Actors Jake Stibbe and Max Johnson.
Iron Crow Theatre is excited to be currently presenting its first production since the pandemic at Theatre Project and is directed by Ann Turiano. (You can read our review here.) “Women are extinct, everyone’s gay, abortion is illegal—and Jason got pregnant. But however unplanned the pregnancy was, nothing could be less expected than the chain of events it would set in motion. Robert O’Hara’s audacious, hilarious allegory envisions an uncannily familiar future – one where abortion has been universally criminalized and women have gone extinct from centuries of mistreatment. Even the universal homosexuality that’s resulted and man’s new procreative capacity have not stopped them from messing everything up.”
Jake Stibbe plays Jason and Max Johnson plays Mark, the couple who find themselves in the “family way.”
Jake Stibbe is thrilled to be making his return to the stage after a two and a half year hiatus! He is currently a Lead Instructor/Mentor at Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School and spent the previous two years working in wilderness therapy in Georgia. Previous professional credits include “Newsies” (Crutchie), “Bob: A Life in Five Acts” (Bob), “Annie” (Lt. Ward/FDR), “Fly By Night” (Harold u/s), and “The Buddy Holly Story” (Norm Petty).
Max Johnson is a working actor and deviser. He recently returned from a national tour with Olney Theatre’s Tour 72 , in which he played Bottom in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and Lindner in “A Raisin in the Sun.” Past work includes “Spies 2” at Imagination Stage, the off-Broadway premier of “Intentions, Next Time” (a one-person immersive interactive show with The Candlehouse Collective), and “Serious Adverse Effects” with Rapid Lemon Productions. In addition to acting, Max also works as a teaching artist and coach.
1. Please tell us a little about yourselves and how/when you discovered your love of theater. What are your dream roles that you have yet to do?
Jake Stibbe (JS): I was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota where I started doing theater at my school. I realized my junior year of high school, after doing ‘The Farnsworth Invention’, that acting was more than just a hobby, it was a passion. I ended up pursuing my BFA in Acting at Emerson College in Boston, where I developed a deep love for classical work and contemporary, experimental work, which I think ‘Mankind’ falls well under the latter. My dream play at the moment is ‘Dance Nation’ by Claire Barron, and my absolute dream role is Finch in ‘How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’. (I also love doing a little musical theater every once in a while.) There is something dynamic and complex in that role in a way that most classical musical theater roles are not.
Max Johnson (MJ): For me, theater and acting in general is something that I continue to become more fascinated with. I think I’m really beguiled by the fact that there is no real end to learning and growing as an artist . Every time I think I have a grasp on acting, I find a whole other level to the craft that reveals how much more I can learn. I grew up in the DMV, and studied theatre at Wesleyan University. Since I graduated, I’ve been acting professionally in the area for the last two years, and have been working on a pretty much equal mix of film and stage work. In terms of dream roles, I particularly love the play “Red Speedo” by Lucas Hnath and would adore the chance to play Ray in that piece. I think it is such a fascinating role and I adore Hnath’s language.
2. You both also teach. Does that inform your acting and do you think it is important to do both?
JS: I am a field instructor at Outward Bound, where I teach a wide variety of of outdoor, social/emotional, and team building skills. I think that my acting actually informs my teaching more so that my teaching informs my acting. A lot of the teaching I do in the outdoors I call upon my performance/creative skills as an actor.
MJ: I wouldn’t say that it’s necessarily important to do both, but I think teaching has helped me clarify my process as an actor. Since I often work as a coach in addition to as an educator, teaching has helped me be super clear about how various acting techniques work and what I feel is useful about each technique. Also, being around kids in theater has just constantly reminded me to keep having fun acting and to never be afraid of the big and bold choices. It’s contagious to see their joy and excitement about theater in class
3. Jake, how does it feel to be back on stage after two and a half years? Max, what was is like touring this past summer after the pandemic?
JS: It feels amazing! I actually finished up my last contract a week before lockdown, (I was doing a production of ‘Annie’ in Cincinnati), and I had decided, before any inkling that there was going to be a pandemic, to take a break from acting in order to instruct full time at Outward Bound. As we all know, plans shifted drastically once the pandemic hit, but I wasn’t originally as mournful as everyone else about the absence of theater. I actually felt a bit thankful that I didn’t feel the need to explain my absence of theater to anyone. However, I started to catch the bug again this past year, but knew I wanted to return in a way that was more intentional, being a bit more selective with the shows I wanted to do and places I wanted to work. When I was offered this role, I knew I needed to make it work and practically begged my boss to work with me on scheduling, and I’m so thankful that I did.
MJ: Phew, that is a large question. Short answer is that it was truly a once in a lifetime experience. The combination of touring mainly middle America in the midst of a pandemic in 2021/22 has taught me a lot about our country that I don’t really have the space to go into here. But as purely an acting challenge, performing in such a wide variety of venues taught me so much about not being precious with your choices as an actor and how to go with the flow when it comes to both ideal and less than ideal performing situations.
4. Talk a little about your roles in this production and what it is like working together.
JS: Jason is a complex dude, but at the end of the day, that’s what he is: a dude. He’s a dude who thrives in simplicity, who carries similar amounts of greed and lust as others, but who also craves connection, even if he doesn’t always know the healthiest way to go about it. Getting to know this character intricately and finding his idiosyncrasies was incredibly challenging and deeply exciting when discoveries were made. I think Robert O’Hara makes his actors, directors, audiences, etc. work for comprehension, and even then, leaves a lot of gray area to be explored. Exploring these gray areas with Max, and Ann as our fearless director, has been an absolute treat. There’s nothing I love more than walking away from rehearsals feeling frustrated out of passion of wanting to serve the piece the best way possible, and then finally walking out of a rehearsal satisfied that you are making headway, and doing it alongside artists who carry that same kind of passion.
MJ: It’s a gift to work on this production. I absolutely adore getting the chance to work on an O’Hara play, especially with Ann’s guidance and vision. It’s fantastic to work with Jake. I really couldn’t imagine anyone else that I’d rather have onstage. I think we’ve created a lot of trust together, as well as the ability to keep on playing onstage and not being too precious with our acting choices. I’m just blown away by the talent and conscientious care of this team. It’s truly such a wonderful gift to be part of this show.
5. This show covers a lot of themes touching on current issues. What do you want audiences to take away from this show?
JS: Whatever hits hardest for them. I think this play is beautiful in the fact that it can have so many different points of personal resonance. I also hope that people find the hilarity of how absurd it is, yet find in it an unsettling truth that even though it seems that what is happening onstage is not within the realm of possibility, it is already happening, in ways, in real life. And if that’s not a wake up call, I’m not sure what is.
MJ: I’m reluctant to answer this question because I don’t want to sway or prime an audience member to come into this show with a particular narrative already formed in their head. I think a gift of this show is the number of questions it brings up and the way it primes an audience to be in deep discussion with a lot of current issues far after the curtain closes. My biggest hope for this show is that it is going to be something about which our audiences discuss because that means that they are thinking about these issues and hopefully are continuing to reassess their own views on them.
Iron Crow Theatre is the only theatre in Baltimore that offers all of the following: When working on a production, all cast and crew members receive Safer Spaces training to ensure a professional harassment-free workplace. In addition, Iron Crow Theatre’s staff, directors, and stage managers have been trained in a variety of best practices as it pertains to trauma-informed practices and staging intimacy by Theatrical Intimacy Education. An Intimacy Coordinator/Director is hired for each production requiring scenes of intimacy. In addition, members of our staff have been certified in mental health first-aid by The National Council for Mental Wellbeing.
While in production, Iron Crow Theatre utilizes the Equity deputy system and has a member of the board of directors serve as an ombudsperson providing direct access to additional support at the highest levels of the organization. In addition, Iron Crow has a codified anti-discrimination and anti-harrassment policy, reporting procedure, concern resolution policy, and equal opportunity policy.
Iron Crow Theatre has a certified COVID-19 Compliance Officer trained by the Arts & Science organization who ensures our practices follow the requirements of Actors’ Equity Association, scientific fact, and the latest CDC recommendations. Iron Crow Theatre requires all actors and crew members to be fully vaccinated, boosted, and agreeable to ongoing testing. Audiences are masked until further notice.
“Mankind” runs through October 23, 2022 at Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 W Preston Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. Tickets can be purchased online on Iron Crow’s website here. For information, please contact boxoffice@ironcrowtheatre.org
