Jen Miller

Last updated
Jen Miller
Revjen.jpg
Born
Jennifer Miller

(1972-07-24) July 24, 1972 (age 51)
Other namesRev Jen, Reverend Jen, Saint Reverend Jen

Jennifer Miller (also known as Saint Reverend Jen and Reverend Jen; born July 24, 1972, in Silver Spring, Maryland) is an American performer, actress, author, painter, director, and poet residing in Brooklyn, New York City. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

In 2002, Miller was named the Village Voice's "Best D.I.Y. Go-Girl" in the category of "Over 21". [4]

Career

After graduating from the School of Visual Arts in 1994, Miller began performing at Faceboy's Open Mic Night at Collective:Unconscious, then located on Avenue B in Manhattan's East Village. When Faceboy's show moved to Surf Reality, he suggested Miller host an open mic at Collective:Unconscious, which was reopening on Ludlow Street. Together, Faceboy and Jen created the weekly Wednesday night "Anti-Slam", which Miller hosted. [5] Unlike poetry slams where poets are judged on a scale of one to ten, every performer at the Anti-Slam got a ten, referring to every performer as an Art Star. Jen hosted the show at the Ludlow Street location until Collective lost its lease in 2005, after which she continued to host it at the Collective Tribeca location followed by several other locations including Cake Shop, Mo Pitkins and Bowery Poetry Club.

Throughout the nineties, Miller collaborated with other performers. She was a cast member of Toolz of the New School, a cable access comedy show where she often appeared as Doo-Doo, the fifth teletubby. [6] She also performed in Surf Reality's "Grindhouse" shows and at Luna Lounge's "Eating It" comedy show. At this time, she also began making handmade books, including Sex Symbol for the Insane, which she sold at Printed Matter. [7]

Miller has written multiple books such as Elf Girl (Simon & Schuster, 2011), Live Nude Elf(Soft Skull Press, 2009) and Reverend Jen's Really Cool Neighborhood. For several years, Jen played Electra Elf in The Adventures of Electra Elf and Fluffer, a low budget Public-access television show she wrote and produced along with Nick Zedd.[8]

She has also acted as the founder for several projects, such as the magazine Art Star Scene and ASS Studios,[9] which she co-founded with Courtney Sell. ASS Studios produced several movies including the feature-length, Satan Hold My Hand , which Jen wrote and starred in.

In 2000, Jen founded Reverend Jen's Lower East Side Troll Museum, a museum dedicated to the Troll doll, which she ran out of her apartment until 2016.[10]

Today, Jen lives in Brooklyn where she paints full-time and continues to exhibit her work. Her most recent solo show, Divine Discontent, which opened at Dollhaus II in 2021, featured over 30 paintings.

Filmography

Stage performances

Bibliography

Other releases

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Antin</span> American actor

Steven Antin is an American actor, stunt performer, screenwriter, producer, and director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Zedd</span> American filmmaker and writer (1958–2022)

Nick Zedd was an American filmmaker, author, and painter based in Mexico City. He coined the term Cinema of Transgression in 1985 to describe a loose-knit group of like-minded filmmakers and artists using shock value and black humor in their work. These filmmakers and artistic collaborators included Richard Kern, Tessa Hughes Freeland, Lung Leg, Kembra Pfahler, and Lydia Lunch. Under numerous pen names, Zedd edited and wrote the Underground Film Bulletin (1984–1990) which publicized the work of these filmmakers. The Cinema of Transgression was explored in Jack Sargeant's book Deathtripping.

An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre or financing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Lepore</span> Transgender American model, singer and performance artist

Amanda Lepore is an American model, singer, and performance artist. A former Club Kid, she has appeared in advertising for numerous companies. Lepore is noted as a regular subject in photographer David LaChapelle's work, serving as his muse, as well as many other photographers, such as Terry Richardson and Ruben van Schalm. She participated in LaChapelle's Artists and Prostitutes 1985–2005 exhibit in New York City, where she "lived" in a voyeuristic, life-sized set.

<i>Trollz</i> (TV series) Television series

Trollz is an American animated television series produced by DIC Entertainment. These trolls were based on the troll doll created by the European in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Antin</span> American dancer

Robin Antin is an American dancer and choreographer. In 1995, she founded the modern burlesque troupe the Pussycat Dolls. By 2005, she diversified into various media including a pop recording group with international hits, a Las Vegas nightclub venue and floor show, various merchandise, and a reality television series. Since then, she has gone on to create other girl groups, including G.R.L., Girlicious and Paradiso Girls.

<i>Terror Firmer</i> 1999 American comedy horror film

Terror Firmer is a 1999 American comedy horror film directed by Lloyd Kaufman, written by Douglas Buck, Patrick Cassidy, and Kaufman, and starring Will Keenan, Alyce LaTourelle, and Kaufman. The film was produced by the Troma Entertainment company, known for distributing campy exploitation films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julianne Buescher</span> American actress

Julianne Buescher is an American actress, writer, and puppeteer who performs in film, television, radio, and on stage. As a voice actress, she is known for many roles including Anko Mitarashi on Naruto. Buescher is also a puppeteer for The Jim Henson Company, appearing with CeeLo Green as "Piddles the Pug" at the 2011 Grammy Awards and as the same character among others in the improvisational adult puppet shows (Puppet Up! and Crank Yankers). She also has worked for both Sesame Street and The Muppets.

Taylor Mead was an American writer, actor and performer. Mead appeared in several of Andy Warhol's underground films filmed at Warhol's Factory, including Tarzan and Jane Regained... Sort of (1963) and Taylor Mead's Ass (1964).

<i>Philippines Next Top Model</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of Philippines' Next Top Model aired from March 13, 2007 to June 12, 2007 on RPN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pussycat Dolls</span> American girl group and dance ensemble

The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the burlesque troupe mainstream as a pop group. Antin negotiated a record deal with Interscope Geffen A&M Records in 2003 turning the group into a music franchise comprising Nicole Scherzinger, Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta, Melody Thornton, and Kimberly Wyatt. Their debut single, "Sway", was featured on the soundtrack of the 2004 film Shall We Dance?.

Francis "Faceboy" Hall is an American actor, producer, and activist working in the New York City arts community. Hall, the younger brother of poet and King Missile frontman John S. Hall, is one of the founding members of the Art Stars. Hall has appeared in numerous stage productions and several films, including Robert Downey Sr.'s Too Much Sun and the television series 'Electra Elf'. In addition, Hall was a founding member of the Dance Liberation Front where he has worked to overturn New York City's "no dancing" cabaret laws. A poet and performer himself, Faceboy is best known as the host of the weekly Faceboyz Open Mic, which is now considered to be the longest continually running open mic in New York. He hosted 'Faceboyz Folliez', a monthly show that took place at the Bowery Poetry Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Electra</span> American actress and model

Tara Leigh Patrick, known professionally as Carmen Electra, is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis where she met Prince who produced her self-titled debut studio album, released in 1993. Electra began glamour modeling in 1996 with appearances in Playboy magazine, before relocating to Los Angeles, where she had her breakthrough portraying Lani McKenzie in the action drama series Baywatch (1997–1998).

Lindy Robbins is an American songwriter from Los Angeles, whose songs include Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper", Jason Derulo's "Want to Want Me", David Guetta's "Dangerous" featuring Sam Martin, MKTO's "Classic", Hot Chelle Rae's "Tonight, Tonight", Jason Derulo's "It Girl" and Astrid S' "Hurts So Good", as well as songs recorded by Dua Lipa, Jennifer Hudson, and One Direction.

Carrie Cracknell is a British theatre director. She was artistic director of the Gate Theatre, London from 2007 to 2012. She was associate director at both the Young Vic (2012–2013) and the Royal Court (2013–2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marguerite Van Cook</span>

Marguerite Van Cook is an English artist, writer, musician/singer and filmmaker. She was born in Portsmouth, England and now resides in New York City on the Lower East Side, in the East Village. She attended Portsmouth College of Art and Design, Northumbria University Graphic and Fine Arts programs, BMCC, and Columbia University for English (BA) and Modern European Studies (MA). She holds a PH.D in French on eighteenth century political economics in the work of women writers from CUNY Graduate Center. She has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and currently at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York.

<i>Geek Maggot Bingo</i> 1983 film

Geek Maggot Bingo is a 1983 comedy horror film directed by Nick Zedd, who also scripted and shot the film.

Art Star Scene Studios or ASS Studios as it is commonly referred to as, is an American independent Motion Picture Studio founded by Courtney Fathom Sell & Reverend Jen Miller in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Cumming</span> American singer-songwriter

Julia Rachel Cumming is an American singer-songwriter who is the frontwoman and bass player of the Brooklyn-based band Sunflower Bean. Cumming models occasionally, and has modeled for several well known designers and has appeared in global campaigns for H&M and Diesel. Cumming is also a political activist and is active in the Model Alliance. She has produced and directed a video featuring her fellow models, encouraging young people to become politically active.

References

  1. Vadukul, Alex (2019-01-18). "Big Hair and Bad Luck: The Hard Times of the Troll Museum". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-03-02.
  2. Zimmer, Amy. "Reverend Jen: Art Star for the Masses". Portfolio (NYU). Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  3. Evans, Lauren. "Tenement Museum Fires Longtime Employee And Would Not Say Why". Gothamist. Archived from the original on July 17, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  4. "Best D.I.Y. Go-Girl, Over 21 – 2002". Village Voice. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  5. https://themorningnews.org/article/the-church-of-the-open-mic
  6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgLxgmrywbQ
  7. https://digitalcollections.saic.edu/islandora/object/islandora%3A30227
  8. "Housatrash: Review". Theater Mania. 2 February 2000. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  9. Jen, Reverend (20 January 2015). June (9781503269996): Reverend Jen: Books. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN   978-1503269996.
  10. "TROLLING THE LES WITH REV JEN". Vice. 18 November 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2013.