Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva on Creating and the Nashville Theater Scene
Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva is a staple of the Nashville theater scene and will be performing on opening night of this year’s Kindling Arts Festival. Her solo performance art creation Effluvia, will be part of Seekers, a trio of short form works also featuring pieces from Eboné Amos and Phylicia Roybal. Leading up to this performance I had the opportunity to speak with her over the phone.
Grace E. Tipton: I wanted to start out just by saying I’ve noticed you in a bunch of different roles. I’ve only been reviewing stuff for the Music City Review these past few years, but I feel like every time I see you in a show I always have to call you out specifically for being an incredible singer or really bringing a role to life.
Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva: Oh thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Grace: You were really great as the grandpa in the Street Theatre’s Oregon Trail, and then recently you blew me away as the Ghost of Christmas Present in the Rabbit Room Theater’s A Christmas Carol.
Jennifer: Oh, that was such fun.
Grace: That Ghost of Christmas Present role has so much ho-hoing in the original book, and it’s so hard to do right. The way you did it, it was just enthralling the whole time.
Jennifer: Thank you so much. It definitely makes it a whole lot easier when you’re working with people like Pete Peterson and Matt Logan. The writing in that particular show is absolutely phenomenal so it’s truly an honor just to be able to speak those words in that version. I think it was just so different and so cool. Thank you so much. I appreciate that.
Grace: Going off of the Rabbit Room piece, I didn’t really quite know what Peterson meant until I saw it, but they’ve talked a lot about using movement within the piece. And then once you see it, you totally understand what they mean because it’s so choreographed. You have to really be able to do it well for it to be good. If you do it halfway, it’s corny and weird, but if you do it all the way, it’s just fantastic. So I was intrigued when I saw the description for your upcoming piece. It says you “mix in original soundscape, spoken word, movement, and your unmistakable stage presence to highlight spiritual healing and self- love for black women, even in a world that often discards them or reduces them to stereotypes.” Tell me about movement within your upcoming piece.
Jennifer: I am a dancer and I think that what I definitely love to do with choreography (which there’s lots of in this piece) is blending dance movement with theatrical movement. I guess this is what I would just call movement maybe more so than then dance, although that’s a fine line because I think it’s both sometimes. But I have a lot of movement within this piece, so what you are seeing is me storytelling through my body. I’m definitely taking on a character, but I’m using my body throughout this piece to tell the story.
Grace: I really like that. You have an original soundscape. When I think soundscape, I guess I assume a sort of synth sound. Is that what it is? Or am I completely off?
Jennifer: You know some of it is and some of it isn’t. I like to blend my own spoken word, poetry, as if I am speaking to you. It really is just that. It is me speaking to the audience through sound. So what you’re hearing is my own spoken word. And what’s underneath it is what I call a soundscape. So, you know, some of it has a synth sound, but some of it isn’t at all. Some of it might sound like a country tune or a blues tune. This piece is kind of hard to describe, and I’ve been saying to imagine it like vignettes. So each moment is a vignette within this story that I’m telling. So you’re hearing a piece of work, a piece of poetry, in a moment in each one of these moments. And they all sound very, very different. So there isn’t just one sound. Each piece really is its own thing. So it sounds very different.
Grace: Could you define “effluvia” for me?
Jennifer: Absolutely. Effluvia comes from the word effluvium, which means discarded or useless material. Things you don’t want, waste, garbage, rubbish, that kind of thing.
Grace: This isn’t your first performance piece. You’ve done at least one or two other ones in the past few years. Is that correct?
Jennifer: Yes, yes. I have been doing performance art for a little while now. I think a well-known piece is The Darkness and Other Black Things that I created for Kindling, I don’t know how many years ago, maybe five or six. That won some awards and we’re real proud of it. I did one last year, The Void. And, you know, there have been others. A well-known piece, which actually was my first film, a collaboration film, called Seven. That premiered all around Nashville, actually. I created it with Kindling and won a grant through that and got to collaborate with some really cool people. So I did basically what I do, this performance art, and took it to a new level and made it into a film. So that was really cool. Yeah, so, no, it’s definitely not my first time doing it, but I love doing it. And I think that it can be different sometimes because when you see me on stage, you know, those are plays and this is very intimate. The things that I talk about are very intimate. And it’s just kind of a different avenue for me and my speaking voice and my artistry. But I love it. Sometimes I do it in a tiny room. Sometimes I do it in a big room. I think that’s the beauty of art, though. We just do it, you know?
Grace: Would you say that your performance art generally has a mood or a theme, or you cover all sorts of different things?
Jennifer: Yeah, so I have been told that I don’t really fit into boxes, which I definitely think is a good thing because I do so many things at once, right, with the art, the movement, the art installation, all of it together. It doesn’t quite fit in a box. I would say performance art is the closest thing to it. But it is a little theatrical and it is a little dance and it’s all of those things.
So what I like to have when I’m doing a piece is, I wouldn’t call it a theme, but a message, because I consider myself a storyteller. I’m always telling a story and the story always has a message or a through line. And that’s important for me, not necessarily important for the audience.
I definitely hope that they always take something away from a piece. But that helps me with what I’m trying to say, what the message of the piece is or what I’m speaking about, and I build it that way. It’s always different for every piece. I don’t really have a set way in which I create.
Sometimes I have a thought or a visual and I can build it that way and everything stems off of that. I think it just really depends on the piece, but definitely there’s always a message. There’s always a question.
I’m always posing questions to audiences and with this specific piece, I’ve been describing it as an odyssey. In a way, it’s definitely a journey that I am asking the audience to go on, a very abstract journey. I’m asking you to just listen. Listening is very important, and I know if that’s hard, it’s difficult sometimes, you know, you want to see things all the time, but everything really centers around what I’m saying, which I think is really cool. So it’s one of those sit back and listen and go on this journey with me experiences. 
Grace: My next question is kind of along that theme; you are on the Kindling Arts Festival board of directors, and in your description (which I assume you wrote) it says you are a “performing artist, writer, and actor.” I was wondering if that’s the order that you see yourself in.
Jennifer: That’s another good question. I wouldn’t necessarily say it is in that order. I don’t know that there is an order because I’m one of those that kind of have to have it all. And I definitely figured that out going through school, going through college and all of that, that I really needed all of those things. I needed to act and I needed to sing and I needed to dance. And I wanted to write. I don’t know that there is an order. I mean, if you need me to give you an order, I would say maybe, I mean, that’s tough. I’d say I’m an actor. I’m a performing artist. I mean, performing artist really kind of lumps everything together. I think that’s why sometimes I’ll say I’m an interdisciplinary performing artist. A multi-interdisciplinary artist because it really kind of engulfs everything, because I’m all of those things. It’s hard to pinpoint it. But definitely you see me on stage, and when you see me on stage, I am normally acting or singing or doing performance art. But that’s hard; you can turn around and I’m narrating books or doing BGVs for music. So I don’t know. [laughs]
Grace: That’s cool. When you say narrating books, are you talking about audiobooks, are you talking about live performing?
Jennifer: Yeah audiobooks, or web series. I do lots of audio stuff. If you’ve heard me narrating children’s books, you might be like, “Hold on. Yeah, I know that voice. My child knows that voice.” Definitely. I just like to do all the things. I don’t like to limit myself. But then, you know, there’s definitely the expertise of what I went to school for and what I’ve been doing in the field for many, many years.
Grace: This is a broad question, but you mentioned that you’ve done a film, that you do audio stuff. Where do you see the place of a live arts festival in today’s screen dominated culture? Is there a difference of importance or value in a live arts festival in the year 2025 as opposed to the year 1995 or earlier?
Jennifer: I mean, well, all art is important, to society, to the world.
We need art to thrive, be it 1995, be it 2025. I definitely think that since the pandemic and the world kind of shut down, that was scary, definitely for art and artists, live artists, for sure, because it stopped.
The whole world stopped, and we were in danger for a while. No one really knew what was going to happen. But as things have been opening up over the past couple years, I definitely think movies or film or all of that, is just as important as live theater.
But the thing that you don’t get with watching something on film is the rawness and the realness. Which I think is why I love live theater. I love live concerts and all of that because it’s the now. You’re seeing it happen right before your eyes.
Like, there’s no tricks, there’s no– I shouldn’t say that. [laughs] You know, there’s plenty of illusions.
We love that. We love the spectacle, but you know what I mean? It’s real.
It’s raw. And you can’t get that anywhere else. So I think why I love Kindling so much is because it really is a safe haven for artists.
It is a place where an artist, no matter your background, no matter where you come from, no matter what you’re doing, there’s something for everybody and they want you to come and create these pieces that then become the voices of right now. They are the voices of the times. They are the voices of your friends and your neighbors.
And I just think it’s so incredibly important to come and experience art right there in front of your face. Because, yeah, you just don’t get that anywhere. Kindling is fantastic.
I mean, when I say there’s something for everybody, I don’t know of another festival (there isn’t one in Nashville) where you can go and see a play or go and see aerial dance arts and then turn around and go hear a concert or then go see very strange performance art. And it’s all over the city.
It’s scattered all around. And to have four jam packed days of amazing cutting edge art every year, it’s fantastic. Watching this festival grow has been such an honor and it is so exciting that we have that here in our city and that it’s something that’s offered.
And it’s now just getting the word out to people. It just keeps growing and growing. It’s really fantastic.
It really is. 
Grace: The Kindling Arts Festival, that’s been going for about eight years or so. Have you been involved since the beginning or did you come in a little bit later?
Jennifer: No, I wasn’t there at the very, very start of Kindling. I came in, I can’t even tell you what year it was, when it wasn’t too old. It was still newer when I began working with Kindling and doing festival things with them. And it really has just grown into this kind of wild, artistic, party, really. It’s just a party for art. I mean you’re buying your festival pack and everybody just bounces around the different locations in the city to see something different. All of this art, multimedia, all of it, all together in one weekend is really phenomenal.
Grace: Do you have a favorite location at which to perform? I know you’ve done stuff at TPAC and I know you’ve done stuff at the Barbershop Theater, and everything in between.
Jennifer: Oh my gosh. Favorite places to perform. Really good question. Okay, I love the Polk Theater at TPAC. Andrew Jackson Hall definitely is great for opera and things like that, but there’s something that is really special about the Polk Theater. I’m not sure if it’s the way that it’s set up, if it’s the acoustics in that room, but I love that space. I also am very fond of the Barbershop Theater. I’m very fond of it, I think, because while it is small in the number of seats that are available in that room, I like a black box theater. I like the intimate space. I think I like it because, while it is very close and some people don’t like to be that close to people, I think that it’s one of those things in the now. You’re seeing it so close, that there’s no mistake of what you’re seeing and what you’re experiencing and the energy that’s in that room, right? Because you are so close to people that it just becomes this incredible experience, seeing art that close. I really enjoy that space. I also really enjoy the black box at Belmont. I can’t remember what their black box is called.I really enjoy a lot of spaces around town, but I think those are definitely some of my favorites. I mean, Johnson Theater, for sure, too. I love the round at Johnson Theater, at TPAC as well.
Grace: Yeah, that’s funny. Polk is definitely one of my favorite theaters to go to. The sizing and the acoustics and the distance from the stage; wherever you are, you have a great view.
Jennifer: It is. It’s just a good seat, no matter where you sit. I think the setup, the way that it is, you can see everything, you can hear everything. There’s something just a little special about that specific theater. And I always love to play that house. It’s just a fun house to play.
Grace: And yeah, the Barbershop Theater. Street Theatre always seems to pick the perfect type of show for that space. So yeah, I’ve never felt uncomfortable by being that close to people. You get that energy.
Jennifer: Yeah, it’s great. And, you know, Street Theatre has been around for a while now, but that’s also a company that getting to watch that grow into what it has, coming from where it started, which was great when it started. Street Theater is really cutting edge. But I think that they do a fantastic job. I agree. All the shows that they pick, it’s also shows that you’re not getting anywhere else around town. They’re doing a lot more contemporary stuff. You’re close up. You’re seeing something either you don’t know well or you’ve never seen before. And it’s always just such a fantastic experience.
Grace: Now what originally brought you to the Nashville theater scene?
Jennifer: Yeah, so I’m actually a Nashville native, born and raised. I went to high school around here. I went to a Nashville School of the Arts, I’m alumni, and then I went off for college. And then I just like Nashville so much compared to other places and other things. There’s something so special about Nashville. I just came back. And I started working professionally, actually right at the tail end of college. I should say fully, because I had been doing stuff before that, but I started working right towards my junior year of college, and I’ve just been doing it ever since.
Grace: That’s great. Have you done theater in any other city or did you graduate and say “Nashville is home and I love the theater here? Let’s just do this?”
Jennifer: Yeah, I mean, I’ve bounced around a little doing shows in other places, but Nashville is just, it really is special. And I think that’s why we have so many transplants coming here from New York and LA and all of it because I think the secret’s out and people have figured it out that the art scene here in Nashville is amazing. I don’t think it’s what people think it is, and then they get here and they’re like, “Oh, this is great.” So, you know, I just think it has it all, really.
Grace: I’m also a Nashville native ( I spent a little time in Spring Hill, so maybe not full native), but when I was away after college and returned, I finally understood what my parents had meant when they said Nashville is a little big city.
Jennifer: Yes, it is, and it’s just growing. I can’t even keep up with it at the rate that it’s growing. But it is. It is a little big city. You know, I would compare it to New York. I would compare it to San Francisco. It really is. It is a little big city and it just gets bigger every single day, but I truly do think that the art scene here is pretty phenomenal. There’s something for everybody. If that’s what you’re into and you kind of just have to dive.
Grace: Do you have any hopes or specific goals? I don’t know what all you do on the board of directors at Kindling, but just for the festival and for the Nashville theater scene at large, is there something you’re working towards?
Jennifer: Well, I mean, for Kindling, because I love Kindling, and it means so much to me as a person and an artist, I just hope that more people come and people continue to get to know Kindling and support it and come and be a part of it. As an artist, goals, that’s hard. I want to do everything, but I guess my main thing is to keep going. I don’t think we’re ever done as artists. To keep pushing and to keep trying things and to keep growing as an artist. I want to try everything. I never thought that I would ever do a film. I love film, but I never saw myself doing it until I did it. So definitely to keep exploring art is a goal. And also, for me, personally as an artist, it’s always important for me to aspire to do pieces and to do plays or roles that you wouldn’t normally think that I would do. I think in the entertainment industry, definitely as a black woman, as a plus size woman, fat woman, that it is difficult, and we often get put into boxes, as to what we can do and what we can’t do. And my goal has always been to bust out of that box, and I guess maybe to not belong in a box. I don’t want to be restricted to anything. And so I think I guess to explore everything and to just shoot for the things that are difficult, right? If it’s easy, why do something that’s super easy? I mean, you could, but that’s safe. And I don’t really think that art should be safe. Not really. I don’t mean safe as in something that can hurt you. But, you know, it should be exciting and wild and you can’t really get that if you’re just stuck doing the same thing all the time. So, yeah, I definitely am shooting for outside of the box and shooting for different flavors, different things.
Grace: Well, from the shows that I’ve seen you in I can confirm you’ve done that. I’ve seen you playing an old man, a ghost, and a gospel singer. So you’re kind of doing it all.
Jennifer: Yeah, thank you so much. Yeah, it’s fun. It just definitely is fun. I think that as an actor specifically, like, I’m an actor, so I should be able to play a tree and I should be able to play a child or I should be able to play, you know, whatever it is, to explore all of those things and to not limit myself to one particular type.
Grace: Well, fantastic. I don’t have any more questions that I had written down, but is there anything you wanted to say, or you’d like to point out about anything?
Jennifer: Oh, my gosh, no, I always get so nervous with interviews. [laughs] I don’t think so. Thank you so much for all of your questions and I hope that there’s lots of traffic for this festival and that people get out and enjoy it. There’s a really cool theme this year. I think it’s going to be very successful. I think people are really going to enjoy it, and I hope to see you and everybody out, and thanks to anybody that wants to come and listen to what people have to say. I think that that is important, right? Because anytime someone’s on stage, someone is reading a poem or showing you a picture that they’ve painted, it’s brave, and it takes a lot of work, and it means the world for anyone to take the time to come and experience someone else’s voice and to listen. So thank you to anybody and everybody who wants to come and do that. And let’s do it together. It’s gonna be so fun.
Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva’s piece Effluvia is one of three performance art pieces which make up Seekers, and will be performed one night only, on Thursday July 24 at 8pm. For more information about the piece, the Kindling Arts Festival, or to find tickets, see The Kindling Arts Festival.
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A Nashville native and MTSU graduate, Grace Krenz is a reader, a writer, and an arts enthusiast. She lives in Nashville with her husband and two children.
