JARROD YUSKAUSKAS

JARROD YUSKAUSKAS
 
received his Master of Fine Arts Degree in Acting from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival/University of Alabama's Professional Actor Training Program and his BA in Theatre from DeSales University. 

In the Fall of 2024 Jarrod co-founded New Victoria Productions, or the New Vic of Tamaqua, with the intent of producing live theatre in the Tamaqua Area.  Their inaugural production was a one-man street theatre adaptation of "Christmas Carol" told by Ebenezer Scrooge, hosted by Tink's Antiques Old Fashioned Christmas Market. The company name honors Tamaqua's Jewel Box Victoria Theatre, home to live theatre and cinema from 1914 through the 1970's.

He was most recently seen onstage in "Heathers, The Musical" in a return to the Cedar Crest College stage as... an array of Dads.
 
As an actor, he has performed with the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival (including Cassius in their touring production of “Julius Caesar”), two seasons with Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, BRAT Productions, Bucks County Playhouse, Media Theatre (“Annie” with Wanda Sykes), the Alabama Shakespeare Festival (including the title character in “Winnie the Pooh, the Musical” and as John Tarleton in Shaw’s “Misalliance”), and in 2020 fulfilled a dream playing Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot in "Murder in the Studio," at Cedar Crest College under the direction of JoAnn Wilchek Basist.  Summer 2022 found Jarrod onstage with Northampton Community College Summer Theatre as Rev. Moore in "Footloose," Sterling in "Jeffrey," and Nick Bottom in the Lehigh Valley premiere of "Something Rotten."

Civic Theatre of Allentown has proved a perennial artistic home for Jarrod, where he will play Phil Connors in the Lehigh Valley premiere of "Groundhog Day, The Musical" opening May 9, 2025.  Other Civic credits include Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol," Rooster Hannigan in "Annie," Joe Mantello's one-man stage adaptation of David Sedaris's "The Santa Land Diaries"(twice!), the titular role in "Young Frankenstein," for which he received an ABE Award as Best Actor in a Musical, Gomez Addams in their production "The Addams Family - The Musical," and John Wilkes Booth in Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's "Assassins," which earned him a third ABE for Best Actor in a Musical. 

Jarrod was also home onstage with Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre, most recently in "Anything Goes" as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh with Mia Scarpa (Dolly Levi in 2015, Mama Rose in 2016) and choreographed by renowned artist Shelley Oliver. Other Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre performances: Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady," which earned him a fourth Best Actor ABE Award, their wildly successful production of “Hello, Dolly!” (as Horace Vandergelder - ABE Award, Best Actor in a Musical), as well as their "Gypsy" (Herbie), “Spamalot” (Sir Robin), "Crazy For You" starring Frankie Grande (Zangler), and "HMS Pinafore" (Sir Joseph Porter).  ​
​
Behind the scenes, he has taught for The Lesson Center, DeSales University Summer Theatre Institute, and Civic Theatre School in addition to serving as Choreographer for Philadelphia Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” Dialect Coach for the Muhlenberg College productions of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” "Street Scene," "The Miss Firecracker Contest," and "Pirates of Penzance" and productions at Civic Theatre and Lafayette College.  Jarrod has also served as Adjunct Faculty for Muhlenberg College and Lafayette College's theatre programs, directing "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for the latter and will direct in the Cedar Crest College season in 2026. 
 
He served for twelve years as Director of Theatre Arts at Moravian Academy, directing "Puffs!," "...Spelling Bee," "HMS Pinafore," "State Fair," "The Boy Friend," "An Ideal Husband," "Cymbeline," "Arcadia," "Into the Woods," “Man of La Mancha,” "Hello, Dolly!," "Much Ado About Nothing," "Twelfth Night" and Outstanding Production by a Smaller School Freddy Award winners  “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” "My Favorite Year," "Big Fish," and "Urinetown."  In the classroom, he has developed a five course theatre curriculum, including three levels of Actor Training and a course in Shakespeare Analysis and Performance (created and taught with Dr. Catherine Moore).  He also stepped onstage occasionally, including Prospero in the MA Theatre production of "The Tempest," directed by Dr. Catherine Moore.

Spring of 2023 saw Jarrod enter the world of Real Estate, becoming a licensed Real Estate Agent in Pennsylvania with the Vince Boyle Team at RE/MAX Real Estate.