Janie Jones

Professor

“L.A. is such a wonderful theatre place. And the SMC Theatre Department is right in the heart of it all.”

In an increasingly materialistic world, Janie Jones has some surprising advice to offer her SMC students. “I want students to understand that, no matter what field they enter, a good liberal arts background will help them. It gives you a good perspective on how your field interacts with the rest of the world,” she says. “And even MBA’s are being passed over for positions in business in favor of people with solid liberal arts training.”

Janie has been with SMC since 1980 and reports, “It’s a terrific, wonderful place to teach, the best. We have great cooperation with the music department and our Musical Theatre Workshop is a tremendous class.” Janie teaches acting, directing and musical theatre. “And I’m mentoring a student who’ll be choreographing dance for a Eugene O’Neill play this fall. I have two independent study students working on productions and I’ll be directing a play this spring. It’s a full schedule.”

Janie reports that “watching my students develop their sensitivity to the art of theatre is the most fulfilling part of teaching for me.” And that sensitivity has equated with a great deal of success for SMC actors. “Our department has sent people on to the Mark Taper Forum, to roles in Falcon Crest, and the movies,” she says. “We have a super department where each instructor, in his or her own field, is terrific.”

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