Jonathan Becker MFA Pedagogy with emphasis on Movement and Voice 2005
Jonathan’s most famous mask design assignment was for the TV series Pose. They were re-creating the historic Connelly Theatre and needed huge Greek masks for the proscenium arch. “It felt good to be working on a project that had real meaning for me.” He’s also done work for Lincoln Center and several sci-fi TV shows. Oh yes, and Robert DeNiro wore one of his masks in The Humbling.
When Jonathan was growing up in Ohio, “I begged my parents to see Marcel Marceau in Akron, and it ultimately provided a foundation for the kind of work I’ve engaged in as a theatre artist.” At the age of 13, Jonathan attended a summer clowning conference, where he saw noted clown/mime/juggler Avner the Eccentric aka Avner Eisenberg. Jonathan continues, “It made such an impression and I wanted to go to the school he did.”
This led Jonathan to Paris where he studied at the school of the legendary Jacques Lecoq. “One of greatest theatre minds of 20th century.” He’s best known for teaching physical theatre. “I didn’t know French and had to learn very quickly, because there’s no translating, so it was sink or swim.”
After returning to the states and working several jobs, Jonathan decided to attend VCU for his masters because, “the MFA was about getting a credential so I could teach on the university level.” This resulted in a job at Ball State University teaching theatre and movement for 11 years, but, “I discovered that working in academic theatre was not the match for me.”
Jonathan continues, “I’d always had a dream of creating a space where artists could live and work together.” He found a historic mansion in Muncie, which led to The North American Laboratory for the Performing Arts. After COVID put an abrupt stop to his endeavor, Jonathan sold the building and moved back to Ohio where he’s had a full time mask studio since Oct 2020.
When Jonathan was at VCU, David Leong (former Department Chair) asked him to show case some of his masks in the PAC theater lobby gallery, “We settled on around 40 – 50. It was the first time I had seen all of the work in one place and I realized that mask making had become a big part of me and that it was something of importance.”
Jonathan hasn’t forsaken acting, he has a one-man show called Facing Humanity, which i sbased on masks throughout history. “What the masks have become for me is a vehicle that allows me to see the world from multiple perspectives. You’re creating a mask that sees the work in a singular way and they’ve helped me navigate this crazy world.”
Compiled by Liz Hopper (professor emeritus) and Jerry Williams (BFA ’71) for the September 2022 Theatre Alumni newsletter