Name and Year: Janelle McDermoth, C’14 Hometown: Bronx, NY Major: Africana Studies, Music Minor Website: http://janellemcdermoth.tumblr.com/
Street: You’re an extremely multifaceted artist—you sing, act, write, and photograph. Where did all of these talents come from? Janelle McDermoth: I’ve been a creative type for as long as I can remember. I began singing and acting in church as soon as I could remember the words. In 3rd grade, when 3LW was popular, I got two friends and made a singing group (we once performed our original song for the principal for free pizza). Perhaps the other forms developed when I saw incredible people around me doing cool things. For instance, I read a poem to my art teacher in 7th grade and she introduced me to Josh Bennett (Penn ’10) and another student at my high school, taking us all to a local poetry slam one day. I saw writing being performed for the first time, and I fell in love. I only picked up photography because my 9th grade best friend was so good at it.
Street: Why do you sometimes use Laila Blake as your stage name? JM: Once upon a sophomore year at Penn, I spent a lot of active time thinking about myself as an artist and how that could fit into the music industry at large. I adopted the name Laila Blake because I loved the way it sounded. It was simultaneously strong and gentle, but didn’t have any vivid images associated with it. “Laila” means dark beauty or night, and “Blake” means bright or shining. It was kind of a perfect paradox. The difficult thing about being a multi-platform creator is that you hope to achieve consistency across brands, and I liked being “Janelle McDermoth” in a stage playbill. So, it’s up in the air as to whether the stage name will be a lifelong reality, especially as I concentrate on other forms, and not just my original vocal music.
Street: During the spring of your junior year, you played Abraham Lincoln in the musical HAIR and toured the U.S., Canada and Tokyo for six months. What was it like? JM: HAIR was an incredible experience. I was the youngest of the actors on the tour and got to make excellent art with some excellent people, both professionally and personally. As a part of Act II, during what is really a look inside the lead characters’ drug trip, I played an obviously black female version of Abraham Lincoln, and sang a song to the lyrics of the Gettysburg Address. It was really empowering to find the balance of gravity and comedy in that space, but I won’t ruin the entire scene in case you see HAIR soon.
Street: Did the experience give you insight into who you are as an artist? JM: The musical really gave me some invaluable perspective. I think Penn is a space where we are encouraged to work hard and play hard, but all in time for the OCR rush and a sick corporate internship. Being away from campus and working as an artist completely changed that. I got to see parts of the USA, Canada and Japan that I might have never seen. The best experience, though, was at the end of each show when we would invite the audience up on stage to dance with us. Night after night, strangers hugged me, thanking me for the art that I was creating, and they were so overwhelmed by the beauty of the sacred space they had experienced. HAIR was crazy in that way. Every night we were singing about the difficulty and wonder of 1967, singing these songs that people feel so viscerally. When art is weighted with the memories of family and struggle and war, it really becomes another beast.
Street: Do you feed off the audience when you’re on stage? JM: When I am first creating art, whether it be a song, a poem or a photograph, it rarely has anything to do with the audience. I don’t generally create content for public opinion. When I’m performing, however, the audience is so critical. By the time I’m on stage, I know I believe in what I’ve created. I know I have put my soul into something even though it’s scary, so I offer it so that others can receive some sort of life.
Street: Can you share some other memorable experiences? JM: My semester abroad in Sydney had some incredible experiences. I met some incredible “musos,” as they say, immersing myself as much as possible in the truly incredible soul music scene that’s happening down there. I ended up playing at a local festival, late night jams, and working on some of my own music as well. One of my favorite performances was a variety show called “Borderline Public Offence.” Ned Barnfield, an incredible music student at the Uni where I was studying, had his final jazz evaluation. Rather than just play for 30 minutes, he created a spectacle of original music arrangements with a 15-piece band, and he asked me to feature. I got very acquainted with fishnets, meowed like a cat, sang Idina Menzel, and did the Charleston. Those go together, right?
Street: What inspires you when creating new content? JM: A variety of things. God, biblical texts, people I love, things I loathe and, often, other good content, both organic and created. Some of my favorite personal works have been birthed at 3 in the morning the night of a poetry slam, or after I’ve listened to the entirety of a new music album.
Street: When you’re not performing, what will we find you doing? JM: I spend a significant amount of my time in Christian community spaces and just being with people. My relationship with God informs all of the art that I create in one-way or another. Often, it’s not overt, but I consider these artistic media huge blessings. I’m beyond grateful that art has taken me to amazing places, both literally and figuratively. Oh, and I also do some freelance photography work, and I’ve written for The WALK and Filament Magazine on campus.
Street: Favorite spots to hang on campus? JM: Truly depends on my mood and company, but I dig the Kelly Writers House, Platt Performing Arts House, and Makuu Cultural Center.
Street: What does the future look like for you? JM: There are those moments in life you wish you were in an episode of “That’s So Raven.” I have no idea what will happen after Penn. The ideal is that I get to create art I believe in and still be able to eat back in New York (or another major city). I’ll spend lots of time in the spring auditioning for theater jobs in Philadelphia, New York and elsewhere, but in the meantime, I’m just working on getting better at the craft(s), taking lessons and classes to up my game. In other words, I’m sending up all the prayers.
