From timid southern church boy to non-binary storytelling witch
I was born on a warm Friday afternoon in August of ‘88 in Jackson. Tennessee, not Mississippi. It's a small city in between Memphis and Nashville. The first 10 years of my life were spent on a horse and hay farm out in the middle of nowhere. I grew up Pentecostal, and yes, I spoke in tongues. I was only allowed to listen to Christian music and watch Disney movies. So how did I get from that innocent little boy to the Queen I am today? Easy answer. Theatre.
I have been singing in the choir and acting in church skits since I played baby Jesus just a few months after I was born. I had no idea how to act but I loved the feeling of telling a story. When I was 10, my mom, sister, and I moved across the state to get away from my abusive father. We stayed in a women’s shelter for a month in Johnson City. One night, we were given comp tickets to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at ETSU. From the moment the faeries appeared onstage, I was hooked. The power of Oberon, the beauty of Titania, and the magic of live theatre uplifted my family while the rest of our world was falling apart. That night I saw that theatre can be more than just fun little skits. It can heal.
JJ with his Mom, Sherry, and sister, Whitney soon after moving to Johnson City.
The next few years were a culture shock to me. Going to public school for the first time definitely opened my eyes to more than I probably needed to know. I’m pretty sure I learned every curse word in the English language within a week. (Though I’d never say them around my mom for fear of literally getting my mouth washed out with soap.) Before I knew it, I had learned all that my public middle school had to offer and was off on the grand adventure of high school. That meant I could finally take theatre as a class. And, wow, I was a bad actor! I prepared for school auditions by watching film versions of the plays or musicals and tried to imitate the actors. I may not have been good, but at least I had heart. I helped out backstage with every show and competed in every forensics competition. In the middle of 10th grade, we moved to Gainesville, Fl and I was cast in my first musical. My geeky, chunky, awkward 15y/o self play Uncle Wes in Footloose. My poor mom barely saw me the rest of my high school career due to shows, thespian competitions, and anything else a theatre kid could get into. As I dug myself deeper and deeper into theatre, my church life and personal life were starting to clash. I realized that I was different around the time puberty hit. Well the Pentecostals don’t like the gays, so my youth pastor tried casting the gay demon out of me at 16. But that’s a whole other story. I wasn’t much for church after that.
After graduating as an Honors Thespian, I decided to go to the best theatre school in Fl, FSU. As an undergrad in the BA program, I don’t think I learned anything about acting. I learned how to work on the technical side of things. I learned that 16-18 credit hours was too much. And I painfully learned how to say no. I tried to work on every play I could but ended up falling behind on my studies. I flunked out and went on a depressive spiral that made me think I had failed at life.
JJ & family
Gainesville, Fl.
Yes, the shirt was bought before coming out of the closet.
Birthday Party for 3
The Three Musketeers were always together.
Most of my 20’s were spent working in minimum wage jobs and working in community theatre. I moved to Orlando and started working in food service at Disney. Eventually I moved to attractions and was a Safari Driver at Animal Kingdom. While it was a ride, I felt like I was acting every day since I got to be a part of the story. I also got hired into seasonal entertainment at Universal which means I scared people and marched in parades. All the while I was acting in, teching for community theatre shows, and learning how to be a drag queen all over the area. Somewhere along the way, I became a better actor. In 2015, I had enough of living paycheck to two days before paycheck and knew something had to change. My mom suggested I move in with her in Pensacola and go back to school. “For something you can make money in this time like nursing...” So I did. I went to Pensacola State College and passed all my pre-nursing classes with flying colors.
Diszy Trailz and Erika Fury (JJ) at Pulse Orlando
Of course, something big happened during my time at Atlantic—a global pandemic. Like most folks, the forced departure from the rat race completely altered my course yet again. I was gifted with the chance to reconnect with my roots. With uncertainty everywhere, my mom asked me to go stay with my Grandma in West Tenessee.
I lived with Mama Judy and her husband in Parsons, TN for about 4 months. I realized that I did not know her as well as I thought I did. Thanks to Covid I was able to remedy that. The seed was planted in my head for a play about her life’s story. She was one of 12 children and had gone through so much in her life that I just had to write it down. Eventually that turned into my award-nominated solo play, Death of a Dandelion. I never thought I would turn into a playwright, but so many teachers have said I need to make my own work over the years. Turns out they were right.
That was also my first collaboration with my dear friend and fellow creative Kaitlyn Chase. I asked her to direct and she turned what could have been a boring history lesson into a show that one critic said was “like a warm hug.” We got to perform that play in the Under St. Marks Theatre in NYC Fringe 2024 and in the Scarlet Venue of Orlando Fringe right afterwards. The highlight of my theatrical career was talking to Mama Judy right after. She watched a live-stream of the show and just had to talk to me. She said, “Well, that was a pretty good show JJ. But I don’t think I said all that.” Sorry Mama Judy, I had to wrap up some of your stories to fit into an hour time slot.
JJ with Kaitlyn Chase and Patrick O’Connell at the NYC Fringe Awards 2025
In 2016, tragedy struck. One of my favorite places, a place where I met most of my chosen family, was attacked. 49 people died in the attack on Pulse, some of which I knew. The reality that any of us could be taken at any time made me think that maybe I should be doing the things I love rather than something that will make money. I was in a production of Shrek at the time, and the next rehearsal was a music rehearsal for the song “Freak Flag.” It felt like the universe was telling me to wake up and follow my dreams! I immediately switched my major to theatre and it seemed like the universe smiled on me. I did well in all my classes, got lead roles in plays and musicals, and was invited to apply for quite a few schools from my Florida Theatre Conference college auditions.
One of those schools was Atlantic Acting School in New York. By this time I was 29 and I thought that if I didn’t go to New York then, I was never going to go. In 2018, I packed up and escaped from the South. Life in New York was definitely a culture shock, but I have never felt more at home. My time at Atlantic has taught so much more than I thought it would. Not only about acting, but also about myself. I have and am still learning that failing is not a bad thing. Failure is a chance to try again and do better. So that’s where I am now—trying to be a better person and ready to create.
JJ with Mama Judy in 2020
During all of that, I was also starting a small theatre company with my graduating class at Atlantic Acting School, The Clementine Players. Our first major production was a gut-bustingly funny version of Pride and Prejudice. I then become their Social Media Coordinator, and then Ensemble Chair on the board. We’ve had a few fantastic productions including Macbeth, Clementine Sketch Show, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They also gave me the chance to produce my short play, Stuck, about a crazy night that happened to me while staying at Mama Judy’s. But you’ll have to see it to hear that story.
During 2024, Kaitlyn and I realized we worked together incredibly well with my solo show. We decided to form our own production company, Wicked Cat Productions. I am still member of Clementine and love them, but we had other projects in mind. I look forward to working with Clementine again. Kaitlyn and I have enjoyed meeting fellow creatives on the road. Not just in New York, but all over the world. And we have a great team with us. For Stuck, we have worked with Director Patrick O’Connell and Intimacy Coordinator Sean Fletcher Griffin. Acting alongside myself, we had Alex Wade join us in the short version, and the fabulous Royce Thomas Johnson join for our Fringe Tour.
The extended version of Stuck premiered in The Chain Theatre as part of NYC Fringe 2025. The play won the Staff Pick of the Fringe Award. And I recieved the Jill Mleirch Spirit of the Festival Award, which is given to the artist that most embodies the spirit of the Fringe in their show and in the support of other shows. Stuck is currently performing at Cincy Fringe and will be at Lavender Fest in Atlanta in July.
