Taking dreams and making them reality: Jacob Weldon’s Journey to Center Stage
Jacob Weldon is an aspiring actor.
“Growing up, I always thought of acting as this glamorous life that you had to be born into. I always dreamed of entertaining and bringing joy to those who would watch me perform,” he said.
The Jackson native is getting an associate in general studies at Jackson College but wants the center stage and is taking advantage of our theater pathway.
“I’ve taken a few classes with Sara Anne Tomczak about theater,” she said. “I’m doing introduction to acting right now. We’re working on memorizing a whole scene to act out. We just come in and do a bunch of exercises and learn about acting for the duration of the class.”
Embracing the Craft
He has also done improv exercises including monologues and a mock audition.
He credits Tomczak, English Faculty Michael Marra and Math Instructor Erik Brown as influential members that helped him achieve success here.
“Michael has the most charisma and is the most entertaining person I’ve ever heard give a lecture. Sara Anne has been very, very supportive of everything that I’ve been trying to go towards I’ve asked her for advice because of all the experiences she’s had and she’s been right there for me,” Jacob said.
His acting chops landed him roles at Jonesville’s Sauk Theatre. His first ever audition.
From Nerves to Confidence
“I was so nervous that I could barely read from the script and they still accepted me,” he said.
He has performed in eight plays at the Sauk so far. His favorite being “The Play That Goes Wrong” which is a play within a play with an amateur theatre company trying to put on a murder mystery called “The Murder at Haversham Manor.”
“As they do it the actors forget their lines, break character, the set starts falling apart,” Weldon said. ‘It is such a funny show and I was so glad that was the first one I was ever in.”
Between acting at the Sauk and taking theatre classes at Jackson College Jacob has found a new sense of who he is as a person.
“If I could put emphasis on the community of community theater, that is what I would talk about,” he said. “I think that everybody wanting to be an actor or not should try community theater at some point in their life. That’s what gives you along with a renewed sense of confidence, I feel it has helped me become more of a well-rounded individual. I was very introverted and very to myself before I did that audition. I heard they were doing the ‘Play That Goes Wrong’ and I just came out and did it and now I am a different person.”
Future Plans
He plans on transferring to Oakland University in the fall after auditioning to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater.
“I don’t think I could have done that without the experiences and knowledge that I’ve gained from doing classes here and just everything that I’ve been able to do here with Mrs. Tomczak, it was very beneficial,” Weldon said.