Welcome! What's New?

  • This is my brand new site! (It's a work in progress! Aren't we all?)

  • Currently I'm back in Missouri for the summer, performing in two of my favorite shows at one of my favorite theaters, Maples Repertory Theatre! This season, I'll be playing Dennis Dupree in Rock of Ages and Mr. Green in Clue!

  • In the past year, I'm thrilled to have made my debut at the Paramount Theatre in Peter and the Starcatcher; puppeteered on tour with Kerfuffle and the Lied Center in their new play for very young audiences, Bookworms; and played two classic clowns, Dromio and Shepherd's Son, with The Shakespeare Project!

  • I've recently lived a dream come true, performing with Disney's Winnie the Pooh, where I puppeteered and voiced Tigger and Eeyore / Rabbit / Owl in Chicago (Mercury Theatre), Off-Broadway, LA (Center Theatre Group), and on tour!

  • Since returning to Chicago, I've worked with Manual Cinema, Paramount, Citadel Theatre, The Shakespeare Project, Kerfuffle and Theatre Unspeakable!

  • My touring theater non-profit, The Connecting Routes Project, recently completed our first tour on Amtrak! Exciting new plans to be announced soon!

(I'm that millenial who loves exclamation points!)

About Me

Once introduced by BroadwayWorld as “the consummate journeyman actor,” but most often described as a human Muppet, I’m a Chicago-based actor-singer, puppeteer, producer, teaching artist and arts administrator.I was incredibly shy growing up in Nazareth, PA, but my love for Peanuts cartoons pulled me out of my shell and onstage for the middle school production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. I was thrilled to be one of the 60 students cast (in the typically 7-person show) and played Shermy, a character added in to our production who’s only line was: “Have some of my leftover Sno-Cone, Snoopy!”

After that Sno-Cone, there was no looking back. Following high school, I moved to Philadelphia to study Theater at Temple University, and today, 15 years into my professional career, I’ve worked on over 50 shows with 20+ theater companies and have performed in 14 countries around the world.Recently, I made my Off-Broadway debut, performing as Tigger and Eeyore in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, and bounced around the country with that willy nilly silly old bear on tour, as well as the Chicago and LA productions.Over the past few years, I’ve also started freelancing as a professional photographer with my business, jbernphoto, specializing in portraits, headshots and theater photography. And in 2019, I founded The Connecting Routes Project, a 501c3 theater company that tours original work by train from Chicago to other communities connected to us by railway.It’s been a wonderful journey so far - from Sno-Cone-loving Shermy to a bouncing Tigger - and can’t wait to see what the next 15 years have in store!

Theater-Maker

I believe that stories connect us.As a traveling artist working for 15 years, I've been fortunate to connect with communities through theater across 14 countries, working varied jobs in performance, education, and administration.While in college, I discovered my entrepreneurial passion, co-founding and managing Insomniak Theater Company in my hometown. Before graduating, I had the wonderful opportunity to shadow the company management team of The Lion King National Tour, as well as be the casting intern for Arden Theatre Company.Post-grad, I discovered my passion for exploration, performing all over the nation, wherever work brought me. These experiences trained me extensively as an actor, teaching artist, technician, and an arts administrator. In 2013, I started touring internationally with Argentina’s ArtSpot, performing musicals for students learning English; which instilled a passion for connecting with other communities, and using theater to cross cultural barriers.Wanting to set down roots, I moved to Chicago in 2014 and fell in love with the variety of original work created in this city. Combining my passions for Chicago's theater community, accessible art and community outreach, The Connecting Routes Project was born.The Connecting Routes Project is "America's railway touring theater company," a 501(c)3 nonprofit that strives to connect communities around the nation through shared storytelling. We tour a variety of big-hearted and innovative productions by train from Chicago to towns connected to us by regional and national rail lines, while exchanging stories with our audiences through community storytelling programs.

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Let's Connect!