Welcome to the senior spotlight Davenport native Sam Jones!
A lover of theatre his whole life, Jones has been involved in countless theatrical productions. You may have seen him on the Allaert stage last year playing Richard III, or this past summer in the Mississippi Bend Players' production of Brighton Beach Memoirs. Jones also enjoys directing and could be considered a Shakespeare fanatic, especially after winning the Region V Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival's classical acting award this past January.
Let's learn some more about Jones and all of the incredible experiences he has had during his time with SAU theatre!
Hometown: Davenport, Iowa
Majors/Minors: Theatre, Art History, and History with a minor in Classical Studies
Q: How would you describe yourself?
A: Senior Jack Green's best friend, the coolest of cats.
Q: What was your favorite role you played at St. Ambrose and why?
A: My favorite role I played at SAU was Ricky Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross, because it was a highly challenging role, and I was very proud of both my individual performance and the show as a whole.
Q: If you could play any role, what would it be?
A: Henry V in Henry V for sure!
Q: Tell us a little bit about your experience directing A View from the Bridge in the SAU Studio Theatre this year. What did you learn?
A: A View from the Bridge was a very challenging show, and I was very proud of the product! I knew I had a lot of specific conceptual ideas that I wanted to try going into it, and almost all of them either worked, or I was able to come up with a solution that was even better than what I originally imagined. Also, the actors rose to the challenge of some really difficult Arthur Miller characters and knocked it out of the park. I was really proud of them.
Q: Tell us about your success at the Region V Irene Ryan Competition this year!
A: Irene Ryan's went better than I could have ever imagined this year. I placed third in Region V, and I won the Best Classical Acting award in the final round.
However, I couldn't have done any of that without my stupidly-talented partner, Keenan Odenkirk, whose professionalism and friendship held me down throughout the process. I also couldn't have done it without Dr. Cory Johnson's guidance and attention to detail; she never let us settle with anything in our scenes, and she was always available to help us work on things. Ambrose always does a wonderful job with training us for the Irene Ryan competition and a lot of that is due to our professors Cory, Dan, and Kris, who are always available to help and see us through. I simply could not have done it without them.
Senior Sam Jones
I'll give you one of my favorite Lord of the Rings quotes! "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."
Q: What are your plans for after graduation?
A: This summer, I will be spending my time in Winona, Minnesota, as a part of the Apprenticeship Company at the Great River Shakespeare Festival, which I am looking forward to. After that I plan on taking a year off, before I decide what my next move will be, but it will hopefully involve my friend Jordan McGinnis'17 and I moving to a big city together to pursue our careers.
Q: What are some of your favorite memories with SAU Theatre?
A: Some of the shows that really stand out to me were directing Jerry Finnegan's Sister and A View from the Bridge, and being a part of Glengarry Glen Ross, Commedia, Parade, Richard III, and Spamalot.
Q: Cabaret is coming up soon, and you are playing the Master of Ceremonies (MC). Are you excited for this production? What have been some challenges so far? What is your take on playing this iconic character?
A: The MC has been very challenging to me so far. The most difficult thing about it is that the script doesn't really give you much to go on when creating the character, so it is open to a lot of interpretation. Thankfully, Cory has given me a lot of great direction for him so far, and I feel like a lot of my character will be found the more I get to work through the show from start to finish.
We are greatly looking forward to hearing about all the adventures Jones will soon be pursuing! If you want to catch one of Jones' final performances at St. Ambrose, make sure to come out and see Cabaret April 20-22.
Jones will be greatly missed, and we are glad for his fantastic work in the department for the past five years. We hope you always continue to follow your dreams!
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