BWW Interviews: Jacinda Rose Swinehart - No One Can Bring Her Down

Jacinda Rose Swinehart is one of the four fabulously talented women currently burning up the stage in Quest of the Cavemen at the Great American Playhouse. Her energy is magnetic, she moves, sings and busts out the funny at a level on par with the best in the business. She's a working performer and busy mom, but she took the time to talk to me at the end of May. I asked about her life, training and career.

JRS: I was born and raised in Tucson, AZ. I have always had a flair for the dramatic and comedy, and have always been outgoing and competitive. I grew up in a household with two incredible parents who have always been supportive of my life choices, especially in choosing a career as an actress. Sometimes, they believed in me more than I did. I have always been a character actress, mainly because I am a plus size woman. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE myself. I think I'm amazing. (Hey, if you don't love YOU, who will?) I've never had an issue with confidence because I was raised to love myself for who I am. I have been a working actress since 2000, and have worked with such companies Pittsburgh CLO, West Virginia Public Theater, Arizona OnStage Productions, and many more. I have had many incredible opportunities to be a working actor. Last year, I was lucky enough to originate a role in a new musical called The *D Word, by Jeanie Linders who wrote Menopause: The Musical. I got to do the cast album, and it was a dream come true! I am currently working for The Great American Playhouse in Oro Valley. Its a hilariously fun Melodrama theater where I literally have so much fun on stage every night, that I thank my lucky stars to have such amazing employers. To have an opportunity to make people laugh every day is a true blessing.

My interest in singing happened when I watched The Little Mermaid for the first time as a child. Ever since that moment, I dreamed of being the voice of a Disney Princess. I would even dive under the water in the pool and try to sing. Needless to say, that didn't work very well! When I was in 7th Grade, I joined the beginning choir, The Desert Stars because I did not make it into the advanced choir. All things happen for a reason... and thank goodness It did, because I never would have met Mrs. Watts. She was the most vibrant, enthusiastic, supportive teacher I've ever had. She believed I could do anything, and believed in my talent. She introduced me to the marvelous world of musicals and theater. We would do theatrical performances and show choir type performances and my love grew from there. After that year I was asked to join the Advanced choir after the director heard one of my solos in a concert. I turned him down and stayed A Desert Star to be with Mrs. Watts. She encouraged me to register for the Musical Theater class in high school and to stay true to myself.

In high school I was very involved in drama, musical theater, and choir. After 4 years of plays, musicals, and choir concerts, I decided that I wanted to make theater my career. I went to Point Park University and trained to become the best performer I could be. It wasn't all happiness and sunshine, but I learned many important lessons along the way. Including staying true to myself, believing in my talents, and trusting myself as an actor.

I think that a college environment is more than just an education. It's the wondeful opportunity to discover who you really are as a person, your strengths, weaknesses, and who your real friends are. I had a very respected teacher who was directing me in a show in college. I have always had to work hard on my acting, because singing and dancing came so naturally to me. While in rehearsals for this show, I was told, to my face in so many words, that I could sing and dance the part, but I was a terrible actress. This spoke right to the only insecure part of me as a young adult. This experience changed me, but for the better. It took many many years for me to recover, I'll be honest. It was brutal, but I wouldn't have worked so hard on my technique and honesty while acting if I hadn't had that experience. It taught me better than anything that being true to you is in fact the only way to survive in this career. You will hear "no, you're too tall, too short, too fat, too thin, too ugly, too pretty, can't sing..." a hundred million times in your career. " Winston Churchill said, "Success is the ability to move from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm."