College Days and Before

Jonathan was born and raised in Jackson, MS. He attended Jackson Academy all the way through (K-12), graduating in 2002. He then attended Belhaven College where he became heavily involved with the theatre program there. At Belhaven, Jonathan served as a student leader for 3 years; spending 2 ½ years as President of the Joshua Squad, Belhaven’s physical theatre performing arts team. In 2006, Jonathan graduated from Belhaven with a degree in Theatre and a minor in Biblical Studies.

Jonathan has both performed in and directed many theatre productions. With the Joshua Squad, Jonathan led performance teams to three international locations (Japan, Italy, & Switzerland) as well as countless local and domestic locations. While in Spring 2005 Jonathan directed a successful production of Scapino! A Long Way Off From Moliere. Jonathan has also appeared professionally on national television and at the International Street Performers Festival in Kaoshung, Taiwan.

Gratuitous and ‘B’eyond

In 2006, Jonathan joined fellow Belhaven graduates Chad Miller and Guinn Terry Davis in founding Gratuitous B Productions, a non-profit organization intended to develop emerging performing artists and performing arts companies. ‘Grat B’ ran off the charts in their opening year of operations. Companies under Grat B supervision flourished, reaching a combined audience of over 4000 people across the Southeast by spring 2007.

Jonathan personally directed (and performed in) the first professional aspect of the Joshua Squad during this period, catapulting this group into the flagship position among Grat B affiliates. Performances with the Joshua Squad ranged from Louisiana to New York during this time. As the group matured they began to depart from the specific mission of the Joshua Squad. This prompted Jonathan to began re-structuring the group as a spin-off called ‘Kinetic Echo’. This continued into the summer of 2007.

Jonathan also spent a brief period directing No Curtains! Commedia, a comedy troupe that produced two major shows (Rugs, I Say! & Oh, Jackson the Beautiful) in the Fall of 2006. Both shows were written for the company by Guinn Terry Davis.

PUSH Comes to Nudge

In July 2007, Jonathan was offered the chance to work with PUSH Physical Theatre in Rochester, NY – a group he had worked with before in 2006 & 2007. Combining this with a new strategy of development being implemented in Gratuitous B, Jonathan relocated to Rochester in late September 2007. His work with Grat B continues apace using the Web development and communication tools already employed by the organization.