About Nak Jently
Meet Jenita Nakamura, writer, director & producer
I am Nak Jently, a freelance writer, director and producer of indie works for stage, film, and events. I fulfill my
mission of unlocking hearts thru the arts by providing content crafted in the spirit of love & liberation.
I returned to Memphis in 2018 after a long period of repeated tragic loss. Prior to this season of grieving, I had occasionally kept some sort of journal off and on; however, in 2015, as weeks of agony turned into months of pain and grew into years of sorrow, I began to write regularly. Because of the hardships I was suffering, my journaling usually included spells of crying out in anguish. Quite honestly, allowing myself to release high pitched shrieks and deep wails was the only way I found relief. The haunting melodies would stick with me and bring comfort in my lonely moments of despair.
One day while reading from my notebook of desperate prayers, I found that the words felt poetic and quite fitting as lyrics for the melodies. To distract my mind from my problems, I would plunk on the piano and hum tunes that brought structure to my newly formed songs. I would frequently revisit the prayers, revise the melodies, arrange, and rearrange the songs into stories.
I began to write under the moniker Nak Jently (pronounced "knock gently"). Overtime, I realized I had more music, monologues, poems, and scripts than I knew what to do with, and surprisingly, I had also gained something even more valuable... I had healing. The tears and tangled up prayers combined with the wailing and writing was actually a process that allowed me to process, and by processing artistically, I experienced tremendous growth in my socio-emotional development. As a result, I began to feel less stuck and more free to spread my wings and soar. I founded a non-profit arts organization so that I could open the door for others to soar with me.
