Cedric Jones

June 8, 2011
"Cedric Jones shines in his role’s required campiness, evoking laughter even from a simple eye roll or flick of a boa."

-Adrienne Urbanski

Theatre is Easy

www.THEASY.com

June 7, 2011
"No one lit up the stage quite like Cedric Jones as the Fairy Dragmother.  I know every girl secretly longs for a gay friend who will organize her life and her wardrobe, and Jones fit the bill in his role as a dramatically compassionate life-changer."

-Stephanie Willing

Big Vision Empty Wallet

www.bigvisionemptywallet.com

May 15, 2008
"Other fine performances come from Cedric Jones as the resourceful Friar Lawrence..."

Liz Kimberlin

PlayShakespeare.Com

www.playshakespeare.com

November 13, 2009
Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn.
The sheep’s in the meadow, the cow’s in the corn.
 
It is 1979, and Cedric Jones’ first time on stage. During the PS73 Brooklyn school production of Mother Goose the theatre bug takes a bite. “I don’t remember any of my lines but it’s the first time I remember I had that feeling of loving to be on stage, loving to be out there.”
 
That was just the beginning of a passionate affair with all things theatre. Cedric used to call the south home, but he has followed his dream back to New York where it all began. Actor, writer, producer, and published poet, he is now part of a growing community of artists determined to make their mark on stage through what some refer to as Off-Off Broadway, or Independent Theatre.
 
Shortly after his first role as Little Boy Blue, Cedric and his family moved to South Carolina. Contrasting sharply with Brooklyn, Bennettsville was bucolic town (the current population is 10,000). Cedric joined the school choir and eventually started taking on roles in the community theatre. He then moved to a place where MTV was banned when he attended Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. Unabashed, Cedric went head first into that which bit him as a child.
 
Oh the places you’ll go.
 
Cedric is now smack dab in the middle of the exciting world of independent theatre. Immersing himself in the art, he calls the theatre district of Midtown, Manhattan home. This movement is stronger than ever with small venues blooming all over the island. Guy Pride Productions, started by Cedric and fellow multi-talented artist, Lee Cavellier, is one example. “There is a lot of do it yourself going on these days, no one is waiting around,” says Cedric, “You’re not always going to get to do what you want unless you do it yourself.”
 
An experimental medium, those involved in the smaller venues contrast sharply with the more commercialized Broadway and even Off-Broadway shows. Off-Off Broadway does not have the commercial power of these shows, but it also does not have its limitations. The failing economy, in particular, steers big Broadway towards the guaranteed money. “Right now during this recession there are a lot of shows that are revivals, shows based on movies, Shrek, The Little Mermaid, that’s going to sell. They’re not going to take chances on a whole lot of new stuff right now unless it’s based on something that’s already known by the public and is guaranteed to put butts in the seats.”
 
Cedric’s type of theatre is all about taking risks, both artistically and monetarily. The main goal is to simply break even. “You just reach into your pocket and hope for the best”, explains Cedric, “and draw on the talent around you.” Cedric describes the Independent Theatre community as a collective, in which everyone helps each other accomplish their dreams.
 
Cedric has written such plays as Trouble in Paradise, and Verses (winner of the 2000 Emerald Theatre Best Play Award.)  Both plays were accepted into The Midtown International Theatre Festival and were produced together in the summer of 2009 under the title Bible Stories. When it comes to success Cedric says, “There is no competition. We have to support each other otherwise we are not going to survive.”