Alumni Spotlight: Meet Jared Mongeau!
“As an actor, you have an opportunity to create memorable and important events for your communities, whether that is by interacting with one person on a sidewalk or performing for an arena with 10,000. But the most important thing is that you are there in that moment together. It’s never about me, the actor, it’s about the audience and what they need.”
Jared (he/him/his) is extra-terrestrially excited to be making his Maddy's Theatre debut in his first production with the Children's Theatre of Maine as a "grown-up!" His first appearance with CTM was as Paul in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2002) at the age of 9, followed by originating the role of Danny in Lion Hunting on Munjoy Hill (2003), where he got to pretend to hang from the top of the Portland Observatory. Since then, he has traveled around the world, studying and performing many different types of theatre in all sorts of different places. As a teenager, he apprenticed local clown and vaudevillian Michael Trautman and was a trouper with Circus Smirkus before joining the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus' Clown Alley. He went to Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre in California, where he learned how to work in an ensemble and create many different types of plays. One of his favorite things ever was when he traveled to Bali, Indonesia, to study traditional mask carving and performance. Some of his original plays include Aardvark Boat Tours, which premiered at the PortFringe Theatre Festival, and This is Just Intermission, presented by Mad Horse Theatre Co. His MFA thesis, In the Trenches, appeared on the main stage of the Edmonton Fringe Festival, the largest theatre festival in North America. Just like his character in Dragons Love Tacos, he wholeheartedly believes that "with a little drive and determination, amazing things can happen!"
You have extensive physical Theatre and clown experience - can you tell us about your education and training?
It all started by participating in the Children’s Theatre of Maine (CTM) and other community theater productions around Portland and attending summer camps. My parents quickly realized I had a knack for performing and supported me 100%. I don't know why or how I became so interested in Clowning, mainly because I used to be TERRIFIED of them. But Maine is a bit of an oasis for physical comedy and the variety arts, like Vaudeville, thanks largely to The Celebration Barn in South Paris, so high-quality performances were very accessible while growing up. When I was around ten, I started going to the Circus Smirkus summer camp in Vermont before joining their Big Top Tour, where I really began refining my Clowning, as well as juggling and acrobatics. As a teenager, I also had an apprenticeship with a local clown and vaudevillian, Michael Trautman. They showed me more about what it takes to create and produce original work and what it was to be an actor and physical comedian as a profession.
Jared (left) performing in the Ringling Brothers Circus
That all showed me that I wanted to pursue Clowning, though, and at 18, I joined the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus for their 140th and 142nd editions. Even though that was my first professional contract, I think of it as my college; only instead of living in a dorm room in a dorm, I lived in a dorm room on a train, and the popular kids were elephants and tigers.
When I left the circus, I knew there was still more I wanted to learn about the Clown and what it could provide as a genre of Theatre, so I attended Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre in Blue Lake, CA. While not a "clown college" per se, it was highly regarded around the circus and theatre world (at one point, most of Cirque du Soleil's clowns had attended). I graduated from their three-year MFA program, which brought me back full circle to re-discovering the Theatre, and realizing just how many ways there are to create it.
Jared (rear) in his MFA Thesis In The Trenches (2016) at Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre
Your theatre and music careers have taken you around the world - how have these experiences influenced/shaped you as a performer?
Ooh, good question. For one, I don't think I care or worry so much about what I am going to do, but rather why I'm doing it and for who. As an actor, you have an opportunity to create memorable and important events for your communities, whether that is by interacting with one person on a sidewalk or performing for an arena with 10,000. But the most important thing is that you are there in that moment together. It's never about me, the actor, it's about the audience and what they need.
Do you have any advice for anyone interested in pursuing a path with physical theatre/clowning?
Oh man, I want to say, "just go for it!" And I will. Later. If you can, take classes and try to participate in performances, on or off the stage. The entertainment world is all connected, and you will always learn something that helps somewhere else. And you must learn to do all this safely! As fun as slapstick is, it can be very, very dangerous, and there's nothing funny about anyone actually getting hurt. But, specifically for Clowning and comedy, try to perform as often as you can, because the only way to tell if something is funny is if the audience laughs.
Jared (center) with the Clowns of Clown Alley
How does all of this influence your performance in DRAGONS LOVE TACOS?
It's been fascinating to trace the similarities between this play and the structure of a circus or variety show. The way scenes move one to another reminds me of the phrasing of acts in the circus and the transitions between them. I've gotten to tap into my inner-ringmaster more than I have on probably any other project, and that's been very fun. DRAGONS was the name of the second show I did with Ringling, so while I have experience with dragons, this is my first time working with DRAGon Queens. And, when the entire cast is together onstage, it feels very similar to a Clown Alley (this is the name for the groups of clowns in a circus/their dressing room area). This show has also been an excellent exercise for pacing myself because this show is CRAZY.
Jared as Man in Suit, pictured with Emmett Fay LeBlanc as Leroy and Ellie Keniston as the Kid
Production Photo by Katie Day
“I can’t imagine this show happening anywhere other than Maddy’s Theatre”
You were originally cast in DRAGONS LOVE TACOS in 2020! How does it feel to FINALLY be taking the stage two years later!?
Oh my gosh, it feels AMAZING!!! I don't think I've ever waited to perform a role after being cast in a play for so long. I wonder what it would have been like to have played it when planned initially, but I'm going to choose that these two years only gave more time to let the character develop and marinate in the back of my brain. The show wouldn't have had the same cast of kids, Leroy's, and dragons, which is unfathomable to me. Plus, I can't imagine this show happening anywhere other than Maddy's Theatre.
You're also a CMTM alum! Can you tell us about your experience with the Children's Theatre of Maine when you were a child? Which productions were you part of?
Yes, I proudly am! My first show was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible. No Good, Very Bad Day (2002) when I was nine. I played Paul, got to wear awesome bell-bottomed pants, and sang about a gerbil. Then, I read the lead role of Danny in the staged reading of Lion Hunting on Munjoy Hill, which was a new play by a local playwright. The following year, I played Danny in the official premiere production, which went on tour to a few locations after the run at the old Marginal Way location.
Jared (center in the Superman shirt) with the cast of A Lion Hunting on Munjoy Hill (2003) with the Children’s Theatre of Maine at Marginal Way
What advice do you have for the next generation of theatre-makers?
Just go for it! (Told you)
Is there anything else you'd like folks to know about you, DRAGONS LOVE TACOS, or the history of the CTM?
I'm sure there is, but let me get back to you on that.
Dragons Loves Tacos runs through May 15, 2022 in Maddy’s Theatre.
Meet the full production team and make your reservations by visiting: kitetails.org/dragons-love-tacos