Chatham Native Tours with Next Stage Ensemble

Jon Riddleberger, a twenty-five year old member of this year’s Next Stage Ensemble, which is a touring theater troupe at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison, New Jersey, has a certain iconic feline to thank for his budding interest in the theater field.

Back when he was in fifth grade, Riddleberger’s school presented the production of Alice in Wonderland. Though Riddleberger desired the role of the Cheshire Cat, he was originally cast as the Dormouse. Due to some changes in the casting, however, he eventually got the role that he wanted and it all went uphill from there.

His talent was further developed thanks to Laura Russo, who ran a strong theater program at and, Riddleberger said, was very supportive and really made an impact on him theatrically.

Riddleberger participated in a theater summer camp for three years before studying at New York University, where he received his BFA from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University in the Experimental Theatre Wing, a place that promotes individuality and creating original pieces.

“It gives you a strong sense of why you do theater and be an artist as opposed to something else,” said Riddleberger.

This wing specializes in exploration and improvisation as opposed to method acting, which requires more specific, structured tactics to complete a scene. Though he has written and directed, and has a background in puppetry and animation, acting is his primary passion because he considers it the most challenging.

Riddleberger has a true fondness for theater as he shows his interest in seeing how theater could be evolved in America. “I get really excited figuring out the future of theater and how it can become a more relevant art form in this country,” said Riddleberger, “Theater shouldn’t try to compete with film.” To him, adding to the experience is having the performers and audience all in one room.

Riddleberger, who saw a good number of shows at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, applied for the apprenticeship there back in 2008, but was not accepted.

In 2011, he auditioned for the Next Stage Ensemble and made the cut. Described as “quite an adventure” by Riddleberger, the Next Stage Ensemble places its main focus on performances and the members take classes to learn about certain techniques that can support the performances in the tour, which is a process Riddleberger really loves.

In this year’s Next Stage Ensemble tour, Riddleberger plays Berowne in William Shakespeare’s Love Labour’s Lost and Madame Pernelle in Jean Baptiste Moliere’s Tartuffe, both of which, according to Riddleberger, are completely different roles but fun to do.

The tour takes Riddleberger and the rest of the cast throughout New Jersey. These venues include libraries, senior citizen homes, and the shows are all free except for private shows. The tour runs until Aug. 15.

To learn the tour schedule and more about Jon Riddleberger, click here.