Jess Maynard | she/her/hers

My life in the theater began as escapism. I loved fantastical stories, adventures, and magic as a child. Live theater is still pure magic to me. Growing up in Los Angeles, I began working as an actor at the age of 14 in as many 99-seat equity houses as often as was allowed. I cut my teeth as orphans, Christmas spirits, and Shakespeare’s Helena (a character I played no less than 3 times). When I decided to go to school for acting, it was only with the caveat that I minor in something practical. I went to The University of Michigan to get my BFA in Acting, with a minor in Physics. Unfortunately for my father, I dropped my minor in physics at the end of my senior year in order to get the chance to play Viola with the Southern California Lyric Theatre. 

My favorite teacher at Michigan was Malcolm Tulip. Malcolm is the core of the Michigan physical theater and movement curriculum; he led us through 4 years of Lecoq training with emphasis in mask, gymnastics, and (my favorite) clown. While at Michigan, I came to know that at my core I was an actor who found themself through movement. I travelled to London to work at LAMDA learning more about physical theater with Mark Bell. I fell in love with language working on Shakespeare as often as I could, knowing that my true love of Shakespeare came from my ability to utilize physicality openly and clearly in ways that were often “too much” for more realistic plays. I began to seek out and identify exaggerated, heightened language, and physical comedies as my favorite pieces to collaborate on. 

While at the tail end of my time at Michigan, I had a respected teacher say to me that there are actors who work inside-out and others who work outside-in. His preference for the former struck me as a blow, and being the approval-seeking actor I was, I strived to recreate myself in the image of “serious actors” focusing on gritty plays about truth. As I tried to pry my Lecoq, clown, and Shakespeare training from my work, I failed to see how physical every performance demands to be. My desire to be seen as an actor’s actor brought me to Chicago. The home of Steppenwolf and my vision for what “real acting” had come to be. While in Chicago trying to be “real”, I would continually get cast in physical comedies and Shakespeare. For reasons beyond my comprehension, I remember feeling disappointed that nobody was asking me to dive into my emotional depths in gritty kitchen-sink plays.

I decided to go to grad school for two reasons. One, so that I could teach at some point, and two, because I felt I was lacking. I got my MFA from The Theatre School at DePaul. I studied Meisner, Stanislovski, Linklater, Roy Hart, and Rodenburg; and I did gritty plays to my heart’s content. Then I met Camille Litalien. She was teaching yoga for actors, and I was injured. We got to know each other and she pulled me aside and taught me about Michael Chekhov’s imaginary body. She invited me to sit in class and allow my imaginary inner body to experience and express the movements the rest of the class was actively participating in. I felt transformed. Camille later invited Ragnar Friedank, to come teach a 3-day master class in Michael Chekhov, and I knew that I had found a path towards incorporating everything I knew as an actor. After graduating, I went to Hudson to study with Ragnar, Ted Pugh, and Fern Sloan in their 5 Week Immersion Course. I felt found by the Michael Chekhov technique. I no longer felt the need to separate my physicality from my psychology. I knew how both my inner life and outward action were intrinsically connected. How my movement and my inner life fed each other, and learned from each other. I felt sparkly and new as I began to understand just how physical my gritty kitchen sink plays could be, how my work could be utilized on film, and how much more imagination I could play with using the clear language and guidance of the Michael Chekhov technique. 

I still live in Chicago, now with my husband and daughter. I work as an actor, director, and educator.  For the last 6 years, I have built up a photography business focusing on actor headshots, family portraiture, and branding photography. I also work as a Physician’s Instructor at The University of Illinois Chicago, teaching medical students patient communication. I continually audition and perform with the help of my representation at Big Mouth Talent. My heart is with new works that have inextricably theatrical elements to them. During the pandemic, I organized two virtual cold-reading play groups. The first was dedicated to reading and dissecting Shakespeare, and the second working through the work of Anton Chekhov. As a writer, I have written and performed two solo-performance pieces both of which delve into the metaphysical. And I have continued pursuing the Michael Chekhov Technique by becoming a MICHA member and working through the Teacher Training Program. In the coming years, I hope to stretch my legs as an educator and director.