This is a new play by James Wallert. It officially opens on Monday, October 8, 2018, at The Acorn Theatre of Theatre Row, with a limited run through Sunday, October 28, 2018. “This rehearsal process has struck a pretty good balance of equal parts challenging and rewarding,” Jones said.
The actor continued, “There’ has been the personal challenge of being in every single scene of the play and working myself up to the level of endurance and fitness that demands. Then there’s been the perennial, collective challenge of trying to do justice to the story. The rewarding parts have included learning how to pull off a convincing German accent, figuring out how to find the nuance and humanity in such a controversial figure, and working alongside all of these wonderful actors.”
Jones shared that people can expect this play to raise some knotty questions about the ethics and responsibility of innovation. “People can expect to learn some intriguing things about rocket technology, outer space, and World War II. People can expect a vivacious love story. And, as with any great play, if all goes well, people can expect quite a few laughs and gasps,” he explained.
He previously appeared on the Hulu series, The Looming Tower. “I count The Looming Tower as one of my peak artistic experiences: being surrounded by a team of hall-of-fame actors and creatives, getting to shoot the show in three different countries (on two different continents,) and being entrusted to authentically and artistically portray the events leading up to September 11. It was definitely the kind of gig where I would wake up most days and think, ‘I can’t believe they gave me this job’.”
Digital transformation of the entertainment industry
On the impact of technology on the entertainment business, Jones said, “From a professional standpoint, the proliferation of streaming services and content has been great: more content means more roles means more work. From a non-professional standpoint, I am a bit ambivalent about the burgeoning of streaming services and TV and film content.”
Jones continued, “Of course, there is always space for transformative storytelling to take root and enhance the way we perceive and relate to the world, but I am also skeptical of so much money and energy being poured into things that ultimately just make us spend more time staring at screens.”
Regarding his use of technology in his daily routine as an actor, Jones said, “I use an audio recording program called Twisted Wave to record the other actors’ lines for each of my scenes. There’s no shortcut to learning lines other than drilling them ad nauseam, so by using this program, I am able to run lines anytime, in real time, without having to ask someone to read the other parts. I have found it to be one of the more efficient ways of practicing lines.”
For aspiring actors, he said, “This is the part where I steal the advice that James Baldwin gives young people in an essay he wrote called, ‘The New Lost Generation.’ Be cunning, be patient, and be indestructible. In the essay, Baldwin is speaking to something loftier than just how to be a professional actor, but I have found that his advice still applies. You have to be cunning because there is no clear, tried-and-true path toward becoming a working actor. You have to be patient because building a career in this business typically takes a lot of time. And you have to be indestructible because you’ll encounter endless waves of rejection and failure, and despite that, you need to keep pressing forward.”
He concluded about The Winning Side, “You will be awed and amazed. You will be provoked and prodded. You will see four human beings on stage sharing a story that might just change the way you see the world.”
