Jones
was 14 years old when she landed her first
paying gig at the Pelican Theatre - a 4 night
run as light board operator for a very
sweet $500.
Her early years were spent running props
and
taking tickets with her 2 sisters in off-off
theatres where her Mom's plays
were being produced. Her
early work in
theatre made art a priority for life.
After
completing her fine arts training at the
competitive Fiorello H. LaGuardia High
School of Music and Art in Manhattan, Jones
went on to pursue writing and literature
at Sarah Lawrence College and Oxford University.
Her collection of one-acts, Where
Sleeping Dogs Lie, was produced by
the Sarah Lawrence Theatre Department. Her
one-act,
Criminal Behavior, was produced
at the Cupper's Competition at Oxford. Her
screenplay for Firely (based on her play) was
produced by her twin and chosen as an official
selection at Houston
Worldfest, Charleston Worldfest, Hoyt's New
Filmmakers Showcase,
and
Happy Endings Film
Festival.
Jones
groundwork
for
sketch comedy was The Mugshots, a professional
improvisation troupe,
where she worked with 9 other actors to full
houses packed with Columbia
undergraduates.
From there, she moved right
into sketch writing for the hugely popular Living Room Live,
produced every Tuesday night downstairs
at The Parlor on the Upper West Side.
Over 3 years, this experience proved a
real testing ground for her
writing.
During
these
years,
Jones
expanded
her
work in technical
theatre as a Production Stage
Manager for Starfish Theatreworks, and The
Jekyll and Hyde Club. She was
mentored in Stage Props for IATSE Local One by
the great Barney
Epstein at the St. James
Theatre. After
her
acceptance
into
the
union,
Jones worked props on Broadway for The
Producers, Monty Python's Spamalot, 25th
Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Memphis, and Jersey Boys. Her TV
work
includes the NBC Today
Show and Saturday
Night Live's
digital
shorts
where
she
most
famously made the infamous "dick-in-a-box"
for Justin Timberlake. After
serving as Assistant Head of Props for the
Lincoln Center Festival for several
years, Jones acceded to Prop
Head for Lincoln Center Festival 2011 where she
ran props for the esteemed
Royal Shakespeare Company.
Jones'
extensive background as stage manager led her
into directing the short film Phoebe and
Hal (based on her play) for
her company.
She also
directed Penumbra,
an evening of her one-acts, at the Duplex in
NYC. She
has
written
and
directed
original work
for STICKY at the Bowery Poetry Club, Blue Box
Productions, Manhattan Theatre
Source, The Lamb's Theatre, and the Union Hall
Drama Club.
Her full length play, Backslash, has been developed
through readings at Looking Glass
Theatre, Milkcan Theater, and All You Can Eat
Theater. Eventually
her
fine
arts
training
and writing
found their perfect meld when she co-wrote and
did the production design for
the independent feature film, The
Last
Christmas
Party, for Dora
Mae Productions.
Jones is
a founding member of Dora Mae Productions, a
member of IATSE Local One and AEA.
She received her B.A. in Literature and Theater
from Sarah Lawrence College and put in several
years
serving as Chair of the
Young Alumni Committee and Co-Chair of the
Admissions Committee for the college. She
recently received her M.A. in Comparative
Literature and History from SUNY
Stony Brook. She lives in Upper Manhattan with
her young daughter and husband. Her blog, Memory
Jones, chronicles her experiences
navigating the mysterious waters of raising a
child in New York City. |