Quotes from a few of the hundreds of letters & messages we have received throughout the years.

During your performance, and in my thoughts since, I have realized that what you can do is outside my imaginable skill set. Your capacity for character portrayal is astonishing. Kari and I review that evening as a bit of magic in our lives.  Thanks!

Don Cox and Kari Armstrong, Fort Collins, CO

 

I just found you! You are in Cambodia and seem to have left your life behind. I am wishing you the best and hope that the people you meet will see you for your many gifts and that somehow you will find the comfort you deserve. In all my adult years I think it was you that affected me the most with your talents and ability to face life so bravely. Just want you to know that you never vanished from my mind and that you have an invisible army of people behind you and cherishing you.

Melissa Cox

 

Thank you so very, very much for your many gifts to me. Each time I see you I leave feeling soothed, calmed and with renewed confidence that I, indeed, ‘we’ can all go on. You offer such supreme acceptance, kindness, and lack of judgment- and I feel a tremendous shift after leaving the theater. As I drove home I thought about the folks I know who call themselves social workers, helpers, healers – but you are brilliant without any labels. I am so fortunate to know you.

Sharon Huggins

Writing to tell you that I just found you again and learned that you are in Cambodia and divorced. I won’t ask for details but I felt compelled to tell you that my memories of you and your performances remain with me as some of the most intense and meaningful experiences of my life. It was you who introduced me to what art and theater can do for culture. The years that I was a patron of yours instilled in me a curiousity and investigation into my life and the choices I was making. I truly credit you with reshaping my thinking on so many levels. Hope it is not too late to thank you.

I wonder if Cambodia knows who you are.

Carrie
New York City

 

I have to confess to you.  I left your theater incredibly angry. I have been doing theater for over 26 years and consider myself a veteran actor.  After all of my shows– the enormous amount time rehearsing and blocking, and then tech nights, etc.–I walk into your place and watch you perform, direct, and produce all by yourself!  You don’t even need props or sets or costumes!

Do you know that you have wiped the rest of us out with one fell swoop?  Yes.  You have ruined it for me.  Everything that I have done, everything that ALL of us have done feels so petty, so much like dressed up ‘playing house’ after watching you.  You have broken all the rules and left me speechless. Once I am over my anger all I will be left with is the awe for your brilliance as an actress. Thank you.  You have returned theater to its origins and thrown away all of the gobbly gook propping it up.  No wonder folks hate you.

Name Withheld

Chicago, Il

You are as infectious as Gertrude Stein.
Joanne Cummling

Chicago, IL

I live in Boston now and you live in Cambodia. Years have passed and you probably won’t remember me but I will never forget you. Seeing you perform was always a healing experience for your audience, and certainly for me. You are charged with an energy I cannot explain.  All I know is that I still feel you in my bones. I pray Cambodia is kind to you, especially after all you have done in your life. You deserve supreme kindness. You deserve so much after all that you have given to others.

Leslie Henderson

Boston

Jinx – I don’t think you know how to meet a stranger. Everyone in your path is immediately your best friend. You don’t seem to even work at it, it is just you. When I first met you I felt as if you had always known me. It was strange since I had never really felt that before. Then I saw you perform and I knew you were not like the rest of us. You blew me away. And then, after all that energy you gave to all of us, you let us stay late into the night and finally followed us out with kisses and deep embraces. You are the best therapist I’ve ever known and you do it all without a trace of ego. I’ve never written to anyone else like this so I hope I do not make you uncomfortabe. I just think you are pure magic.

Gary Armstrad

Chicago, IL

We have raised dozens of foster children and recently one of our adult foster daughters required an emergency re-location. She had no household goods, kitchen wares or bed and bath supplies. Within 24 hours, The Living Arts Corporation put an entire two bedroom apartment together for her, complete with rugs, silverware, towels, bedding and curtains.  It was amazing and we were blown away.  I was told that this non-profit started for the arts and when the recession hit they jumped in and began to help everyone in their community.  Best yet, the never let their clients feel uncomfortable or marginalized they do their work quietly and with dignity for all. – A Mom and Pop in Loveland, CO

Dear Lady, you need the whole world as your stage.  I wish I could bring you to my country to soothe the painful wounds of our land.  You are not just a great actress, you make miracles happen inside your audience.  You scared me to death with your power and reached inside of me into places I did not know existed.  I am still shaking from the experience.  In all my travels through your great country, it is you I will never forget.
Alexander Chezneki

Bosnia

If you have ever wondered what it is like to give back to the people who need it most, you should follow by the example of an expert.   Jinx Davis has mastered the art of true humanity in her works over the years and has been kind enough to include me in her work. Please take a look at this website, as it is not your ordinary work of programming. This site has soul, this site has feeling, this site will make you want to give back. There is nothing stopping you from being amazed.  Just sit back click the link and be inspired. Such an honor to be mentioned in the thoughts of a pulchritudinous woman with an even more remarkable heart.

Notes from a Facebook post by Brandon Watkins, Texas. 

Thank you for the stirring performance tonight.  You are so good about including us all with the eye contact, touch, hospitality and emotional intelligence -all aspects of the best of theater.

Louise Coleman

Jinx Davis embodies what it means to be a fully aware, clearly conscious, and compassionate human being with every breath she takes in this world. Her artistry reaches to depths unfathomable, and her kindness stretches farther that this earth can hold. Please consider contributing your talent, creativity, and heart to this worthy cause. The Hadens will be sending shoes soon. Thank you for being in my life, Jinx. You make me always want to do better.

Clare Arena Haden, Actress, Teacher, Arts Administrator

You were spellbinding as Helen Keller! And what a wonderful vehicle you wrote in Illuminated Darkness. The play really showcases the depth of your talents. The family members I brought along with me were just as impressed with you as I am. Obviously, the entire audience was. I was pleased to see the touching outpouring of love the audience gave back to you. I could see you were moved.
J.W.

Waterloo, WI

Dear Jinx and Andy – I’m sure that the helpers could use a little treat so I am sending these goodies just for you.  Both of you are wonderful and inspiring for all that you do to help others.  Your capacity for helping is deep and strong and an inspiration; and I also get the the feelings of you as a kindred spirit, a comrade, in that I would be engaged in doing the same thing- helping others.
Gail Sterkel

Monona, WI

In those last powerful heartbeats that Helen Keller stood before us, before removing her hat as I knew she would do, & fading from our sight, I checked (for which I regret) an impulse to step forward & enfold her as witness for all present of the gift we had been given.  Thank you Jinx for bringing forth the depth of the character of Helen Keller, of your character through her, for in many ways the two are one, for whether on stage or off, in character or not, you carry a solid earthy warmth that is deep & undeniable as you walk those wild steps of heaven.
C.F.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to donate to families affected by the floods in a responsible and effective way.  Our hearts are with your friends and neighbors.  We consider the Rockies our ‘second home’, so please continue to keep us posted with your wonderful messages.
Karla Kwapil

Watertown, WI

 As usual your performance was a joy to experience.  I am grateful you have called me a mentor, despite our styles, backgrounds and ages being so different.  I also admit that you have pushed me to examine my own life and many of the beliefs I hold dear to South Africa.  Please come soon for tea.

Dr. Sybil Robinson, Theater Dept. University of Wisconsin

 

I first became aware of this theatre on the recommendation of a friend. I was soon struck by the hard work and labor intensive ethics put into this room by the confounding owners/performers- Jinx Davis and Significant Other-Andy Pizer. They literally bought the abandoned old movie house in small Waterloo, Wisconsin, and sank all their ambition/financial “where with all” into renovating the Mode into residence/art gallery/performance space. It is a sight to behold. 

The first play I attended was written by Jinx as she traveled the southern part of the USA to find out what it’s like to be a homeless white woman in the south. She then became a homeless black woman (via painstaking makeovers) in the same territory. She literally lived in the streets in these capacities as research for her play…she is alive to share her experiences with her audience. From this experience she came back to finish her one person play. I saw it, and it was powerful. 

D.J.

Milwaukee, WI

Jinx – Your performance radiates a life fully and truly lived; it saturates your work and your home; and lends more power, joy, and more encouragement to the world and to other artists, women, young and old, also working towards that path of joy – joy because it’s true, real, and experienced.  Good luck wherever you go.  We thank you.

Charlie Levin

Chicago, IL

Wanted to let you know how your amazing generosity has been affecting our families.  Teachers have been contacting families that we feel need support and many have stopped in to gather items.  The pure gratitude on their faces has been breath-taking.  Many of them are grandmothers who are now caring for grandchildren.  All are so grateful and we’ve shed a few tears with them.  Thank you so much for all that you’ve done.
Terry Bellinhaisen

Loveland, CO

We lost everything in the Colorado flood.  There was nothing left of anything, nothing to dig out of the mountains of sand.  We had never had to ask for help before and I could not face being to unable to take care of myself.  When a friend brought me to you and you let me take whatever new pillows, curtains, bedspreads, dishes and towels I wanted, I broke down in your basement, shaking and sobbing.  You just held me in silence.  You let us come back to fill up our truck four times and we dispersed many things to neighbors in need.  You kept saying it was a small offering but what you offered felt very big.  You did not ask any questions.  We did not fill out any paperwork.  You told us to spread the word to whoever may need something to get them through the initial shock.  Later, you went shopping with us and bought us pots and pans and wastebaskets and all those simple things we used to take for granted.  You even took us out for dinner and quiet conversation.  You had received cash donations from your friends and clients who had responded to your company’s newsletter and you were spreading it around to many families up and down the canyon.  It was a big thing.  It was big because you made us feel comfortable.  You let me talk through my anguish and frustration.  You gave me strength in the chaos.  Now that we safe are in an apartment and waiting on the endless paperwork from insurance companies and agencies, I place my head at night on the sheets and pillows you gave us.  I think of you and Mike, who helped carry up so many boxes and pack them in the truck.  I thank you for giving me dignity.
Name Withheld

Colorado Flood, 2013

I can’t imagine life without your theatre. You move me in the most wonderful ways. You are always in my thoughts.
Nathan Coolie

Madison, WI

I wanted to commend you on THE WINDS OF HEAVEN DANCE BETWEEN US.  Well done!  Not only was the acting powerful and superb, but your prose was graphic and lyrical.  It’s hard to believe that you were able to do all this with your delicate subject matter.  I think that European-Americans in particular, but not exclusively, can learn a lot from the message of your performance.  As a black woman I was thrilled to learn that a white person could understand the issue of race, even beyond my own awareness.  You taught all of us and I felt the winds of heaven dance between us.  May your art be received by a nation needing healing.
Aleena Brown

Milwaukee, WI

Your Christmas performance was so enchanting and we had no idea that you had such incredible talent and energy.  You amazed us completely and I do not think I have ever felt so strongly about theater before experiencing your little pieces.  You are a masterful performer.  We hope Loveland gets to see more and more of you.  You took my breath away.
T. L.

Loveland, CO

Enclosed is the donation that my students raised to assist families hurt by the flood.  This money was raised by my National Honor Society kids, as well as a group called Teens with Wings.  This is a group of students whose mission is to make their school and their community a better place, in whatever ways, large or small, that they are able. They are so pleased to be able to send this to you to disperse to those who need it.  Thanks for your help in reaching those who need it most, and thanks for making a difference.
Greta von Bernuth

Erie, Colorado

It was a night that I will always cherish and hold dear in my memory. –  Robin Avery
Robin Avery

I can remember sitting in my room on a Saturday afternoon, and my friend asking me to go with her and someone I don’t know to something I had no clue about. I hop into the car and we’re off on a four hour trek. As I walked through the doors of the theater I was greeted with smiles and hugs. I wandered around and my eyes saw wonderful people, wonderful art, and wonderful cheesecake.  I sat down to watch a performance that I would have never thought could exist. That night I went through so many emotions. It opened up my heart and expanded my mind. I was so lucky to have this experience in such a life forming time of my life. I went to more shows and even ended up bringing in the New Year with all these wonderful people.   

Today I went to my mailbox and in there I saw a letter. As I opened it I was excited, yet as I started to read tears came to my eyes. Once again so many emotions filled my mind. I was sad to think that I will never be able to experience another show at your theater, but happy to know that I am able to share in your metamorphosis. As I thought to myself, I wished that I could have shared my experience of such a wonderful woman with another great woman in my life, my mother. I wish you both the best and thank you for opening up your home and hearts to me.

All my love and best of luck.

Cindy Voorhees

Winona, MN

Please accept this contribution from me and Tom for the re-building of your area after the flood.  Thank you for making the plight of the people in the area real with your photos and sensitive writing.  I am sure you are working very hard keeping your business and lives going as you generously offer your time surrounded by the misery and disruption.  I am hardly surprised.  It is what you do.
Donna Breslin

Washington DC

I can’t thank you enough for your kindness when I needed it the most.  Everything you gave me has been put into good use.  Looking forward to that glass of wine when things settle down.  Thank you again and again.
Joyce Kilmer

Loveland, CO

Took me about 5 minutes to be blown away by your talent Jinx. I had a great time. Will forward the info to my friend in San Fran today…I bet he will be a part of it…he’s a great artist.
Linda Crawford Napier

Congratulations on another brave production.   I shook the hand of a great lady.
M.I.

Ames, Iowa

Thank you for sharing your beauty and energy with us! Jim and I agreed that it was a spectacular evening that needs a repeat!
Tessa Canaiy

Your performance was wonderful, and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening!  Your cheesecake was so delicious too! Thank you, thank you for inviting us.  We enjoyed all four acts but especially the first one about the disappearance of Grace.  So touching! You are a superb performer and we feel blessed to know you.  Be well, my friend.
Jerry and Felice Thorson-Boudreaux

I had the great fortune of experiencing a truly amazing theatre experience as I watched your performance of Helen Keller Saturday night. There are some rare moments in one’s life that will always remain with us in a profound way because they have transformational power. We walk away knowing that we are not the same. We have been given new eyes, and a new vision. We have been challenged and shaken to our very core and out of that process comes a new clarity. That happened to me at the Mode Theatre. I am profoundly grateful for it. It was theatre in its truest and purest form.  Your work has left an indelible mark in the hearts and minds of those who have been fortunate enough to experience it.
S.D.

Lake Mills, WI

The Baraboo High School World Literature class had their eyes opened to a window beyond their own experience today.  We have had a fascinating year glimpsing other cultures and visiting with people from foreign countries, but all of that seems only to have been a prelude the impact of your presentation.,  Your honesty and willingness to share touched us deeply…
To think that in our ‘land of plenty’ where ‘freedom’ reigns, we undermine the value of the variety of our multicultural peoples by sheer neglect, ignorance, and selfishness.  You helped these young people view the world that they will soon inherit as one where anger and hopelessness play a major role for far too many of our ‘invisible’ people…
It was exciting to watch your professional ability to evaluate and involve your audience, to get out and be one of them while at the same time keep the distance of age and experience.  One could almost feel the electricity in the room as their brain cells went into overdrive trying to grasp the concepts passing before them.   Students were fired up, inspired, and talking with each other about something other than their own personal lives…The young man who sat front and center came in later to ask where he could buy your book.  I told him that I didn’t know if you had ever written one although you’d lived enough “lives” to write many books.
Maybe you’ve thought about it, but at least 33 World Lit students think you should write a book…
More than a million thanks!
Jeanne Chickering

Teacher

I am in the midst of packing for a car trip out to New England so I am rushed and a little anxious. But in the midst of all this has come your recent theatre communication and I find it so wonderful that I am putting everything else on hold for a minute or two so that I can write to you and tell you how splendid and courageous and innovative and really glorious I think you are–and ditto, the work you are doing at The Mode. It is in fact remarkable what you are doing–in spite of being a woman and who knows how many other things. I just shout congratulations to you and take pride in being one of your patrons and one of your fans. May you go on and on and on.
D.L.

Madison, WI

What a thrill to watch you perform last night.  And what an experience to be, in some small way, a part of your performance!     I had no idea what to expect, after reading the Milwaukee Journal article about opening night.  I knew your vision could go awry if not properly channeled, so I was uncertain of how far I could go in my own participation.    I just know that your performance elicited some very strong feelings, and galvanized some opinions-which until you challenged them, so adroitly (and deliciously) I did not realize were so ingrained and heart-felt!  Thank you and BRAVO!
Sherrie Avery King

Hubbleton, WI

Jinx, you are one who takes suffering and transforms it into floods of creativity washing over and changing all of us who open our hearts to you. Thank you for the risk you take and the depths you visit. 
L.N.

Dodgeville, WI

You are better than anything I’ve seen in New York or London. I couldn’t believe it when friends brought me to The Mode Theatre. The whole world needs to experience what you offer! I will find a way to return to the Midwest just to see what you come up with next. 
Dr. Alvera

Boston, MA.

 I am not very good at expressing myself, but I just want you both to know how much I enjoyed knowing you and your boys for the past five years.  This small town has been so very lucky to have had the experience and privilege of having such wonderful, giving and truly caring people grace their town.  Jinx, you have touched the lives of so many with your wonderful gift of acting.  I was very moved by your performances.  I thank you both the New Year’s Eve galas.  I will never forget your hospitality, the scrumptious food and drink, the entertainment and the fun time.  You really know how to throw a party.  Andy- you have so much talent yourself-The Nailer, screen printing, all you do for the town.  We will miss your friendly smile.  I will miss you more than you will ever know. 
Sue Miller

There are art galleries and theaters in almost every city but I have never experienced any like yours.  Infused with a commitment and trust in life, you have created a magical place that welcomes all people and provides them a space to feel connected, acknowledged and alive. Your hard work and energy is apparent in everything you do.  It is difficult to believe that you actually exist in our consumer, ego-driven world.  I am still pinching myself after experiencing a splendid night at your theater.
Mary Pendelome

Minneapolis, MN

You are a piece of magic.  Every time I come to The Mode I am transformed.  How did you come about being in our midst?
John Sullivan

Madison, WI

Thank you for your stunning performance the during our Birthday Celebration of the Madison Civic Center. As usual, you and your fellow artists were vibrant, lively, dramatic and believable. Storytelling is an art form well suited to adults as well as children, and you communicate that fact beautifully. Thank you for making our celebration special.
Any l. Mohwinkel, Madison Civic Center

Madison, WI

Jinx brings to our Civic Center’s series an indomitable energy which she controls with a great understanding of her stories and her audience. Her style is consistent and quite intoxicating. Her use of American Sign Language and her choice of stories make her an invaluable asset to our community.
Carrie Barnett, Concerts in the Crossroads, Madison Civic Center

Madison, WI

May I congratulate you on your wonderful completion of a week of exciting radio drama.
The enthusiasm, the infectiousness of your performance came through the airwaves and touched all who listened. It was truly, a return to the great radio theatre of yesteryear.
Arvil Cochran, General Manager, KUHF Houston

Houston, Texas

The Upward Bound students and I wish to thank you for sharing your art of storytelling with us. You have a wonderful gift, and we were all enthralled with the magical qualities of your performance. You took them both insides themselves and also far above and beyond themselves.
Joyce McQueen, Director Upwards Bound

I can’t begin to tell you how happy we are to have had the opportunity meet you and experience being a member of your audience. What magnificence. You have such great courage and depth. My husband and I were so moved in your performance. You have made a difference, Jinx, and I’m certain that every member of your audience was profoundly altered from the inside out.
It was a privilege to be in your company.
Bob and Faith Kail

What a powerful performance. I was mesmerized. You are fearless…you have bared your thought to the wolves and walked away. You face pain and hurt and turn it into the sun’s beams. Your excitement is contagious.
Sherry Avery King

I just read this morning about the flap at MacFarland. It sounds like a terribly uncomfortable experience, aggravated by the principal’s unwillingness to make a real learning experience out of the mess. I am writing to empathize and to remind you that you do good work. It takes courage to do what you do, then this situation illustrates why we need that courage. I’m sorry that the McFarland kids were not able to reap the rewards of your courage. I’m sorry that they were not able to answer your courage with the courage of their own. Keep the faith. I know you don’t need me to tell you this, but I wanted to remind you that you are supported, appreciated, valued. Don’t let the bastards get you down.
Jim Ferris, University of Wisconsin, Communication Arts

Just when we think people want to approach an age of enlightenment, some slams the cellar door to keep everyone in the dark. What’s really weird is that is is the people in the cellar who pull the portal shut. Read the newspaper coverage of the McFarland performance and your performance must have done its job because the press seemed like a continuation of the event. Keep going at it, Jinx. We’re lucky you are around to pry open the cellar door.
Lloyd Schultz

I want you to know how special it was for me to hang my photographs in your space. You are incredible people and I’m so happy to say I know you. Your gift of welcoming people into your home and workplace overwhelms me as never have I felt so comfortable as an artist.
Jan Krieger

The Performance
As she took it off,
we put it on.
Bodies merged ’til there were none we did not know
by heart
by soul.

And later,
bare bones that rattled and shook the covers
from invisible books and on the ground
loose-leaf lives
fluttered all around like birds, disturbed.

Music stomped, the player growled,
wild things escaped, began to prowl this gallery of time,
of chance;
Oh, it was a Sterling Performance!

The crowd acknowledged, twitched, some cried,
as finally the demons died and slithered forwards their darkest holes.
It was this striptease of the soul they could not bear.
And for a moment we were clean, caught up in a wizard’s dream and nothing was as it once had seemed.

Terry Kohl

What an incredible amount of research went into your production. I could sort of fingerspell with you but your facial touching, your alert but unfocused eyes. You must have spent so much time observing blind and deaf people in order to have your entire being down so well. You were Helen Keller! In body, mind, and soul.
Tom and Bobbie Haig

Kudos on Striptease of the Soul. Superb. I was so glad I was there. Who was that New York artist that was there? Adrian Piper? You explore with a greater depth than any actress I have witnessed and you resonate so deeply with Jim and I.
Joan Hyer