You Should Know … Jake Schwartz

By Charlotte Freedberg

Towson resident Jake Schwartz got into musical theater unconventionally.

Now, the 25-year-old is directing “First Date,” his fifth show for Annapolis Summer Garden Theater. The show opened June 29 and runs until July 22. Schwartz is passionate about show business, both acting and directing.

He has also worked as a camp counselor at J Camps and as department chair of Beth Tfiloh’s summer theater camp.

When did you start doing musical theater?

My first show was “13: The Musical.” It was in 2016 with Third Wall Productions. I played a character named Brett, and I was cast by the wonderful Mike Zellhoffer because he told me I couldn’t sing, but he thought it was funny and that I had potential. And now here I am.

When did you realize that performing or directing was for you?

I was in the sixth grade. I was with my best friend at the time, Brandon, and Pokémon Platinum had just come out. And we were doing this thing where on every field trip we’d bring our Pokémon Platinum. So on the bus, we’d do a battle and whoever lost the battle had to do a dare. I lost a battle, and my dare was to go audition for the drama club at Ridgely Middle School. I auditioned, and I did so badly, but the teacher said, “We have no guys, so we need you.” And I was put into it and realized it was a lot of fun, and that I loved pretending and making people laugh. Then I went to a performing arts high school. I went to [George Washington] Carver [Center for Arts and Technology]. I met the incredible Paul Diem, who was my acting teacher. He taught me about the craft; it made me a lot more interested. I went to the University of Maryland, and while I studied secondary education, I took a lot of theater classes as well. And it just kept spiraling, and now it’s kind of an obsession that has become pretty synonymous with me.

Directing came because when I was 20, I said, “I want to try it,” because I had been doing so much theater in the area. … It’s really hard, and this is my fifth show I’m directing. I love it. It’s tough. It’s very time-consuming, but it boils down to both of those things are things that make me very happy.

Who’s been your favorite character to play? Why?

I’m gonna give two answers. I had a lot of fun playing Billy in “Bright Star” at Annapolis Summer Garden Theater last year. The character was so out of my typecast and so out of anything that I had done before: being this strong, heroic lead who sings the title song and speaks with a Southern accent the entire time, so much so that I’d slip into it in my everyday life without realizing it. It was so much fun, and the story was really beautiful, and the cast was wonderful.

My second answer is Ren from “Footloose.” The main reason is that I never thought I’d be able to play a role like that because I think back to the kid in sixth grade who lost a bet who was a tree in the drama club, to now being able to hold his own acting, singing and dancing.

What’s been your favorite show to direct? Why?

“First Date: The Musical” is my favorite show I’ve ever directed. And I’m not even saying that for the PR answer, for the advertisement and “come see our show” answer. This show has been awesome. And it primarily boils down to the incredible cast and crew that we have. My big joke is the best thing I did as a director was casting this show because this cast brings it, and they are so, so talented. They put in so much work and they bring so much nuance to every individual decision their character makes. It’s awesome to see, especially in a show as lighthearted and fun as this. It gives it so much. It gives it a bit more deeper meaning that I think the show benefits from and, as for our crew, they’re just phenomenal.

What’s your relationship with Judaism, and what’s a Jewish musical people need to see?

I’m very much still exploring the world. I’m still learning. I didn’t go to Hebrew school, I’ve been bar mitzvahed, and I took that Birthright trip to learn more about my heritage. I think it’s all fascinating. I kind of consider myself to be in the stage where I’m just learning about the world and Judaism as a whole. I think [“First Date”] is interesting because it’s one of the few shows in musical theater where the lead character is Jewish, and it’s touched upon in the show several times how Judaism is important to him. I think it’s very cool.

As for Jewish shows that people should see, I mean, the obvious is “Fiddler on the Roof.” Side note: I did “Fiddler on the Roof” a couple of years ago, I was the one Jewish person in the cast. I played the one non-Jewish character. And that is one of the funniest casting choices I have ever seen.

Charlotte Freedberg is a freelance writer.