Carmen (n): song, poem, incantation
The whole world is made of words; the power of Logos is wrangling intent,
selectively reinforcing eigenstates to freeze desired trajectories from the Quanta.
Planting memes and idea-bombs to bloom in the minds of others, that is Magic!
#mywords
Living in the Bay Area in the late 90s/early 00’s meant I was steeped in the birth of the internet and it’s fledgling uses for self-expression, often as an early adopter of new technologies. I started blogging under the moniker DopamineJunkie in 2000, chronicling my experiences in dating, explorations in sexual identity amongst Craigslist’s Missed Connections and the fledgling Blogger.com and seeking/building community in sites like Ryze.org and Friendster, the latter which I allegedly and famously “broke.”
My experiences in self-expression extended to being the first person to ever live-Twitter my labor and childbirth, with my trusty cell phone in one hand, and my iRiver mp3 player in the other.
These days the words seem to be more sparse and sporadic, and my self-expression in words subsumed by Instagram images and short-form posts, and lots of ghost-writing for other people.
Lately, I’ve been thinking and writing about Consent and Social Justice.
Ang Pamana:
The Inheritance
I co-wrote this feature film, which was released in the Philippines and toured the Asian American film festival circuit. Some of the storyline drew directly from my experience of returning to the Philippines as a balikbayan after my father died in Manila in 2003, and experiencing the grieving rituals there.
PRISON DANCER: the MUSICAL and
PRISON DANCER: The Interactive Webmusical
This was one of the first truly transmedia creative properties - encompassing a stage musical, a live performance/film hybrid and an interactive musical webseries on Youtube, which I co-created and co-wrote with my best friend and creative partner, Romeo Candido.
You can watch the webseries here. This award-winning and Canadian Screen Awards-nominated transmedia piece has been included in film festivals all over the world, and presented as the Gala Closing screenings at both the Center for Asian American Media festival and the REELASIAN film festival in Toronto as hybrid live and screen presentations.
The stage musical has been workshopped at the Factory Theatre, Lower Ossington Theatre, and at the Canadian Stage, as well as being fully mounted as part of the New York Musical Festival in 2012, where it enjoyed a sold out run at St. Mark's Theatre and won multiple awards. It is slated for a full production at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta inn 2022.
words for you
When hired to write or edit for others, I take time to observe distinct voice, tone, and style and as well as discover their intended audience and intended transmission. As words have the power to exclude and include communities, it’s been important for me to learn how to read/write communications in ways that take into account inclusivity and sensitivity to diverse bodies, abilities, developmental stages and cultures.
Multiple perspectives are then translated into professional copywriting, editing, marketing and website copy, ghostwriting organizational/corporate communications, articles, emails and newsletters.
“Carmen De Jesus has an amazing capacity to help me express complex ideas in accessible and powerful ways both written and spoken. She does so with speed and ease, and in a manner that enables my communication to come through with even more authenticity and impact. I’ve had the fortune of benefiting from Carmen’s expertise on several projects that demanded clarity of voice. I’ve turned to her for editing support for several essays and my book, assistance in technical writing and online content, as well as feedback and coaching for my speaking engagements. She is brilliant and I always find myself both deeply grateful and a little bit jealous of her talents with each engagement.”