College of Arts and Sciences

On this week’s episode of Segue, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s weekly radio program exploring the lives and work of the people on campus and beyond, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Dean Kevin Leonard, PhD, interviews Geovonday Jones, assistant professor in the Department of Theater and Dance. In this episode, Jones discusses his experience at SIUE, his career in theater and his upcoming show, “Life Sucks.”

This episode of Segue airs at 9 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 30. Listeners can tune into WSIE 88.7 FM The Sound or siue.edu/wsie.

Jones joined the SIUE faculty in fall 2021. He earned his MFA in acting from Brooklyn College in 2019 and his BFA in acting from Missouri State University in 2009. He is also currently pursuing Teacher Certification in the Chekhov Technique with the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium. Jones will be directing the upcoming show, “Life Sucks,” which will debut on Feb. 23 in the SIUE Dunham Hall Theater at 7:30 p.m. and will run through Feb. 27.

“Welcome to Segue, Mr. Jones,” Leonard begins. “First, can you tell our audience a little about yourself? How did you become interested in acting and theater?”

“I became interested early on. I was in the fifth grade,” states Jones while recalling an incident where a substitute teacher asked the class read a play from a book, which they later went on to perform in school. He says he loved making people laugh and went on to participate in a few more plays through high school.

“I have a relationship with theater where I run away from it and get pulled back in. I went to college to study psychology and therapy, and took a class with a bunch of theater majors.” He says he decided to take more theater classes after that because he made so many friends. Jones reminisces auditioning for the BFA in acting program as a dare. He decided to stick to it when he got selected, while still pursuing his psychology major.

“So, you didn’t pursue acting, in a way, it pursued you! Was there a moment where you realized you wanted to devote your life to acting and theater?” inquires Leonard.

Jones recalls the first time he was paid to be an actor working with the Tent Theater as the moment he realized he could do this for a living. His wife, then girlfriend, had a huge role to play in his interest towards theater.

“I don’t know if growing up as a poor kid and getting a paycheck to do something that made my heart smile was it. It was something about that experience; that was when I knew this was it. It was hard work. The work that scared and challenged me, I got a paycheck, and I got to hang out with my wife, who was studying dance at the time. It was the best life!”

“What were your early passions and influences? What guided your vision as an artist?” Leonard asks.

 “I’ve always come to this artform with the thought of play. What does ‘to play’ mean and how does that show up in the work? These artists I paid attention to - Whoopi Goldberg and Eddie Murphy - showed up on my television while growing up, and I saw them play and have fun with what they were doing. From that play, we got the sense of urgency that was compelling. Their willingness and daringness to play influenced the way I approach acting and theater,” explains Jones.

“What advice would you give to a student considering studying theater and dance at SIUE,” asks Leonard.

 “Come to it with abandon. Come with the willingness to play. Come with the willingness to fail!”

When asked about his upcoming show, “Life Sucks,” Jones says the play deals with life, boredom, sadness and sorrow in a comical way rather than it being tragic. Learn more about the show and purchase tickets at siue.edu/artsandsciences/theater.

Tune in at 9 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 30 to WSIE 88.7 The Sound to hear the entire conversation.