reviews, Speakers Bureau, Survivor Celebration

On Saturday I had the privilege of being the featured cancer speaker at the Survivor Celebration in Olympia, Washington. There were various speakers and activities to honor cancer fighters. What a terrific event!

The planning committee did a fantastic job. The event was held in three-conference-rooms-opened-to-make-one-big-ballroom. There were round luncheon tables set up and beautifully decorated. Caterers brought yummy, healthy food and drink. There was a small riser-stage for me, which is all I need to perform!

There were about 250 people in attendance, but the minute I started to perform I could feel us all pull closer, like one giant family. THAT is what I love about entertaining in the cancer community. That loving connection we all feel, having cancer in our lives.

After the performance, I got to do the other thing I love: meeting, hugging, and talking with other survivors. Anthony and I have our table set up with DVDs of the “Jonna’s Body” movie, and we hang out while I get to ‘commune’ with my peeps! Hearing their stories and their fears as they go through treatment, and their incredible bravery, and hearing how much they enjoyed the performance… My heart is overfull.

Thank you, Olympia. I loved being with you.

Posted in: Jonna Tamases, Jonna's Body Play, Keynote Speaker, Mad Lively Blog, One-Person Shows, Other Engagements, Performances, Speakers Bureau, Survivor Celebration, Updates

I look forward to the day when breast cancer is so rare and insignificant that it doesn’t need even an awareness minute, much less a whole month! Until then, we have Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

But what I do love about Breast Cancer Awareness Month is the way the community comes together with so many great, inspiring events and Survivor Celebrations.

I’ve had the pleasure of attending lots of Survivor Celebrations – I love them! They build community, give great honor to people who have been through or are going through bc, and make us feel less alone with all the ups and downs of the cancer experience. Sharing our stories and ideas, sharing strength, sharing love and life. These events give me a real feeling of connection and support.

And the events are also just flat out fun! (‘Cancer’ and ‘fun’ in the same sentence???) Often the Survivor Celebration planning committee arranges some kind of entertainment or live performer – (I’ve seen speakers, singers, dancers, poets – even a cancer juggler!), and it’s so inspiring to see how someone turns a rotten experience into a work of art. That gives me hope that there is not just life, but also beauty in the midst of a difficult challenge like cancer.

That’s also been my experience as a live performer myself at Breast Cancer Awareness Month events – that I am not just providing special entertainment, but also honoring and supporting the community of survivors, opening our hearts together so that we can all thrive.

So, until we’re down to just a Breast Cancer Awareness ‘Minute’, I’ll look forward to both watching and providing great cancer related entertainment in October.

And if you’d like to inquire about booking “Jonna’s Body, Please Hold” for your own Breast Cancer Awareness Month or Survivor Celebration event, please email us. We look forward to speaking with you!

Love, Jonna

Posted in: Jonna Tamases, Jonna's Body Play, Keynote Speaker, Mad Lively Blog, One-Person Shows, Performances, Speakers Bureau, Survivor Celebration

Thanks for checking out my new show, “The Gisele Show!” We’ve specifically created a version of “The Gisele Show!” for the Cancer Community – patients and survivors, their families and friends, health care workers, doctors and nurses.

In this show I become the loveable and kooky Gisele Nett, an honest optimist from Germany, weaving her charming tales, sketches, and assorted absurdistry. Gisele is a cancer survivor, too, and the show includes tales of her cancer journey, her double mastectomy, and coming to terms with her treatment-altered body – themes relevant to the Cancer Community.

If you’ve enjoyed “Jonna’s Body, Please Hold,” you’ll love “The Gisele Show!”, too. It has similar themes, and is a completely new and different show that you can proudly share with audiences who’ve already enjoyed “Jonna’s Body.” If you’ve never seen “Jonna’s Body,” check it out as well as “The Gisele Show!” Both are perfect for Cancer Community events of all kinds. Both are warm, funny, and inspiring, and will leave your audience feeling enlivened, moved, and joyful.

Contact us with any questions. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Compare the two shows:

	“Jonna’s Body, Please Hold”	“The Gisele Show”
Running Time	Flexible: 45 min – 1 hour	Flexible: 30 min – 1 hour
Style	Jonna as many characters	Jonna as one character, in many contexts
Story	Jonna’s cancer journey, told from the point of view of her body, which is like a hotel filled with all sorts of body-part tenants.	While competing on a TV game show, sweet/silly Gisele recounts stories from her life, including her breast cancer and treatment and adjusting to her new body.
Technical Needs	12’x12’ front-lit performing space Lavaliere Mic Armless Chair Optional: sound system for audio cues	12’x12’ front-lit performing space Lavaliere Mic Sound system for audio cues
Great for Audiences	Cancer community events of all kinds Survivor celebrations Support Groups Medical conferences Doctor and Nurse groups (patients perspective) Medical students Empathy training
More details	Click for webpage	Click for webpage
	“Jonna’s Body, Please Hold”	“The Gisele Show”

Posted in: Jonna Tamases, Jonna's Body Play, Keynote Speaker, Mad Lively Blog, One-Person Shows, Performances, Solutions, Speakers Bureau, Spoken Word, The Gisele Show

We recently had a performance of The Gisele Show at a Cancer Survivor celebration event, where I was the featured speaker.

What I love about Survivor events is the change in the audience from BEFORE I perform to AFTER I perform. Beforehand, everyone’s coming in, taking a seat. Often folks are tired from their treatment, perhaps emotionally tired, too. Also, maybe they’re a little guarded. “What exactly are we going to see?”

This is totally understandable. I have been there; I TOTALLY get it.

Then I got going on stage, doing the show. I could feel the audience start to relax. I could feel them enjoying Gisele, relating to the stories, and enjoying the freedom to laugh and giggle. From up on stage it felt like we were all on a cool ride together.

By the end of the show, it was like a whole new crowd had replaced the old one! People were smiling, laughing, hugging me on the way out, sharing their own stories with me and with each other. We were together in warmth and connectedness. It’s a great experience, and I feel so lucky I get to be with audiences in that way.

Here are some of the great and happy audience comments I’ve gotten about The Gisele Show.

It’s so funny! You are amazing! – Estela Riela

Amazing. So amazing. Such a great show and such a crowd pleaser. Truly, you have a gift, and Gisele is a gift to us all. – Jon Stahl

Your show was brilliant. – George Finley

I need to see that show again !! I laughed until my belly hurt, and then I laughed some more !! – Melissa Maki

Very inspiring and refreshing! Lightheartedness, amazing stage presence…a great character. – Roxanne Abell

Your creativity and colorful imagination inspire me to reconnect with my own gifts. – Eleta Engelbrecht

The Gisele Show is impishly delightful and heart-warming. Jonna’s performance glows with authenticity. – Diana Fowler

The Gisele Show is simply delightful, sweet and so funny. Loved it. I would recommend Jonna to anyone. She is quite talented and very refreshing to watch. – Francine Zorehkey

Thanks, everybody! Yay, I love you, too!

Love, Jonna

Jump over to The Gisele Show production page!

Posted in: Keynote Speaker, Mad Lively Blog, One-Person Shows, Performances, Q & A, Reviews, Speakers Bureau, Survivor Celebration, The Gisele Show, Updates