Conversations with Melanie Jones

Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanie Jones.

Hi Melanie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started acting professionally at 16 years of age, and, after graduating from Brown University, became a member of the prestigious Trinity Rep company in Providence, R.I., where I performed and directed for over a decade.

When my husband, infant daughter and I relocated to Los Angeles, I worked in episodic television and film, most notably as an obstetrician who delivered the youngest Keaton child on FAMILY TIES and as the Nuke ‘Em mom in the original ROBOCOP.

I also created a theatre program in my children’s elementary school, where we staged adaptations of juvenile literature, Shakespeare and original scripts based on American history (inspired by the comedy of Stan Freeberg.)

On stage in LA, I starred as Sister in CRANE, MISSISSIPPI, an original work by Tim McNeil, and as a member of the Elephant Theatre Company, I played the title character in the West Coast premiere of THE LITTLE FLOWER OF EAST ORANGE by Stephen Adly Guirgis. From 2008-2010, I was the Artistic Director of Little Fish Theatre in San Pedro. I performed as Emily Dickinson in THE BELLE OF AMHERST in a wide variety of venues for over 20 years.

In 2003, I inaugurated SCARY STORIES, tales for the witching season read aloud (with sound effects) around a bonfire on the Saturday before Halloween. SCARY STORIES will present its 24th program, one night only, on October 24, 2026. The COVID pandemic inspired an online iteration of SCARY STORIES, which continues: https://melaniejonesstoryteller.com/writer/witch

Reading all those scary stories prompted me to write one of my own, which morphed into a book about young friends who must rescue each other from the world of dreams and an adult novel about the intersection of sex, love and pornography. Writing is a natural limb of the storytelling tree that I’ve been climbing around in my whole life.

I have always been politically engaged, but that commitment has ramped up in the last decade. I am on the leadership team of a local Indivisible chapter, and participate regularly in actions to support democracy, our constitutional freedoms and the rule of law. My theatre training has been helpful in staging events and talking to crowds, and I have embraced a new cohort of friends through this work.

Community has always been the foundation of my pursuits. Theatre is a group art form. presented to living audiences in real time. SCARY STORIES brings a few hundred of my fellow South Bay residents together every October, and the foundation of populist political movements is people. Community and storytelling are the cornerstones of my creative life.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
An artist’s life is always a struggle.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The greatest challenge and reward of a group art form like theatre/film is working with other people. Hollywood is famously nepotistic – I certainly found that to be true. Once, I absolutely nailed an emotional audition, but in the hallway before I went in to read, I heard execs talking about so-and-so’s daughter who was going to get the part. I gave it my all anyway – you never know where meetings may lead. When I produce my own shows, I tend to call on people I know, so I appreciate the dynamics of the closed circle. That said, I have made many new, dear friends through working together, and have always welcomed the opportunity to venture into unknown waters artistically. I have traveled through lots of artistic landscapes: repertory theatre, 99-seat theatre, major films, indie films, producing for stage and film, writing for stage and film. working with children, writing books, designing sets and costumes, and taking on the numberless tasks of staging productions. I am proud to say that I have hung lights and hemmed costumes and sold subscriptions because I love live theatre and these jobs are vital to its success. I am very gratified, each October, when my community shows up for SCARY STORIES, and proud of this unique event that was inspired by my love of reading to my children.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The entertainment industry is in great flux with the development of AI. I do believe that live storytelling, in theatres or around fires (as I do with SCARY STORIES) will survive all changes because humans need stories to make sense of their lives and nothing beats in-person storytelling. Over the centuries, despite religious and governmental pressures, theatre has lived and grown.. Film has a different problem because it is 2-dimensional and pre-manipulated. But I don’t think human beings will want to engage with stories unless other human beings are in them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://melaniejonesstoryteller.com
• Youtube: Melanie Ellen Jones