Theatre as Therapy

Using the art of theatre as a way to navigate the world is something that local performing artist Jesse Jensen not only has taught and believes in—it’s something he’s lived. Developing the skills to negotiate, trust and build community are all hallmarks of this style of performance that the South Dakota native espouses tenfold.

“I think so often we just say, ‘kids in arts score better on exams,’ and you never know if that’s a self-selection thing,” Jensen said of the power of the arts in education. “I’ve always tried to thread that out and say that what I’ve observed is that participating in theatre as an ensemble art teaches negotiation skills that are not necessarily something you always need onstage but definitely need in life.”

Growing up in Aberdeen, Jensen himself benefited from this skill-building. An early love of sports forayed into a lifelong love of theatre that can claim roots in educational and community settings.

“When I was very young, I was really into sports. I was tiny, and I wasn’t very athletic, but I could play,” he said. “I always loved the team aspect of it—but I hated that I wasn’t great at it.”

After performing opposite now fellow Sioux Falls performer Molly Wilson in junior high as part of Aberdeen’s production of Once Upon a Mattress, he started a journey of self-discovery.

“Being a part of a community is what always drew me to the community theatre in Aberdeen,” he said “That mindedness—people who understand theatre and are onstage to support and trust each other—makes you feel like you have value.”

His days in the Aberdeen Community Theatre gave him an appreciation for that style of performing organization, something that eventually drew him to his recent stint at the Sioux Empire Community Theatre, now Premiere Playhouse.

“I’ve seen community theatre at so many levels,” he said. “It was one of the first places that welcomed me at a very young age to try this thing. I’ve always felt this at every community theatre I’ve been to. You don’t have to have any experience. You don’t have to be Fred Astaire when you walk in the door. You are welcome, and they’re going to help you grow.”

Jensen’s love of theatre education got him involved in local children’s theatre after college at University of South Dakota, when he toured with the Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged, doing residencies and teaching Shakespeare around the state.

His family then spent some time away from South Dakota, though, as his wife accepted a medical residency in Chicago. Jensen found himself working at the Chace Community School there and eventually the Piven Theatre Workshop, where his love of youth training flourished.

“That was a really cool program, because it was a cycle of mentorship, and students who really loved it could become apprentices and teachers in the system,” he said of the program that taught the Viola Spolin method of improvisational theatre. “They also had this social work aspect of what they were doing—working with people of all abilities and a street-reach program they were heavily involved in.”

As Jensen’s wife’s work brought their family to Iowa City for her fellowship at the University of Iowa and eventually in 2013 to her current position at Sanford Children’s in Sioux Falls, he largely spent his days with his three young children. But once his youngest entered full-time school, he started to invest again in local theatre.

Starting with founding his own company, alongside local theatre artists Patrick Pope and Chris Andrews, Fishmongers Actors Theatre wrote a comedic theatre piece centered around the phenomenon of “awkward family photos” that brought the trio to the Minnesota Fringe Festival in 2015.

“To see it well-received, it was both therapy and entertainment at the same time,” he said. “Going to the festival, we had the opportunity to see a lot of different groups who were doing similar things to what we were—others traditional, others avant-garde.

“I thought it was one of the coolest regional art projects I’ve been a part of. It’s something I totally recommend to all artists in Sioux Falls.”

And this style of theatre is something Jensen hopes to see more of in the community—he’s excited by the prospect of small, niche theatre organizations cropping around the city.

“The biggest challenge we found with Fishmongers was that I was used to being able to easily find small, affordable venues in Chicago when I wanted to try something new—that wasn’t really the case here.

“But what I’m seeing now is that there are all these other small theatre companies that are trying to do things like installation theatre, working in nontraditional spaces, and maybe some of those spaces can be worked into what they have in Chicago—where every neighborhood has one or two storefront theaters, converted into 40-to-50-seat spaces. We’re in that era of risk-taking where companies are trying things and adding to the rich history in Sioux Falls. It’s really exciting.”

As for the future for Jensen himself, though he’s taking a stint away from the Premiere Playhouse to recenter his focus on his young family, his passion still burns for theatre education in particular.

“I miss working with kids and watching them develop, falling in love with something they discover they’re gaining confidence in,” he said. “If you can be on stage and feel comfortable in your skin, that’s another great soft skill to learn.

“More people are afraid of public speaking than dying. For someone like me who deals with a. diagnosis in general anxiety disorder and panic disorder, learning to be on stage and be in my own skin was huge. To me, that’s a place where I most feel like home, because I’m so used to overcoming those challenges. That, to me, is therapy.”