Cedric Jones

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.”

Monday, June 22, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Guy Pride Productions and the Tenth Annual Midtown International Theatre Festival have announced that Bible Stories: Verses & Trouble in Paradise will be presented in the festival's first ever Short Subjects Division. The hour long entertainment is made up of two one-act plays written by Cedric Jones.

In Verses, Patrick is anything but The Prodigal Son when he returns to his conservative hometown where people, resentful of his homosexuality, oppose his plans to produce a photography exhibit. In the second play, Trouble in Paradise, Steve is more than just a little unhappy when husband Adam brings someone new to their garden paradise . . .someone named Eve.

In addition to Jones, the cast also includes New York actors  Lee Cavellier, Jill Drappo-Harvey, Martin Gould Cummings, and Bryan Marshall. Bible Stories is initially scheduled for three performances at Where Eagles Dare Studio Blackbird. The current schedule is Saturday, July 25 at 4:00pm, Sunday, July 26 at 2:30pm and Tuesday, July 28 at 8:00pm. Visit www.guyprideproductions for more information about the show, and www.midtownfestival.org for tickets and information on the other shows in the festival.

Where Eagles Dare Studio Blackbird
347 W. 36th St., 13th Fl.
New York, NY 10018
Between 8th & 9th Aves.
A/C/E to 34th St.

TheatreRats Presents King O'Neil 

April 21, 2009

(From TheatreRats PR)

What happens when elementary schoolers get their hands on a classic English farce about a drunken Irishman in pre-revolutionary France?  Come find out as TheatreRats takes one of theatre's first prominent female playwright's most heralded works and presents it to you through the imagination of children.

Cedric Jones appears as six different characters in the hilarious play King O'Neil, directed by Alexis M. Hadsall.  O'Neil also stars: Walter Brandes, Corrie Beula, Greg Engbrecht, Rachel Grundy, Caitlin Johnson, Joe Kurtz, Johnny Blaze Leavitt, Natalie Neckyfarow, Megan O'Leary, Craig Peterson, Vince Phillip, Felicia Velasco, Lindsay Kitt Wiebe and Peter Schuyler in the title role.

For ticket information, visit www.theatrerats.com.

April 30-May 9 

Thursday-Saturday @ 8:00pm

Sunday @ 7:00pm

Extra Matinee on May 9 @ 2:00pm

Medicine Show Theatre

549 W. 52nd Street, 3rd Floor

(btwn 10th  and 11th

New York City

(I-Newswire) - In elementary school, little Cedric Jones was given an assignment.  He had to write a poem.  By high school, he was passing out his poems and stories to classmates on a daily basis.  Throughout college, he didn't keep an ordinary journal, but instead found he could log the events and emotions that filled his days in poetic form.  

Since that time, a notebook has been his constant companion.  Now, so many years later, he has taken the big step of publishing his first volume of poetry, I Wear The Colour Green.

I Wear The Colour Green is divided into two parts, making it essentially two books in one.  In part one, From The Mind, Jones has chosen to include poems that deal with self reflection and eventual acceptance.  Some Boys Do, the second part of the book, focuses solely on personal relationships.  These passages range from tender words of love to poems about sexuality and lust.

Jones' poems have appeared individually in various publications over the years.  However, this is his first published collection of poetry.  It all started with a homework assignment over twenty years ago.

About The Author:

Cedric L. Jones was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1973.  At age seven, his family moved to Bennettsville, S.C. where he spent the remainder of his childhood.  Jones attended Winthrop University, where he double majored in Theatre ( Performance ) and Mass Communication ( Broadcast Journalism ).  After receiving a BA in 1991, he relocated to Atlanta, GA and continued to act and sing.  Jones recently returned to New York.  He currently resides in Manhattan, where he is active in the independent theatre scene and continues to write both plays and poetry.

Title:  I Wear The Colour Green ( 148 pages, 5.5 X 8.5, paperback, $19.95 )
Author: Cedric L. Jones
ISBN:  1-60563-317-8
Publisher:  PublishAmerica, LLLP
                PO Box 151
                Frederick, MD  21705
                Phone: ( 301 ) 695-1707
                e-mail: pr@publishamerica.com
                URL: www.publishamerica.com
Wholesaler:  Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and Brodart Co. ( 800 ) 233-8467

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE NOW!

November 11, 2008
How is it possible that Cedric Jones will be able to play the parts of Guildenstern, Macduff and Robin Goodfellow all in one evening? Simple. The Medicine Show Theatre Ensemble has decided to remount their successful show Mr. Shakespeare & Mr. Porter. The show blends abridged Bard classics with the timeless tunes of Cole Porter.

As Guildenstern in Hamlet, Jones teams up with Richard Keyser as Rosencrantz in a duet that asks the question "Why Don't We Try Staying Home?" Later, as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, he and fairy Rachel Grundy come to Titania's (Eva Nicole) aid in her quest to find a "Primitive Man."

Also featured are the talents of Robert Berliner, Molly Blau, Mercer Boffey, Lee Cavellier,  Mark Gering, Leslie Klug, Lindsay Kitt Wieve, Oliver Conant, Vince Phillip, Sika Rautenberg, Celine Rosenthal, Charles J. Roby, Peter Tedeschi, Barbara Vann and Patrick Wickam. Creator Barbara Vann directs, with Alexis M. Hadsall stepping in to direct A Midsummer Night's Dream and musical direction by Jake Lloyd. Costumes are by Uta Bekaia and lighting and set by Joseph T. Barna.

Mr. Shakespeare & Mr. Porter will be presented in two volumes. Volume one runs from November 13 through November 23, and features the mini-musicals of Hamlet, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Volume two features Measure for Measure, Richard III and A Midsummer Night's Dream. It will run December 4 through December 21. Showtimes are 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $18 and available through Smarttix (212) 868-4444.  The Medicine Show Theatre is located at 549 West 52nd Street on the third floor between 10th and 11th Avenues in New York City.

Jones first worked with the Medicine Show Ensemble as Atoraxohymonides in The Happiest Girl in the World. He has most recently appeared as Father Lawrence in the TheatreRats production of Romeo and Juliet and in GUY PRIDE: The World's 1st Mansical!, of which he is co-creator.