From Church Choirs to Center Stage: Nyla Nyamweya’s Journey at Shadowbox Live
Nyla in Kiss & Tell (credit Buzz Crisafulli)
By Mia White
Nyla Nyamweya is a metaperformer, percussion leader, SBX Academy teaching artist and the box office manager at Columbus performing arts company, Shadowbox Live. Nyla grew up singing and dancing in church, but didn’t begin professionally singing until her junior year in high school. Now, she has spent the last 10 years of her career at Shadowbox Live, and is currently performing in Bangers.
Mia: How did you get started in your art form? What do you remember about first being intrigued by it?
Nyla: My mom always likes to tell the story of her first time she heard me sing by myself. I’ve always had a love for music but struggled with confidence. I had sequestered myself in her closet and began singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” She didn’t want me to stop, so from outside she sang along with me. I later gained some confidence while singing in choir and praise dancing at church, but I stayed pretty timid until my later years at Shadowbox Live.
Mia: What led you to Shadowbox Live? What has been your proudest moment?
Nyla: I first began my journey with Shadowbox Live through my college internship. I quickly fell in love and knew I wanted to stay past my internship. I auditioned for their educational summer program and became a full-time member the same week I graduated from college. It’s hard to choose just one proudest moment, but one would definitely be having the opportunity to teach percussion to incoming students in the same program I started from. Seeing their joy grow from curiosity to having fun really makes my heart full.
Mia: What is something you wish you knew as a performer just starting out?
Nyla: Something I wish I knew just starting out is how to be patient. Both with yourself and with success.
Nyla singing “Baby I Love You” in Flower Power (credit Ray LaVoie)
Mia: What is your process for creating and performing?
Nyla: My music performance teacher in high school always said, “You can be a musician or an artist.” What he meant by that was that you can either strive to sound like the recording, or you can reference the recording and make it your own. When we are paying tribute to artists, I try to sound like the artists themselves, and when I meet my limitations with that, I round it out with that artist’s vibe and intention of that song. However, there are times when I get to truly make the song my own. In the upcoming show Bangers, I get to be a musician for “Love in an Elevator” and an artist for “I Put a Spell on You.”
Mia: What advice would you give someone just starting out on the same career path as yourself?
Nyla: My advice would be to find times to celebrate your victories. Many times, we set goals for ourselves, and the moment we reach them, we already have the next one in mind and forget to acknowledge our success. In an industry where “no” is heard so often, take the time to appreciate the “yes.”
Nyla in Leather & Lace (credit Tommy Feisel)
Mia: What is on your current playlist?
Nyla: My current playlist consists of lo-fi remixes of Zelda music, K-Pop (mostly Stray Kids), Tyler, the Creator, and other pop and R&B hits, both old and new.
Mia: What is your favorite spots in Columbus?
Nyla: I love karaoke, video games and escape rooms. For karaoke, I’m down for any place that uses Excess Karaoke. I come from a family that loves games of all sorts, so visiting home and playing a card, board or video game is always comforting. For escape rooms, I love the immersion and solving puzzles, and the Escape Game at Easton Town Center has some really awesome rooms—and yes, I have solved them all.
You can see Nyla perform in Bangers from Jan. 8 through March 28 at Shadowbox Live, 503 S. Front St. in the Brewery District.
This article is part of a bi-weekly column brought to you by the Greater Columbus Arts Council as part of the Art Makes Columbus campaign. Explore a calendar of events, public art database, artist-curated public art tours and stories at columbusmakesart.com. To learn more about GCAC grants visit gcac.org.