Matthew Jones
SLT Member 1981 - 1982
Hi, this is the artist formerly known as... It was finding SLTC that had me throw up my A levels in Maths, Further Maths and Physics to become an actor. True, I haven't had that much success yet - trying for drama schools as a teenager didn't work, classes at the City Lit helped, and a fair bit of Profit-Share was fun. Then of course, there was marriage and family and stuff. Anyway, having given up for 20 odd years, I'm now having a serious stab at a professional career. I'm know now as Math Jones, but my Equity name is Math Sams. There's more about me on myspace.com/mathsams and on Spotlight I loved doing shows at SLTC - it is an amazing theatre and company - and was thrilled to see photos of me at 17 in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum. My solo song was the first after the ensemble opening, all about love making you shake and weak, etc. I was not not acting - I had to grip a column so as not to fall over - nearly shook the set down. I insisted the perm they gave me was shorn as part of the get out. But I was sad not play the teenager in An Offshore Island. Too inexperienced for such a large role, I had the bolshy US Sergeant instead. I think my favorite though was Tommy in Female Transport, even if one night I started to undress to go on for the wrong scene... I abandoned SLTC soon after, I'm afraid to say, for the Beckenham Theatre Centre, doing One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Chicago, and Equus. More recent I've been with the Swan Theatre Amateur in Worcester, doing The Caretaker, Uncle Vanya, The Dresser, Humble Boy and The Memory of Water. Also directing Closer. But now, I am at Birmingham School of Acting - drama school at last - as a mature student on their One Year Diploma. Showcase is next week at the AMbassador's Theatre in London, and then I'm to appear in Jane Eyre (hopefully, as Mr Rochester), in June 2009 at the Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham. Good luck, Math
