Congratulations to Boston Dance Alliance, and to all of us, for persevering. On gathering us together tonight, BDA, but to all and for all of us what we have done to bring ourselves here tonight and keep dance alive.
I wanted to to give a special welcome to Jayne’s mother, Elizabeth Murphy, her sister Kathleen and college friend Jill – It means so much I know to Jayne that you are here.
Congratulations to Ramon de los Reyes- that The Dance Complex is, too, home to the de los Reyes Dynasty- and from those days that Ramon and Clara Ramona and I all taught at the Boston Conservatory to this moment: holding the boys in my arms to this day now.
So I am trying not to look in the direction of Jayne too much, so I can get through this without crying.
I feel abit like Julie Andrews on that mountain top- we need to sing that song, shout it from the mountain, the song of Jayne!
So: we’ve also been sitting a long while- maybe we could all breathe in and exhale
Exhale with a sound
Exhale…..and just whisper Jayne’s name softly…as a warm up to singing out her name later…
Elsewhere, in the city tonight, there lives a proclamation, facilitated by Vice Mayor Alanna Mallon and this proclamation is now made in the City of Cambridge:
PROCLAMATION for JAYNE MURPHY
WHEREAS:
Jayne R. Murphy is a 2022 recipient of Boston Dance Alliance’s 2022 Unsung Hero Award; and
WHEREAS:
Ms. Murphy has been the Building Caretaker and Theater Manager of the Dance Complex since 1993, taking great pride in her work to protect the building and bring dance to everyone who enters the complex; and
WHEREAS:
Ms. Murphy has been an impactful and integral part of many young people interested in beginning careers in dance and theater; and
WHEREAS:
Ms. Murphy’s dedication to dance and theater has stretched internationally in countries such as Ireland, Russia, India, Venezuela, Ecuador, South Africa, including overseeing the construction of a new venue, in Johannesburg, the Dance Factory, which to this day is still the center of dance in that city; and
WHEREAS:
Ms. Murphy is known as the “MacGyver” of the backstage dance and studio world for her wide range of behind the scene skills; and
WHEREAS:
Through her position at the Dance Complex, Ms. Murphy has allowed countless dance and theater companies to thrive and spread the love of dance and theater far and wide; now therefore be it
RESOLVED:
That the City Council go on record congratulating Ms. Jayne R. Murphy on receiving the Boston Dance Alliance Unsung Hero Award; and be it further
RESOLVED:
That the City Clerk be and hereby is requested to forward a suitably engrossed copy of this resolution to Ms. Jayne R. Murphy on behalf of the entire City Council.
Jayne Murphy is a
Beekeeper
Painter- with both light and oils
Improviser- albeit a reluctant one, but she improvised beautifully- think of all those MacGyver moments she’s made something from nothing! When presented with something that needs to get fixed, Jayne would toddle off to the basement and come back with an odd collection of tools and chewing gum – and poof! All taken care of!
Speaking of the basement: she is an arranger! Have you seen that space! I got lost for three days down there once. (She could make it so you’d never be found!)
Three moments over the past many years- of many moments- I saw Jayne at her most brilliant, her brightest light shining:
The shift of our storefront from Hubba Hubba – a shop with a certain kind of product line, mostly for adults – to Studio 7. Her delight in the details – of matching the post modern with the classic, pulling materials from that basement to be of help to this new space.
The COVID upgrades, creating inexpensive but effective air filter DIY, the new cleaning regimens, the opening of an old staircase anew.
And most recently, the 3 new sprung floors we added in January- her late nights and early mornings, making the calls, shooting off the emails to fill the gaps to keep the work going and get it accomplished.
___
The Odd Fellows- the fraternal order that built our home on Mass Ave. – they have this symbol of three interlocking rings. Jayne at one point over the past many years handed me a slip of paper as to their meaning. She thought I might use these words in a speech someday or in some writing. Well, tonight seems a good night to use these words.
The Odd Fellows symbol includes three interlocking rings-
First ring: symbolizes friendship,
Yes: it is good to be friends with Jayne- but there is no such thing as a hollow friendship with Jayne….
Friendships are built with Jayne because she sees something in you, about you that, even if unformed, has promise. She invests in you.
Second ring: love
She loves people- not because they are nice to her, as she doesn’t dislike them even if they are perhaps rude or dismissive to her (that rarely happens). You are not her friend based on a transaction.
I think she loves people- artists, dancers, teachers – especially when she can see that an individual does what they say- that there is alignment to actions and words. Fools should fear to tread near Jayne…she is often good counsel on who is not walking their talk.
And should I paint a one dimensional picture of her tough lovedness: – I know her generosity, her willingness to , say, even after one might have an argument, or a difference of opinion, or when I’ve done something really stupid…I mean..when one, theoretically, has done something really stupid…I have experienced her coming back to the situation, having thought things through measuring new information, new points of view: she then lets go.
She remembers things, she doesn’t forget – but she lets go and moves on- because, I suspect, she believes that us foibled humans and our egos are less important than doing good in the world…that it is more important to “make” something happen, to get it done, and get out of our own way…
Jayne loves singers of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. She loves Judy Garland. She loves dance, even if a particular artist’s aesthetic isn’t her cup of tea.
She loves- as I do- the old instruments before LEDs- the Lekos and Fresnel instruments that actually have a hot spot- a warm spot – it’s an “ improvement” that she and I will likely have to endure:
that flat landscape of light LED’s give out vs. the older instruments, that graduated from a hot center of light that gradually got dimmer towar the outer edges of the circle of light.
This is why when you see one of her still life paintings- this old world light. The curve of a teapot is most brilliant and highlighted, and brings focus – It brings texture, dimension, a baring of the soul of the moment.
and the third ring- truth.
Jayne can remind us when we are too big for our britches…
but also tell us when things are right, that you’ve done a good job.
I have experienced both sides of truth with Jayne, and I am better for it. I have learned from it. I have grown from it.
And dance in Boston and around the world and at The Dance Complex – have all grown because of her dedication to fix and make:
FIX what’s broken, and
MAKE something from nothing, if necessary.
No self-pity, no woe is me, no folding her arms and saying no.
If Jayne and I have a difference of an opinion or are grappling with a problem, she nevers says no. She may not say yes, but she never says no.
When on a mission and she’s at the wheel, she drives the bus straight through the task at hand, corralling any of us in the seats behind her, however unfocused we are with our sippy juice boxes in our lips. And whenever she is at the wheel, we find the truth of getting to our destination –
- the destination includes that curtain at 8pm after a tech rehearsal that finished at 7:45;
- that destination of fixing the sound cue while executing a lighting cue, and whispering to a stagehand to get the prop left on stage or the screaming kid in the second row to shut up…
- that destination is reopening after our annual August clean- or in the midst of COVID – to a new Fall, a new next season of dance….
Her hands.
Jayne’s hands.
Put your own hands up in front of you- could we get a little light for the audience to see their hands.
See your hands and imagine them doing what Jayne’s hands do:
Jayne’s hands –
They fix speakers and stereos and soap dispensers.
They Lay marley tape
They can gesture like Judy Garland’s – in the rare moment relaxing over an ice tea –
These hands-
they’ve been bruised and burned from hot radiators, hot drills, hot electric screwdrivers, from catching falling flats and carrying stage weights.
They’ve been aggravated by cleaning solvents, and late repairmen, or worse – those who never show up.
Her fingers have hovered over old fashioned slide knobs on sound board, on light boards;
Pushed buttons on video projectors, rewound video surveillance tapes,
Handled hundreds of keys, made hundreds of copies to keys to hundreds of locks;
Her hands have tended to gardens and to beehives-
at her own home,
but also the garden behind The Complex,
and the beehive of a building on Mass Ave. she cares for day to day.
Her hands communicate through American Sign language, eloquently, though she will modestly say that this is not the case…
And her hands – they have created replications of beautiful serene scenes in her still lifes, her oil paintings, that teacup.
Her hands bring beauty.
And her hands –
and heart, and work ethic, and respect and love of art, of art-making, of makers, of things made by hand-
enable us to be better- better dance-makers and a better dance field in Boston.
So let’s sing it out as we practiced, like Julie Andrews on a hilltop: three times in your best voices.
Sing it out for the no longer unsung: Jayne! Jayne! Jayne!
JEAN APPOLON
Jayne has been someone who I truly admire fur her dedication and hard work but at the same very kind and caring for others! I know she don’t like to be in the spotlight but she truly deserves all of our love and gratitude.
LORRAINE CHAPMAN
Jayne, I have been showing work and dancing in other peoples work in the area since 1995, and you have always made me feel safe, confident, and at home both on and off stage every single time. I always know I am not only in good hands with you at the helm, I know I am in the best hands. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me and for the entire community! Congratulations, you more than deserve this honor!
DIANE ARVANITES
I met you at the Dance Complex while hauling a stepladder up the stairs to patch up the walls in the office outside of Studio 6. We became lifelong friends in an instant and then you joined our stick together team (Prometheus Dance) experiencing all kinds of situations for over twenty-five years. Jayne, you are one of the few people in the world that I can be with for hours in a perfectly comfortable way without talking. Trusting the validity of each other’s thoughts in quiet understanding. That is collaboration! Cheers and congratulations Jayne for your creative skills, observation, fearlessness, loyalty, honesty, humanity and love. May we always remember your legacy and your great worth. Personally I don’t know what I would have done without you.
TOMMY NEBLETT
Jayne, you are the absolute best: company manager, stage manager, collaborator, beekeeper, artist, painter, photographer, “sister” from Virginia, drinking buddy, friend. Cheers and congratulations!
DAVID PARKER
Jayne, I’ve long admired the magic you make with light and I’ve come to deeply appreciate your wisdom about and commitment to this community. You’re an ennobling force and I am so happy you’re being celebrated. Congratulations!
ANNA MYER
The Dance Complex would not be the same without Jayne. Stopping into her corner office over the years to chat to get support or just to visit her was always a treat and in such the style and homey, community feel that Jayne added to the The Dance Complex. This is not to mention her years of hard work and last minute needs for whatever you needed to make or perform art, Jayne was always there and so resourceful. She could talk anything with nothing.
Congrats Jayne my dear friend.
ISAURA DE OLIVIERA
Queridissima Jayne, your work and your being give me such ground and tranquility to risk myself on stage, to perform.
You tranquil energy calms the butterflies’ agony
Ok, exhale, Jayne looked into my eyes, she is signing me, all is ready,
I go.
Obrigada and Congratulations Jayne
DICKI JOHNSON MACY
I’ve been teaching and offering student recitals at the Dance Complex since 1992. I don’t remember a time that Jayne was not a part of that. She was always the quiet and stable force behind all technology. She was patient with us all as technology started to change and the balcony, from which we conducted all our music and light for our performances, became more sophisticated and maybe a little bit less intuitively based in its operations. Jayne never made us feel stupid. She led us through each step to assure that our performances would be successful.
Jayne, I know, wears many hats. She has been the stage manager for not only tech operations, but for all things maintenance. Whenever there was a problem, I always know that I could ask Jayne. Jayne always had the answers and offered them up without hesitation. In the early 2000’s, my daughter Nina danced with Anna Myers’ company. Jayne was the traveling stage manager with Anna. I thought that she, Jayne seemed to be everywhere that she was needed.
I also observed the care that she exercised when assisting special needs adults. I am not sure how it came to be, but this, I know, Jayne made sure that Alice and others felt valued in the work that they did at the DC. I also remember that Jayne posted some of the group’s artwork and special holiday cards could be found on the “table” for us all.
Whatever honor is being bestowed upon Jayne, let me say, “it is about time”. A true unsung hero, role model, and a leader, congratulations Jayne Murphy. With love and respect
JOHARA CUSICK
Jayne, you have truly been a shimmering rock anchoring and illuminating performances and processes at the Dance Complex over all these years. It’s funny hearing about this wonderful award because just a few weeks ago I passed you and thought how Intercal you are to the Dance Complex and the community. You’re also an inspiration for there aren’t as many women who are in the technical field of the arts. Thank you for all your work
ROSEANN RIDINGS and BOB MACHADO
Dearest Jayne, If anyone deserves this award it’s you! Bob and I were always so grateful for
you while we worked at the Complex. You made our work needs go smoothly and your friendship was invaluable to us. Congratulations and love from us.
LIZ LAPUH
Congratulations to Jayne Murphy on receiving the unsung hero award. This is so well deserved and we all appreciate that she is always there for us. Many thanks.
JODY WEBER
I have had the great pleasure of knowing and working with Jayne Murphy over the past 25 years. As a colleague, Jayne pays extreme attention to detail and is always supportive and thorough. Her beautiful calm energy was always welcome in the heat of a production. I also feel honored to call Jayne my friend as well, and her lovely solid presence has been a gift- from learning about bees, to visiting in my old garden or sipping red wine and talking about spirituality or discussing the arts. I am so thrilled that Jayne’s contributions to the dance community have been recognized. No one is more deserving- Congratulations Jayne!!!!!