Last weekend, Dartmouth's senior theater majors traveled to New York City to view Broadway and Off-Broadway performances. On Sunday, two students attended "Trojan Women" at the Classical Theatre of Harlem and later sat down with its star, Ty Jones, who played the role of Menelaus.
Ty Jones is a rising star, who recently won the 2003 OBIE award for Best Male Actor in an Off-Broadway production for his role as Archibald in the revival of the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production, "The Blacks: A Clown Show." Ty earned his Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Delaware's Theatre program. Prior to Trojan Women, he was seen in Lincoln Center's production of "Henry IV" with Kevin Kline and Ethan Hawke, and Arthur Miller's staged reading of "Resurrection Blues" at Northern Stage in White River Junction. Ty also dedicates his time to humanitarian causes for the children of New York City, where he serves as the Grant Coordinator for the Get Together Foundation for the Children.
The Dartmouth: For the average college student, what would be the first steps to becoming an actor?
Ty Jones: I would first decide if it is what you want to do, and by doing that I mean you need to decide if you want to be famous or if you want to be in the theater. And if you really delve into it, you'll find most people want to be famous. Which is okay. There is nothing wrong with that -- just be aware that there are consequences that come with thatalong with good rewards there are some real drawbacks from pursuing fame. Compromising yourself is one. If you're okay with that, then cool. And then, if you want to do theatre go to a place that really nurtures it, like Minneapolis (The Guthrie) or Austin, Texas.
D: New York doesn't nurture that?
TJ: I don't think so. Here's the thing, New York can be great if you went to one of the major grad schools. You'll be much more likely to be seen by bigger agents if you come out of those big schools. Don't get me wrong; if you go to another school you'll do okay, but agents are much more likely to see you out of Yale, Julliard or NYU. When people say they want to come to New York and do theater, I don't buy it. They probably want to come and be famous. If indeed one wants to make a life in the theater, Wisconsin is good too. If you have some real skill, eventually you'll find yourself on stage and be part of that community. If you want to be famous, come to New York, and everyone else will go to L.A.
D: You started talking about graduate programs. What do you think about the M.F.A. programs that are currently available?
TJ: Grad programs don't work on the business themselves. They do a lot of character work. It's not a waste of time; it's just time not well used. That's why Delaware was great because they taught us the business and practical end a few days a week. We were creating a life of theater in a working environment as an ensemble. We knew how to work together. Our productions [throughout the Delaware M.F.A. program] were incredibly successful. Our house was full all the time.
D: Could you talk about ensemble work? How does it change your personal approach to acting, and what are the advantages?
TJ: It takes the element of acting out of it, and you start working together as a group. The best analogy I can give is sports. You know who your shooting guard is. You know who your number one rebounder is. Your shooting guard is not your number one rebounder. That's someone else's job. If he happens to get a rebound, great. It's about your role on this team and getting together what you need to win. And that's what I'm about in theater.
D: What's winning in theater?
TJ: We've won because we've created community. There's a certain win in that. I'm troubled by setting goals. They are important. But when you get goals set, you have that little epiphany, and then it's gone. Then you have to find another goal. I'd rather work towards something. If I can work towards creating a theater that nurtures the community, in a such a way that there is a method of sustaining development, so this can be a framework that other communities can copy; then I'm doing my work. I know they can keep on going until after I die. That would be more fulfilling for me.
D: So your ideal then would be to create a legacy for a specific community. Is that motivated by your desire to help children at the Harlem School for the Arts?
TJ: Just as a person, as a human being, we're here to help each other out, not to exploit one another. It's like the foundations of any religion, you know, "Give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime." I am looking for a way that the children at HSA can eat for a lifetime. I want to turn it from a charity to a philanthropic effort, where people can learn to do for themselves. I think you can do that through theater.
D: That's very noble.
TJ: It's noble. But it's possible.
D: So how did you become involved with the Get Together Foundation?
TJ: After I graduated from Delaware, my best friends and I wanted to ensure that we would still see each other. So we would meet at a bar twice a year and just hang out. Eventually, we decided we should use this time together more productively. Since I was a Head Start kid myself, I knew of some child development centers in Brooklyn from my youth. I went to visit to see how we could help. I walked in and there were books from 1961. There was no library or anything. Urban Place child development center was the first place we helped out. And now we've helped over thirty centers just like this to get the educational resources they need. And what we do is provide educational materials for these groups.
