We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jenna Haimes Veale. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jenna below.
Jenna, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?
The most unexpected problems I have faced in my creative journey have been illness and injury. I have never been a stranger to recovering from and overcoming injury. Before entering into a BFA musical theatre program in college, I needed hip surgery after dancing my whole young life. At the time I definitely felt like my life was over. How was I to express all of my angsty teenage feelings without the art of dance? I can laugh at myself now. But I am no less dramatic inside my own head. A couple of years later, in the middle of my BFA program I needed surgery on the other side. I didn’t know at the time, but the surgery was done incorrectly and would leave me in pain and unable to dance to my full extent for years. I had good teachers around me, reminding me I was also a singer and an actor. And I didn’t have to have dance in my toolbox to work in the industry. This definitely added fuel to my fire. Were they saying it’s okay to give up? Absolutely not. I would not loose this thing that was so important to me. On the MRI my surgery looked “perfect”. My surgeon couldn’t see why I was having so much pain. I saw six different surgeons as a “second opinion”. Every. Single. One. Had a different idea of what was wrong and what the solution should be. The choice became very clear when I met with the surgeon who had trained my original surgeon. He could tell from the position of the anchor in my hip, that it was likely going through my hip socket and tearing a muscle every time I lifted my leg – even though it wasn’t showing this angle on the MRI. I had a successful surgery, and although it took about twice as long on crutches as they anticipated and years to fully recover – I did.
A year after graduating with my BFA and working small theatre jobs, I worked at a resident company for several years, The Historic Barter Theatre in southwest VA. They are unique because they have a year – round resident repertory company, meaning they have a company of actors who live in town permanently and they perform and rehearse multiple shows at a time year round. I got to perform in a wide range of theatre, from Shakespeare, to comedic straight plays, and many musicals. I even got the opportunity to train and learn Ariel silks for our production of “Chicago”. This was the real test to see if my hips had fully recovered from surgery – if I could hold my legs in the air unsupported by anything! I was incredibly relieved that I had recovered, and my hips were strong. In every musical I was part of the featured dance ensemble, always dancing in heels.
After a few years I moved to New York…… and broke my foot. It was a slow process that started at Barter, got better and worse, and eventually fully broke after a summer intensive of dancing and waiting table in converse tennis shoes. I became boot girl! Boot girl moves slower and has a hard time getting around NYC, but she is clearly a superhero and doesn’t give up. I still attended auditions, sang in a cabaret, and even made it to a final callback for a lead in a National Tour with my boot. I wasn’t ready to dance that year and it was a blessing that I actually didn’t book anything so I had time to fully heal. It also gave me the opportunity to get my personal training certification, so I could spend time helping people to safely move their bodies as my day job instead of slinging prickleback shots and beer towers in my slippery converse.
The next year was 2020, and I started off with a bang. I was getting more callbacks than ever and was so excited to be fully ready to perform again. I even booked my first gig out of New York! I was excited to perform a lead, a tapping and singing role in a six person musical called “Dames at Sea” in April 2020. We all know how that year went, and everything was soon cancelled. I left the city like many others, and spent time at home with my family for most of the year.
In 2021 my boyfriend at the time and I moved to ATL, thinking it would be a good opportunity to move into some more film work. The film industry was booming there, and I had always been drawn to ATL for some reason. That summer I faced the largest challenge of my life. Three years ago, at age 29, I had a stroke. The story of my stroke could be a longer one, as I had symptoms for a couple of years leading up to it, I had scans that were inconclusive, and I was misdiagnosed by multiple doctors. I also had a staph infection as a result of the stent procedure to open my artery. I had multiple strokes, and we will never know how many. Based on my episodic experiences and what I now know are signs of stroke, I would guess about a hundred. My strokes were “small”, but many and enough to create significant lasting damage. I am incredibly lucky that loss of my limbs was not part of my brain damage. I have loss of feeling in some of my fingers, and struggle with vestibular/dizziness issues that I am continuing to work on. I was also incredibly lucky that we had happened to move 30 minutes from one of the best stroke centers in the world. To me, this was no coincidence. There had always been something tugging me towards ATL.
My biggest fear, again, was will this affect my ability to get back on stage. I now had chronic migraines, an anxiety and depression disorder, as well as light and sound sensitivity. I was in occupational therapy, vestibular therapy, and physical therapy to get my body and nervous system to where I needed it to be. The biggest leap I made was when my Dad found a new kind of therapy to help me – Chiropractic Neurology. This method did not involve adjusting my spine (as this is risky for me now), but focused on the micro-movements of my eyes, my autonomic nervous system, and my balance. Without this therapy I would have had a very hard time moving back to NYC. Before this therapy I visited NYC and felt sick most of the time. I slept much of the day, and always felt nauseous and as if the ground was moving after leaving the subway. This therapy prepared me for the move back, and I have continued it with a doctor here. I also now have a very cute, trained service dog who rides the subway with me, providing deep pressure therapy and helping me ground my nervous system to prevent dizziness and disorientation.
Between our move from ATL to NYC, my now husband Joe and I were married in Colorado! Near the end of the year I got a call from the new Artistic Director at Barter Theatre, offering me a role in their 2024 season. I could not have been more grateful and excited and terrified for this opportunity. I was still having moments of overwhelm where I would jumble or slow my speech as well as several other challenging symptoms. And now I was being asked to take on the largest female role in Shakespeare – Rosalind in “As You Like It”. This role could not have been a bigger blessing to my life. I was being given the chance to get back on stage – and around people I knew and loved and who knew about the stroke and were ready to support me through the process. I am forever grateful to Barter and to the people who believed in me there, and trusted me to carry this show. I am now back in NYC, still working on my recovery and dance. I am training clients and coaching group fitness and diving back into auditions. My aim is for my performance career to be long – to be life-long. The bumps in the road are all part of it. And are making me a better artist.
Jenna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I have a BFA in Musical Theatre from Illinois Wesleyan University. I have performed and choreographed professionally for 11 years including becoming a member of a Resident Equity Acting Company, performing and choreographing regionally, in tours, and Off – Broadway. I am a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist, Prenatal and Postpartum Trainer, and NCI Certified Nutrition Coach. I offer personal training in home as well as group fitness locally in Fort Tryon Park, NYC. I coach Strength Circuit training and Row classes at Fire Studio in Harlem, and Barre Workout classes at CPF in Manhattan and Brooklyn. I am particularly passionate about and well-suited for helping clients train post injury, illness, or birth, due to my own personal experiences. The slow path is always the quickest. Whatever is pulling you back is actually a sling shot, preparing to propel you further than you were before.
More performance/personal information available at jennahaimes.com and @jennanigans3
More fitness information available at buildandrecoverwithjenna.com and @buildandrecoverwithjenna
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
The Entertainment Fund! Previously known as the Actors Fund! The name recently changed to be more inclusive of all people in the field, as their programs have supported a broader population for a long time. They have incredible free resources for anyone in the field such as career coaching, financial coaching, therapy, and more. I joined an injured dancers support group when I broke my foot and had to take a slight step back from auditions in 2019. They also have an incredible team that has helped me get healthcare and with tax information.
https://entertainmentcommunity.org
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Getting the chance to look at the world from another perspective, to take on another characters’ worldview as I imagine it. Although it is still all within my own imagination, I am able to see outside myself, take in the world in a new way, and have more empathy for other people’s experiences and perspectives.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.buildandrecoverwithjenna.com and jennahaimes.com
- Instagram: @buildandrecoverwithjenna and @jennanigans3
- Facebook: Join my Fitness FB group: Build and Recover Strength and Vitality https://www.facebook.com/share/R1iwuiYTEjXMZnbT/
Image Credits
First Photo photography credit: Barter Theatre’s Production of “As You Like It”
Second and eighth photo- Jenna and Joe Veale (wedding Photo) photography credit: Kelly Whitman
Photo with my leg in the air behind me, photography credit: Sarah Laughland
Photo of me splashing in a puddle photography credit: Darnell Bennett