.Biography
A daughter of Nigerian and Caribbean parents, Olushola A. Cole was born in the United Kingdom. Cole's work is infused with multidisciplinary materials and methods, bridging the world of theater, place making and visual art. Jenny.Was.A.Pirate.Hater blends performance with movement, photography, sound, video, drawing and installation. These mediums, along with the emergence of her alter ego Pirate Jenny, explore sexual identity, cultural assimilation, social justice as well as trauma such as PTSD, bullying, abuse, rape and motherloss. Pirate Jenny, or PJ - embodies both Cole's life experiences as a British born Afro-Caribbean Queer Immigrant in the USA as well as her historical interest in pirates and slave interactions centering in the British Colonies. Cole's work centers around current works in progress; The Biographie of Service, Hung... and #PirateRadio. These works explore the airwaves within concepts of piracy, identity, territory and servitude while drawing historical and current parallels of domesticity and community within oppression.
Classical training in piano, trombone, movement and voice has laid strong foundations for debut performances at Carnegie Hall with Bobby McFerrin in his 'Instant Opera' Concert, The Hip Hop Continuum with Rennie Harris at Jacobs Pillow's Cultural Traditions Dance Program and the off-Broadway hit STOMP. Immersions into physical theater at the renowned Double Edge Theater has opened possibilities in narrative, object based theatre and exploring edges in physical training. Storytelling with Master Storyteller Donald Davis continue to influence not only how Cole tells the story, but moreover how daily narratives are heard. Performance intensives with artist Franko B, VestandPage, Andrigo & Aliprandi and at Venice International Performance Art Week (VIPAW) have opened Cole's senses to the performance opera, the collapse of time and the unique commitment to ones performance practice with the use of embodied task, dedication, and collaboration within self inquiry. Inquiry into yoga, Acroyoga, physical theater, Gaga, Alexander Technique, contact improvisation and other forms propel Cole's belief in communities positively changing their environment through expressive movement. Research of social rebellion and forays into social movements such as house dance, samba, West African dance, hip-hop, tango and capoeira - inspire Cole to always seek the relationships between oppressive environments and the artistic, joyfully coded response of oppressed groups.
As a continuing student/life learner, Cole graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelors of General Studies, minoring in Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies. She also facilitates her own Body Vocality! Improv Workshops © for vocal/percussive exploration and time travel. Playing trombone in Stratford CT high school concert band, UConn marching & pep bands - and a brief stint in the cymbal line with the CT Hurricanes drum corps, has molded her socio-creatively. She is a proud adult learner/animal-loving-band-nerd - falling into Youtube wormholes of HBCU marching bands & drum majors, DCI and pibble rescues. Cole enjoys travel, low-to-no-social media, art, food, style and language with mouthfuls of critique for a world navigated. She draws strength from the outspoken and gender bending legacy of Nina Simone; the interdisciplinary concepts of artists Bruce Lee and Frida Khalo* and the playful, uncompromising spirit and musicianship of Lhasa de Sala**. Cole is an alumni of EmergeNYC at NYU's (Former) Hemispheric Institute of Performance & Politics and the Mount Royal School of Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Classical training in piano, trombone, movement and voice has laid strong foundations for debut performances at Carnegie Hall with Bobby McFerrin in his 'Instant Opera' Concert, The Hip Hop Continuum with Rennie Harris at Jacobs Pillow's Cultural Traditions Dance Program and the off-Broadway hit STOMP. Immersions into physical theater at the renowned Double Edge Theater has opened possibilities in narrative, object based theatre and exploring edges in physical training. Storytelling with Master Storyteller Donald Davis continue to influence not only how Cole tells the story, but moreover how daily narratives are heard. Performance intensives with artist Franko B, VestandPage, Andrigo & Aliprandi and at Venice International Performance Art Week (VIPAW) have opened Cole's senses to the performance opera, the collapse of time and the unique commitment to ones performance practice with the use of embodied task, dedication, and collaboration within self inquiry. Inquiry into yoga, Acroyoga, physical theater, Gaga, Alexander Technique, contact improvisation and other forms propel Cole's belief in communities positively changing their environment through expressive movement. Research of social rebellion and forays into social movements such as house dance, samba, West African dance, hip-hop, tango and capoeira - inspire Cole to always seek the relationships between oppressive environments and the artistic, joyfully coded response of oppressed groups.
As a continuing student/life learner, Cole graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelors of General Studies, minoring in Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies. She also facilitates her own Body Vocality! Improv Workshops © for vocal/percussive exploration and time travel. Playing trombone in Stratford CT high school concert band, UConn marching & pep bands - and a brief stint in the cymbal line with the CT Hurricanes drum corps, has molded her socio-creatively. She is a proud adult learner/animal-loving-band-nerd - falling into Youtube wormholes of HBCU marching bands & drum majors, DCI and pibble rescues. Cole enjoys travel, low-to-no-social media, art, food, style and language with mouthfuls of critique for a world navigated. She draws strength from the outspoken and gender bending legacy of Nina Simone; the interdisciplinary concepts of artists Bruce Lee and Frida Khalo* and the playful, uncompromising spirit and musicianship of Lhasa de Sala**. Cole is an alumni of EmergeNYC at NYU's (Former) Hemispheric Institute of Performance & Politics and the Mount Royal School of Art at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
*other key sources of strength include artists Bjork, D'Angelo, Lizzo, Freddie Mercury, Jill Scott and the tender, yet tumultuous fluidity of Storm aka Aurora Munroe (X-men) and Peter Pan.
**The fervent yet tenderhearted histrionics of Chicken Little also provide additional albeit valuable insight.
© 2013 - 2019 All Rights Reserved O. Cole
**The fervent yet tenderhearted histrionics of Chicken Little also provide additional albeit valuable insight.
© 2013 - 2019 All Rights Reserved O. Cole
