Jordan Johnson ’13

Major: Theatre
Birthday: 8/2/91
Relationship status: Taken
 
Likes: spicy food, bad horror movies, sunshine, folk music, color between teal, aqua and dark blue, playing in mud, climbing on shit
 
Dislikes/pet peeves: current sitcoms, soaps that come in shapes, when people touch my nose, wet socks
 
What are you involved with on campus?
I really just kind of go to class and do my homework and that’s it…(laughs), I’m involved with a lot of theater. I’m on the executive board of Purple Crayon Players, and as of last night I am their marketing director. Basically we do theater on campus and in the community geared towards young audiences. And I love that, it’s like my family. And then I also audition for shows, so you can usually see me in some sort of performance. Next will be Wrestlepocalypse, which I’m so excited for. I mean, I do theater, that’s what I do.
 
Favorite place you’ve ever been?
Spain, and we went all over. It was great because I got to see a lot of the places that I’d studied about in my high school Spanish classes and whatnot. But then what I really valued was being able to bond with my siblings who are both older than me and none of us live together anymore. So it was a great opportunity to spend some quality time together.
 
Why do you love theater?
I’m a people person and it allows me to explore people at their core, and really find out what makes people do the things they do, why people act the way they act. And it also helps you connect to people both in your cast in working together with that sort of team, but also being able to share something with an audience connects you with so many more people in ways that you never really even understand. You can’t really measure the amount of connections you make throughout the run of the show with people that you’ll never meet, which is awesome.
 
So tell me about Jungalbook.
First of all, this is not the version of Jungle Book that you’ve seen as a child. This takes place on an urban playground and explores sort of this gang rivalry as seen through the eyes of a child. Basically, the premise is it opens with this kid on a playground, and he soon finds that he’s outcast, he doesn’t know anyone and nobody accepts him. And so this mentor comes up to him and hands him this book which turns out to be Jungle Book, and as he begins to read he imagines these animal characters coming to life in the people he knows on the playground. So the whole jungle world lives in his mind and draws some awesome parallels that really make this sort of fantastical world accessible to today’s youth. And I play a monkey named Perchy, and Perchy is much like you would expect any monkey to be. Playful, sort of lives in this mantra of “monkey see, monkey do.” The real blessing of this whole experience is I literally come in, get in costume, and play on a playground for an hour.
 
Perfect day/date with your girlfriend?
The perfect time spent with my girlfriend would be outside on a gorgeous day. And it would start early in the morning, which sucks because it would mean I have to get up early, but once I’m up I love the mornings. So it would be nice and cool and clear, and there would be no plans, but mid-afternoon, we’d be like sweaty and dirty and have had a crazy adventure that we could’ve never imagined and we would’ve found the coolest little place in Evanston or surrounding areas that no one knows about, and it would be our little spot. And then we’d go clean up, have dinner, which she would allow me to eat something ridiculously spicy and make a fool out of myself, but this is my fantasy so it’s happening, then we would go back outside and chill under the stars, because it would be a very clear night, and talk for hours. And at some point, Morty would show up.
 
Why HC loves Jordan:
He’s one of the most lovable people you’ll ever meet. The fact that he’s involved with a theater for young audiences group should tell you everything – he loves adventures, playing, and making people happy. And you can catch him doing all of those things in Jungalbook this weekend – Thurs April 14^th at 7pm, Fri April 15^th at 10am and 7pm, Sat April 16^th at 7pm, and Sun April 17^th at 2pm in the Ethel M. Barber Theater in Northwestern’s Theater and Interpretation Center.