Spotlight On...Jacob Thompson

Name: Jacob Thompson

Hometown: Des Moines, Iowa

Education: BFA in Theater/Speech from Wagner College, NYC

Select Credits: The Pirates of Finance (Bill Brilliant, Signature Theater); Beauty and the Beast (Beast, Arts Center of Coastal Carolina); Bye, Bye Birdie (Conrad Birdie, Inside Broadway Tour)

Why theater?: They won't pay me to play Xbox in my underwear? But seriously, it is truly the most alive I have ever felt.  The rest of life is sleepwalking.  I know my past and my future on stage and can truly appreciate the now.

Tell us about The 3rd Gender: This totally new and different Sci-Fi epic takes place hundreds of years in the future when all of humanity is "The Third Gender". War, poverty and injustice no longer exists... except in rare instance, when someone is born different.

What is it like being a part of The 3rd Gender?: Naked.  Or very, very near.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Small, contemporary adult musicals, especially dark ones.  When someone can not only speak of what scares them, or moves them; but sing about it, on a brightly lit platform in front of a judgmental audience. That inspires me.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Any character in a Sondheim show.  Roles like that can get you through a dozen Smokey Joe's. From the comedy of the Princes in Into the Woods to the honesty of Bobby in Company.

What’s your favorite showtune?: "What Would I Do" from Falsettos.  I sang it at my final show choir concert in high school.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: My husband.  He is so passionate about the non-performing side of theater.  His intelligence and integrity set him apart from anyone else in the business.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: My story isn't finished yet.  I'll let you know when it is.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I'm obsessed with Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.  There's nothing like it in the past decade, on B'way or off.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Booze and cheese.

What’s up next?: The most wonderful and terrifying part of this business is I have no idea.

For more on Jacob, visit http://jacobthompson.net/ For more on The Third Gender, visit http://the-third-gender.com/