Behind The Scenes Jacob Titus Kane

A loud boom echoes throughout the auditorium as a steel bullet pierces my heart. I fall to my knees, blood rushing from the open wound. The world fades out around me as I see the life drain from my best friend’s eyes beside me. The lights dim as the audience roars in applause. Many asked how I got into character for this role, and how I was able to portray loss so accurately. What I love about theatre is pretending to be someone I’m not. Nobody knew how familiar this role really was for me.

I’ve been an actor my whole life, but I didn’t always have a stage. My mother, a high school dropout who’s always trying to make ends meet. My father, bless his soul, was not a perfect man. He was a drug addict and an alcoholic. He always tried to make time for me but his priorities were clear. I remember coming home from elementary school and seeing my dad on the floor, seizing and frothing from the mouth. Every day I prayed that he’d be alive when I opened my front door. Then one day, my life changed. I opened the door. “Your father’s in jail honey.” Those five words marked the end of my childhood at the age of 9. I was angry, angry that my dad was taken away from me. He was my world as a child. Growing up I realized he never looked at me...