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Oct. 18, 2005
RUTHERFORD ON THEATRE
Jonathan Joy Practices His Craft Full Time in Region; Resume Ranges from
Acting, to Teaching, Award-Winning Original Plays
By Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Writer
Huntington, WV (HNN) --- Jonathan Joy, a Marshall University Theatre grad,
enjoys the luxury of working as a creative artist within the Tri-State area.
After receiving training as an actor, he co-founded Free Spirit Productions
and has written and published numerous plays, such as “American Standard,”
“The Princess of Rome, Ohio” and “Simply Selma.” These productions have been
produced in Columbus, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. His
professional acting and directing credits include The Phoenix Theatre Circle
(Columbus) and Virginia Stage Company (Norfolk, Va.) In addition, he teaches
theatre at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio. He earned a BFA in
theatre at MU and an MA in English from the same university.
Q: You began your theatrical training at MU in the mid-90s. What led you to
the stage and who would you pick as your most influential mentors?
Joy: I was a terribly shy 15-year-old kid. When I started acting and being
on stage, it really brought me out of my shell. People like Fred Fout,
George Snider & Mike Fesenmaier had a big influence on me [as well as ] my
first acting teachers - Rebecca Payne, Phil Wilcox and, of course, N.B.
East, my faculty advisor/mentor at Marshall University Theatre from 1994 -
'98.
Q: Having performed extensively in both the educational theatre and
community theatre environments, what are the biggest differences between the
two? Are both good choices for budding performers?
Joy: I always tell my acting students to get as much experience as
possible with as many different directors as possible. I think this is how
you grow as a performer. I've had a lot of great experiences with both
educational and community theatre and both prepared me for a professional
career in theatre.
Q: When you started in Huntington theatre circles, the now defunct Community
Players was the only outlet. What led to their demise and the birth of other
alternatives?
Joy: That is the nature of theatre; one closes and another opens in its
place. What is clear is that the theatre landscape has changed in
Huntington and Ashland over the last ten to fifteen years. It's grown
tremendously. There are more groups now performing a wider variety of drama
than ever before. I think Huntington is an exciting place to live if you're
a theatre artist. I work with over 2,000 kids a year in educational theatre
programs at the Paramount Arts Center and at the Huntington Museum of Art
and the fact that there are so many young people interested in the stage
bodes well for the future of theatre in this area. I'd love to watch it
continue to grow and evolve.
Q: You’ve often mentioned Dr. N.B. East, a former MU theatre department
chairman, as both being a hard teacher yet having a directorial style that
helped mold performers. Can you tell us about East?
Dr. East was a tough professor. You certainly could not slide by in his
classes. What stands out to me about Dr. East was his love for his
students. I never thought he was particularly hard on his casts, but he did
always strive to get the best performance out of each individual actor His
attention to detail and his focus on the process of putting a show together
was inspirational.
Q: What led to your moving into the political play and satire writing
fields and how did Free Spirit begin? What's its niche?
Joy: I worked briefly in politics during the 2000 election. I spent two
months on the road working for Al Gore and I got the idea for a political
comedy called "American Standard" based on my experiences in that world.
I get ideas for my writing from all kinds of sources. They are all around
me. It can be something as simple as a phrase somebody utters that strikes
me as funny or an interesting character study or listening to people on the
front porch across the street and letting that grow into a story like "The
Princess of Rome, Ohio", which takes place on the front porch of the Adkins
home.
Free Spirit Productions began in 1998 when my friend Tressa Preston and I
led an effort to re-open the John C.C. Mayo Amphitheatre in Ashland. It's a
beautiful space and had been neglected for over twenty years. Eventually,
we moved into the Huntington market and we've performed at venues throughout
the Tri-State. Our niche, I believe, is in our play selection.
I wanted to help create a theatre that would focus on plays that aren't
regularly performed in this area. (Tennessee Williams, Sam Shepard, Tom
Stoppard, Lady Gregory, Anton Chekhov and new plays and off the wall
contemporary work like "The Santaland Diaries" to name just a few) I go out
of my way to choose shows that I love that have little exposure in this
area. I think that's why we're still around after seven years (and fourteen
shows) and why we've always been able to draw such encouraging and
supportive audiences.
Q: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
Since I was in my late teens, all I wanted to do was work full time in the
theatre. I've been fortunate to do what I love and make a living at it for
the last eight years. Hopefully, in five years I'll still be writing,
teaching, acting & directing. I also want to continue to challenge myself
and learn and grow as an artist. I want to write more, continue to get my
writing into larger markets, take more shows on the road, etc.
