Jen Miller
Born
Jennifer Miller

(1972-07-24) July 24, 1972
Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.
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]

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 Reverend Jen's Really Cool Neighborhood and has written for other projects such as The Adventures of Electra Elf and Fluffer, a low budget Public-access television show produced by Nick Zedd.[8]

She has also acted as the founder for several projects, such as the magazine Art Star Scene and with her former boyfriend Courtney Fathom Sell, co-founded ASS Studios.[9]

Miller is the curator of the Troll Museum, which collects history, toys, and memorabilia associated with the Troll doll.[10] The museum closed in 2016, after she was evicted from her rent-controlled apartment.[11]

In 2018, she did an art show called Rev Jen's Mid-Career Survey, which opened at MF Gallery on January 13 and closed on February 13. On one occasion, she showed two of her films, Creature Double Feature and Satan, Hold my Hand.[12]

Anti-Slam

Miller began the Anti-Slam movement at Collective: Unconscious in 1995 as a reaction to the Poetry Slam movement on the Lower East Side.[13] At a traditional poetry slam, performers are given a score of 1–10 by a panel of five judges, whereas at an Anti-Slam event performers are given a perfect score regardless of the content or quality of their performance.

On October 17, 2007, Miller announced that the then-current performance would be the final anti-slam.[14] The following year, Miller revived the movement as a monthly event.

Filmography

  • Satan Hold My Hand (2013)
  • Blood Possession (short 2013)
  • The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players: Off & On Broadway (2006)
  • Electra Elf: The Beginning Parts One & Two (2005) – directed by Nick Zedd
  • I Was a Quality of Life Violation (2004) – directed by Nick Zedd
  • Lord of the Cockrings (2002) – directed by Nick Zedd
  • Thus Spake Zarathustra (2001) – directed by Nick Zedd
  • Elf Panties: The Movie (2001) – – directed by Nick Zedd edited by Andreas Troeger
  • Terror Firmer (1999)

Stage performances

  • Housatrash (2000, as Joanie)[15]

Bibliography

  • June (2015)[16]
  • Reverend Jen's Really Cool Neighborhood (2003)
  • Live Nude Elf: The Sexperiments of Reverend Jen (2008)
  • Elf Girl (2011)[17]
  • BDSM 101 (2013)
  • Sex Symbol for the Insane
  • Cliff Notes for Sex Symbol for the Insane
  • Diary of an Art Star
  • Magical Elf Panties : A Coloring Book
  • Elf Panties: Audio-Visual Fun!
  • Reverend Jen's Really Cool Neighborhood/Les Misrahi
  • Treasuries of the Troll Museum
  • Being a Supermodel is Cool
  • Being Different is Cool
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: A Coloring Book
  • Beer is Magic
  • Don't Call Me Rat-Dog!
  • People Who Don't Like My Work Are Bad People: A Memoir
  • Reverend Jen's Trip to the Hospital
  • Reverend Jen Junior Groovee Paper Dolls
  • Reverend Jen Paper Doll Fun

Other releases

  • Rev Jen's Greatest Hits – Spoken word album (audio cassette)
  • "Don't Call Me Rat Dog" on the compilation album, Rachel Trachtenburg's Homemade World

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. ↑ Carr, C. (August 5, 2003), "On The Cusp", Village Voice
  9. ↑ "COURTNEY FATHOM SELL: SO YOU WANNA BE AN UNDERGROUND FILMMAKER?". Filmmaker Magazine. Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Best of: Unusual art exhibits". Columbia Spectator. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  11. ↑ "'The Wackiest Eviction of All Time': The Last Days of Manhattan's Troll Museum - Broadly". Broadly.vice.com. 2016-07-20. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  12. ↑ Miller, Jennifer (January 18, 2018). "Retro perspective: Rev. Jen forges ahead by looking back". The Villager. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  13. ↑ O'Keefe Aptowicz, Cristin (2007). Words in Your Face. Counterpoint Press. pp. 163, 280. ISBN 978-1933368825.
  14. ↑ Hecker, Raquel. "An open mic night ends, and an audience braces for change". Downtown Express. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  15. ↑ "Housatrash: Review". Theater Mania. 2 February 2000. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  16. ↑ Jen, Reverend (20 January 2015). June (9781503269996): Reverend Jen: Books. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1503269996.
  17. ↑ "TROLLING THE LES WITH REV JEN". Vice. 18 November 2011. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.