Somehow it’s November, and somehow – just weeks after closing Unity – we’re opening our next show in Season 26: All Growed Up, the world premiere of Grounded!  And speaking of ‘all growed up,’ we also got to celebrate the 18th birthday of one of our graduating performers last month.  You will have seen this young man in the lead role in The Three Musketeers, where he stole everyone’s hearts with his enthusiasm and dedication and talent.  We’ve known him longer, though, and have delighted in watching this boy turn into a grown up in shows like Atlantis and The Chip on Your Shoulder.  He is one of the kindest, sweetest, and hardest working young men we’ve had through our doors, and we are so proud to call him one of ours.  And who is this gifted, genuine, grounded, and gallant guy?

November’s YP of the Month is none other than,

Jonas Swain!!!

Jonas has no idea where he would be without Calgary Young People’s Theatre. You may have seen him in past productions such as Atlantis in late 2015, The Three Musketeers in late 2016, and The Chip on Your Shoulder earlier this year. You also may see him in the future in the Outpatient Collective’s latest show Grounded. He’s so thankful for everyone who has supported him along the way; his cast, his lovely crew, and his family. Some would describe Jonas as stoic, handsome, goldenhearted, amazing, intelligent, über modest, very very handsome, and incredibly tall… (however he’s the one that wrote this part so I’d take it with a grain of salt).

The Chip on Your Shoulder in 2017 Cannonball!  (Photo by Rob Galbraith/Little Guy Media)

The beginning of Jonas’ acting career can be pinpointed to one fateful night in 2012 at the Vertigo Theatre. No… Jonas wasn’t acting, however he was seeing his first true live theatre performance, CYPT’s own The Count Of Monte Cristo. His cousin Eli was the starring role and it was AMAZING. The acting, the set, the lighting, the raised band with the really funky name, it all was awe inspiring to a 13 year old Jonas in the crowd. That show planted an idea into the back of his mind, and that idea would sit for a few years until the summer of 2015. Until Jonas’ other cousin Abby, Eli’s sister gave him one final push towards CYPT (guess it runs in the family) with the show she helped write; Atlantis.

After that Jonas was hooked, there was no way he was leaving after he experienced the warmth that the CYPT family has provided him. He will never let go of that homey feel he gets when he steps through the theatre doors, it’s like the world around him dissolves and all of the stresses of his outside life just disappear. The only thing that matters is the fact that he’s with his favourite people in the world inside a small cozy building he’s grown to call home.

“Acting is simultaneously the hardest and easiest thing I’ve ever done and ever will do.  It’s hard mental work and physical work, however not for one second do I stop and wish for anything different.”

– Jonas Swain

Actors perform a dress rehearsal of The Three Musketeers at West Village Theatre in Calgary on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016. The Calgary Young People’s Theatre production, written by The Outpatient Collective and based on the 1844 Alexandre Dumas novel, runs until Dec. 3, 2016. (Photo by Rob Galbraith/Little Guy Media)

Actors perform a scene from The Three Musketeers at West Village Theatre in Calgary on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016. The Calgary Young People’s Theatre production, written by The Outpatient Collective and based on the 1844 Alexandre Dumas novel, runs from Nov. 23 to Dec. 3, 2016. (Photo by Rob Galbraith/Little Guy Media)

Actors perform a dress rehearsal of The Three Musketeers at West Village Theatre in Calgary on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016. The Calgary Young People’s Theatre production, written by The Outpatient Collective and based on the 1844 Alexandre Dumas novel, runs until Dec. 3, 2016. (Photo by Rob Galbraith/Little Guy Media)