Meet Jon-Mykul Bowen

We were lucky to catch up with Jon-Mykul Bowen recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jon-Mykul, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?

Very good question! Being from Barbados at the time growing up, being an actor as a full time job was a pipe dream or unrealistic. So I was used to being the only person in spaces – at school, work or otherwise, who fully wanted to pursue acting professionally. Then I moved and it flipped – I was far from home and there are a lot of people who want to be actors, but they don’t look like me or culturally relate to me. And especially when I had to work on a character with a different culture than me, and things came up where I wasn’t aware of a common custom or I couldn’t figure out why things were the way they are.

It can be super layered because of all the labels that intersect me – being Black and a Caribbean immigrant to the States. While I was fortunate to have two others on the same journey with similar backgrounds, there are a lot of times now that I am the only person with my cultural background or racial identity within the spaces I am invited.

I remind myself that I am enough. I embrace the fact that I am different, and I display it fully where I can. For me it’s straightforward – I cannot control your prejudices and thoughts about me because of who I am, I’m not dealing with that, I don’t have the time. I am all parts of me, and if I am not invited, then the opportunity wasn’t meant for me in the first place. The rehearsal rooms and projects that do accept me and hire me, I bring myself and I am celebrated for it, because I bring a fresh new way of doing things and I work hard.

In addition to that, when I am in the room I also really strip it down to just being me. The only person I represent is myself, and I don’t put pressure on myself to represent my identities any more than my own reputation and happiness. At the end of the day, I’m the only person who has to live with me 100% of the time.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Yes I’m an actor and I am originally from Barbados. But growing up, I wasn’t going to be a professional actor, I had wanted to be a forensic scientist. But when I had applied for university, the application froze, and I decided that I couldn’t go through submitting that again, so I went into acting instead.

I trained and performed in shows, musical theater actually, with Operation Triple Threat in Barbados, and there I tried my hardest to “catch up” with the others. Spanning a few years of shows and working, I was finally accepted into The American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Initially I was supposed to move here in 2020 but then the pandemic hit and we all know what happened from there. On top of that there was a lot of uncertainty, a volcanic eruption from a nearby island that also was a factor, figuring out money and vaccines and everything. But through it all I made it! I attended and finished their two year conservatory program, and I was invited to join their third year Company Program and completed that in February. Now I pursue a career in the arts and in many original plays and projects.

I’ve been in a few so far: I was selected to be a member of Personal Pizza Party and the Elif Collection’s The Oven 2024 Actor cohort, I am currently in rehearsal for two short plays – Cellfish by Karen Campion and Stinky Bird by Seth Freeman, and I am soon to be in rehearsal for an original 90 minute devised play called MAD MAD MAD that I helped devise and make songs and lyrics for, premiering in September 2024. I’ve also done stage management as well. I get involved in a lot of aspects of the stage – truly a multi-hyphenate if you will.

I would say, looking back, that it was an Odyssey that is still ongoing. I’ve been blessed to be invited to a lot of great people and various types of work, both here and in Barbados. I’m always about finding the truth and digging deep, and answering three big questions when it comes to art (as taught to me by my teacher Michael Toomey) : 1) Does it make us laugh/feel? 2) Does it make us think? 3) Does it teach us something about the human condition.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1) Stay humble. When I started out, I remembered telling myself that I wasn’t walking amongst the giants, I am walking with the giants. It’s not about competition either. Acting is about life, and how both minute and universal it can be. Only you can live life like you, so there is no competition because there is no other you.

2) Learn and apply as much as you can. I read and researched and studied almost everything – and I put the work in places I frequent. On my Instagram I follow a lot of pages for acting/film and I save posts or interviews that have great insights, I have a plethora of books that I reference for every project. When I’m out I people watch and I try to break down the real life drama or moments with script analysis as if it was a play, just to reverse the process a little, or I daydream what happened before. I first stepped onto a stage 15 years ago, but I still bring the same curiosity and focus like I did all those years ago. Don’t be stuck on one thing, try them all! Find what works for you and stay consistent at it.

3) You have time. Give yourself time and grace. When I started out I hated the phrase and pushed myself hard, and it had it’s use. But I also had to give myself time to digest it. Make a ritual. For me, every Friday evening into Saturday midday I don’t look at anything with work – for those hours I do everything else. And learning is a spiral. A thing you read one year, you may have trouble with it for the next two. Or you relearn it and it finally makes sense. It’s all part of the process.

And lastly, for my internationals/beginners in this journey, especially if you are coming from an area where acting is readily accessible, don’t be afraid to start something or do it remotely. You are just as valid an artist if you aren’t in New York or LA. It is hard, and it is not for everyone, but you are just as deserving.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

I joke that I feel overwhelmed daily, which isn’t that far off.

I like to keep myself busy, but it does sometimes leave me overwhelmed. I remember one time I had to fly home for a funeral of a close family member, attended the funeral, do a talk back as an actor, fly back to NY, then do a tech, dress and the performance – all in 72 hours! And that was after months of having 9 AM through 10 PM days.

First of all, don’t feel guilty for being overwhelmed. These feelings are valid and are there for a reason. Secondly, you need to pause. When you’re in the middle of the storm you can’t see the sun on the other side. You just have to survive until the clouds open again.

The best advice I have is to breathe. Especially if emotions and tensions are running high. Sometimes the problem isn’t how big something is, but how our feelings can magnify it – even if they are valid. If you have to cry, cry it out. Express it in some safe non-harmful way. I also struggle with this part too, a lot, so it’s easier said than done but let it run it’s course.

When I drained the emotion out, it all seems doable. I then put things in order of what comes first. I also love stacking things, if on my way to do one thing I can do another, great!

Also, sleep. If it isn’t immediate, sleeping on something also works, then you are both rested and might have dreamed up a solution.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jm-bowen.com

Image Credits

Darnell Bennett Photography

Bronwen Sharpe