JJ in full costume as Petkoff in Shaw's Arms And The Man.

 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.

     Last 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 the first season’s Off Book, which he stage-managed. He was then proud to make his directorial debut with She Stoops to Conquer. In the winter of 2011 he played dual roles in the cast of Moliere's The Doctor Despite Himself. In the spring of 2011, JJ directed Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero. He followed that up by serving as sound designer for last fall's production of Steven Dietz' Rocket Man.

JJ is currently playing the part of Roderigo in Othello, for which he is also helping with sound design.