Jennia Fredrique sits down (sort of) with Saoul Vanderpool and Antoinette Banks to chat (and laugh and dance).
JF: Cute shoes.
SV: Oh, thank you, nice. (laughs) I’m getting ready to do the intro and she’s talking about my shoes…
Welcome to the dynamic mind of Jennia Fredrique. An old-school stealth bomb of red carpet glamour mixed with a slapstick sense of humor, the actress/writer/comedian rarely only has one thing on her mind at a time. Known for her run on Logo’s flagship dramedy Noah’s Arc, stints on sitcoms, as well as a round on Passions (soap opera’s answer to Twin Peaks), the multi-talented Jennia stays about as still as her brain does — as evidenced by the fact that she decides to dance sporadically throughout the interview.
SV: You dance (laughs), what DON’T you do? You dance, do you sing too?
JF: I cannot sing. I ACT like I can sing. But I can’t sing.
Okay, so she’s not quite the next Jamie Foxx, a guy she includes on her list of top actors, alongside Tom Hanks and Robin Williams. Actors who are known more for their dramatic turns these days, but who are rooted in comedy: a place that Jennia has sprouted.
SV: How did you get into comedy?
JF: I think comedy got into ME. When I was a kid, before you feel beautiful or like you’re a woman, I think you develop a personality, and [for me] it’s always been funny, laughter, silliness…When I started studying theatre, the serious stuff is great (aside) but you kind of take it home with you though. (normally) It’s hard to shake off. The best actors in the world are a little crazy [from it], I think. But comedy’s harder than the dramatic stuff.
And she’s right. As someone once said, “It’s hard to make people cry. But it’s harder to get them to laugh and mean it.” But Jennia pulls it off well. If you’re not convinced by her turns on City Guys, One on One, My Wife and Kids, or Half & Half, check out her YouTube channel, YallThrillsMe. A quickie series of bits most likely tweaked from her standup (yeah, she does that too) as well as responses to internet meme kings Antoine Dodson and Jimmy McMillan of the infamous The Rent is Too Damn High Party, it hasn’t been updated recently, but it’s worth a look. Her standup isn’t limited to her YouTube clips – she’s pulled off the on-stage thing, stage fright and all.
JF: Scary. It’s good. I have a pep talk with myself before I go out. The audience, they want you to be good. The audition is the worst part of being an actor in the whole world, so you just think ‘alright, I have the gig’. When you already have the gig, you’re not nervous.
The power of positive thinking. It overflows into her conversation, where “awesome and amazing” is her adjective of choice (her experience with Noah’s Arc was “awesome and amazing”, Patrik-Ian Polk is “awesome and amazing”, working in television, etc). This is not a bad thing. Just as making people laugh is hard, keeping yourself open to laughter and joy and all its ilk is just as tough. This positive mindset is reflected in her upcoming book, She’s Divine: A Goddess Book of Insights and Affirmations. While the ever-turning cogs of Jennia’s mind see this as a full-blown enterprise (“cookbooks, because I’m really into healthy eating and natural foods, candles, bedspreads…”) for now, the book is simply a focal point for young adult and teenage girls, a guide to help them find themselves, and to find happiness.
JF: [The book] is kind of like a lifestyle[…]It’s all about self love[…]You’re looking for something at that age. You don’t know what to grasp. It’s kind of what I want to give to young girls.
In Gary, Indiana where she grew up (of note: also the hometown of The Jacksons. Yeah, those Jacksons), young Jennia found her comedic self…and France? A self-admitted Francophile (“Paris is my favorite city in the whole world”), she fell in love with that world via the 1991 HBO movie, The Josephine Baker Story (of note: a swing by her website, jenniafredrique.com, will introduce Ms. Baker to your ears if you’re not already familiar…and shame on you if you’re not).
JF: [when asked about Parisian fashion] Oh my God, you guys, sidebar? I met Lynn Whitfield [lead in TJBS, amongst other notables] a couple weeks ago [sighs happily], and I was so excited. It was like a big moment for me. When the movie came out, that’s what really…I was just a kid, and it got me hip to who Josephine was, and…that’s when I was like, I’ve gotta go to Paris.
And France doesn’t just influence her website; it also sways her fashion taste. Aside from her aforementioned talents, you might also recognize Jennia from her modeling moments, and she hopes to create a fashion line for young women in conjunction with her book (that would be in addition to bedspreads, etcetera). When asked about her style, she gives credit back to her mother.
JF: My mom was into fashion, and my mom let me go when I was in the seventh grade. No makeup, but with fashion, she let me do whatever I wanted to do, and that’s when I really started to come into myself.
One can see why Ms. Fredrique’s been driven to publish a tome that hopes to give ups to self-esteem, self-worth, and happiness – she is wholly herself, no apologies but no regrets, candid and open.
JF: I think happiness is a goal and a choice. Which is why I’m into comedy – because I feel like it’s healing, that people can heal through laughter therapy. I think it’s my calling; I love it so much.
