J. J. first appeared on stage when he
was 12 days old as the baby Jesus. Like a true professional he slept
through the whole show. (At least that’s what his Mom tells him.)
His love for the theater continued to grow when he landed the role of
the Artful Dodger in third grade. His passion was indelibly branded
from there on out.
J. J. grew up in Jackson, Mississippi
and attended the Academic and Performing Arts Complex’s Theatre
program from 8th to 12th
grade. The APAC
program allows its students to attend a half a day of school in a
collegiate theatrical environment. It was with this program that J.
J. played such roles as Oberon in A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, Charlie Brown in You’re
a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Cleante in The
Imaginary Invalid, and Mr. Bumble in Oliver!
While attending APAC he won best actor four times, and in his junior
year won their highest accolade, the Delta Award.
Upon graduating, J. J. helped form the
Blue Unicorn Theatre Company as a way of producing plays to help
raise money for AIDS charities. He was part of the ensemble cast of
their premier production of Godspell.
J. J. spent a few summers doing summer
stock in Indiana with the Nettle Creek Players. In his time with
Nettle Creek he played such roles as The Young Fool in Big
River, A-Rab in West
Side Story, and Prince John in Robin
Hood.
J. J. then took some time away from
theater to study film acting and voiceover in Los Angeles. Like many
before him, he decided that Los Angeles was not the environment for
him, and upon returning to Mississippi played Ruben in Joseph
and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for
the Black
Rose Theater.
For the last five years J. J. has been
a proud resident of Portland, Oregon. It is his privilege to be a
member of the Light-Fingered Five improvisational comedy troupe.
This summer J. J. competed in the
Riant Theater’s Strawberry One-Act Festival in New York with
Gallixy Productions’ Meatloaf
in the Moonlight, a successful run, which won
two of the
four awards including Best Director.
J. J. has been involved with Twilight
Repertory since last season’s Off
Book, which he stage-managed. He was
then proud to make
his directorial debut with She
Stoops to Conquer.
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