Today we’d like to introduce you to Jordan Elyse Premmer
Hi Jordan Elyse, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was raised in Chula Vista, CA near Otay Ranch. I moved there when I was 10. I am a Black woman and come from a bicultural home, My father hails from Lagos Nigeria and my motger from Sacramento, California. I grew up eating fried fish and red beans and rice with my moms side and egusi soup and jollof with my dad’s. I attended wolf canyon elementary, rancho del rey middle, and otay ranch high school. I was not really involved with the arts until my freshman year of high school at ORHS. I had wanted to do sports at my high school but I suffer from chronic hip problems and ended up auditioning for the musical “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”. It was my first time auditioning for anything since i was in 5th grade anxiously auditioning for Glee Club. I made the cut and was given the role of Sally Brown. This time of life was both the best and the worst.
I fell in love with theater and acting. I knew deep down I had found a piece of myself that I could never let go— it became a passion shortly after becoming a way to keep busy. Unfortunately, 2 days before opening night I was sexually assaulted by an older boy who attended my high school. This turned my world upside down and I lost myself for several years after that. It was a painful time that inspired a lot of poetry and pushed me to act more. I drowned myself as much as I could in the arts. This was in 2018– I made at least 60 poems trying to cope with what had happened to me:
I continued to act. Though my grades were slipping until my senior year, I acted in every play, joined speech and debate, and continued to write poetry. In my junior year, when I joined speech and debate, I compiled together 10 minutes worth of my poetry dating from 2018-2020 for the original prose poetry event. I also did impromptu for fun. I was so happy because I was sharing my story— I called it a trip through time and I took the audience through each date or “stop” of my life as marked by my poetry. I won first place through third place in almost every tournament and qualified for state championships twice during my high school career.
I couldn’t tell my story without mentioning some important people— Bernadette Siscon was my theater teacher and director in high school and my speech and debate coach. Marcos Ochoa was my english teacher and other speech and debate coach. These two invigorated me as an actress, poet, artist, and person. I wouldn’t be here today if not for them and I wouldn’t have been able to continue making art.
In 2020 the world shut down yada yada. I also had the wonderful opportunity to work with the san diego union-tribune as a journalism scholar (intern) and learn the ropes of journalism and write my own stories. It was a wonderful experience that solidified my confidence in my major.I graduated from otay ranch high school in 2021 and left chula vista for san francisco. I currently attend the University of San Francisco as a communications major and journalism minor. Moving to san francisco changed my life for the better, it really did. I was in this huge, bustling city far away from my past and the suburbs of south san diego. I loved the architecture, the people, the art. In my first year of college, my mental health took a decline. I spiraled out for a while and eventually was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I was 18 when I was diagnosed. I still battle my mental health but being diagnosed and medicated with a great community definitely helps. I have my people, my art, my family.
My freshman year at USF, I continued to do spoken word poetry readings at open mics and immerse myself in my art form as much as possible. I also developed a new love for fashion and second hand clothing. This love has turned into a passion. I began content creating and was granted the opportunity to work with brands like Levi Strauss and Hollister as an influencer. I love styling and am hoping to pursue a career in the fashion realm post-grad. I might go to fashion school in NYC if everything lines up. I met a lot of creatives in my freshman year in SF. a lot of them go to SFSU, not USF—and most are queer identitfying Black and brown folks. Meeting these people really gave me a space to be creative, to be myself. As a queer black girl in a white tech city, it’s nice to know i have this community. we have house shows, art galleries, open mics. It’s really nice and we all support eachothers art.
In my sophomore year, i got the theater bug and acted in my first play at USF. I starred as “Hester” in the play, In the Blood. It was a dark play but it was also my first time as leading lady outside of high school. It was a wonderful experience. the show was directed by Paul Flores, who is also a poet from chula vista. I was happy and honored to later share a stage with him at a poetry show in chula vista. At this point my art was at its peak. I was performing poems, acting and expressing myself more and more through fashion. I reached 3,000 followers on instagram and was feeling good.
My sophomore year I also joined my school newspaper as the editor of the arts and culture section. I was running that section of the newspaper like the navy, haha just kidding. but I fell in love with journalism and the publication. It’s a weekly newspaper called the San Francisco Foghorn you should read it and tell all your friends.
In my junior year, I climbed the ropes at the newspaper and became managing editor. at this point I was in love with the work and the people who made it happen. Our late nights editing were my life and i loved it. I also participated in a play called Deathtrap where I starred as the lead, Sidney Bruhl. It was amazing to be in one last production before I graduate. I will not be doing any more shows until I graduate because I will be Editor in Chief this upcoming year ( my senior year) and need to protect my peace. I mostly support myself financially and I work 3 jobs. im definitely addicted to overworking myself but this year I’m going to focus on my mental health and ensuring the paper runs smoothly and i maintain my GPA. Currently, i have been on the deans list every semester of my college career (except for one rip)
my jobs include:
– Library Assistant at USF
– Editor in Chief at Foghorn
anddd my new job which i love! Front of house manager at the san francisco playhouse. I love working in the theater. It makes me so happy and it’s nice to have some type of art around while I’m not acting.
But thats my story. Im young so its nowhere near finished. In my story are my wonderful friends- Nicole, Nia, Indie, Ellie and Marlon. My family and my partner maxwell. without them i would be nothing but bipolar lol.
I think more than anything my story has been about healing and loving myself and working hard despite my mental health disorder. It’s definitely hard and sometimes its not easy to wake up, but I know I crave success and happiness. I work hard for it and thats something I really admire
i love san diego i come home every break for tacos el gordo, the beach, my parents and my best friends nicole and indigo. i miss chula so much while im away at school but i know it’s waiting for me
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was not smooth my mental health definitely has gone up and down and i’ve struggled a lot but Im proud to say im here and im here to stay!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a spoken word poet and theater actor.
I do a lot of poetry about internal suffering-especially as a bipolar person. A lot of writing about being hot and cold and my emotions changing quickly. I also write a lot about being Black, being a woman, and being a person. It’s hard to express those weird feelings that everyone has and thats what i try to do. Everyone has down days and dark feelings and thoughts and questions about the world and I think thats why they relate to my spoken word poetry.
As an actor, I am proud to say that I take risks! I immerse myself into the character and just really go for it, There’s no such thing as “too much” usually and if there is I can always dial it back. I’m never more alive than when I’m on stage, I always say that. Acting for an audience invigorates me and I think they can see the energy in my acting.
I also love being creative through my fashion choices. I am committed to sustainable fashion so I spend a lot of time thrifting or at the bins. I receive a lot of compliments on my style and it makes me happy because I work really hard to give myself pieces that I can express myself with. sometimes when i’m down, getting dressed is the only thing that can get me out of bed. I especially love creating flattering silhouettes for my petite frame and take heavy inspiration from 70’s and 90’s fashion trends and old magazines..
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I think we need art now more than ever. Our political climate is horrible and everything is too expensive. Art is how we find joy and connect with our ancestors and innate beings. We are people before we are workers, we need to be stimulated by immersing ourselves in art. I feel that people are feeling this, especially in SF. There is a want for art which is great! There’s always a place for performers and an opportunity lies at every corner its all about connections.
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