Various Freelance Projects

Rabbit Hole

Insight Theatre / Director, 2011

The Ladue News: Under Jason Cannon’s carefully crafted direction, Insight Theatre Company’s finely calibrated presentationi finishes the company’s fourth season with a poignant flourish… The distance of the Heagney stage from the audience contrasts sharply with the intimate Studio Theatre where The Rep mounted its earlier production, but Cannon overcomes that potential problem by keeping the focus on the work of his splendid cast… The remarkable scene between Jason and Becca displays Lindsay-Abaire’s insightful writing skill as well as Cannon’s directorial finesse… Rabbit Hole is a well-told tale of an unspeakably tragic event and its numbing aftermath, finely realized in Insight Theatre’s moving presentation.
Joe Pollack: A first-rate production… strong performance by Donna Weinsting… good work from Lara Buck… [Chris Hickey] is excellent and Jenni Ryan’s portrayal is a fine match. There’s a reality about their performances, perhaps brought about by Jason Cannon’s calm, mature direction… An excellent drama about a sensitive subject, handled with all the proper care.
KDHX: Credit for Insight’s thoughtful production needs to go to director Jason Cannon for giving this often-performed domestic tragedy a deliberate and coherent reading. He constructs a through line illuminating the play’s use of parallelism in a dual context that insures that the ending makes sense to the audience.
Two on the Aisle: A moving production by Insight Theatre Company… Jason Cannon’s direction is very sensitive to the plays’ rhythm of disclosure and his excellent cast conveys the character’s emotions with admirable restraint… The solace is hard won. There’s no sentimentality… Rabbit Hole won the Putlizer Prize for drama in 2007 and Insight’s staging lets us know why… Very, very well done in this production.
Java Journal (Steve Allen): Powerful direction… an excellent production… one to remember… Director Jason Cannon really has a feel for this heart-wrenching drama… It’s one you won’t want to miss.
The Vital Voice: The story seems more organic than episodic, as is a danger with this script, and that is a major accomplishment by Cannon.

Macbeth

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis / Supporting Actor (“Banquo & Caithness”), 2011

Hamlet

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis / Supporting Actor (“Horatio”), 2010

WINNER 2011 Kevin Kline Award: Outstanding Production of a Play
NOMINEE 2011 Kevin Kline Award: Outstanding Ensemble in a Play

Saint Joan

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis / Supporting Actor (“La Hire & English Soldier”), 2009

KDHX: Jason Cannon is…extraordinary as the “English soldier” in the epilogue.

The Birthday Party

Black Cat Theatre / Supporting Actor (“McCann”), 2006

Named BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR by St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The RiverFront Times: Cannon imbues McCann with compelling complexity, moving believably from obsessive paper-tearing to violence to a sweetly sung Irish love song. What sets his work apart from most of the other actors is a sense of living through the pauses rather than waiting for them to end.

Touch

Vanity Theatre / Lead Actor (“Kyle Kalke”), 2006

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Jason Cannon dominates the play with a gripping portrayal of Kyle, a brilliant young astronomer mourning his murdered, beloved bride. Most of Act One is his monologue…Cannon reveals a surprising physical ease that makes the audience comfortable with him. That way, we’re already close to him as his story takes terrible turns. Instead of making us want to turn away, Cannon’s Kyle keeps us so close that we want to comfort him.

Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got the Will?)

Hothouse Theatre / Director, 2006

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Crisp… Director Jason Cannon lets his actors sketch their characters in flashy strokes. But he draws out nice details, too.
KDHX: Everyone in the production was delightful… fun to watch… definitely worth seeing.

Omnium Gatherum

HotHouse Theatre / Supporting Actor (“Jeff”), 2004

RiverFront Times: Yet one thing about this production works as tightly as a well-wound clock, and that is Jason Cannon’s thoughtful, ruminative portrayal of a New York City fireman. Throughout the evening it’s as if Cannon is acting in a different script from everyone else. While other actors are playing the lines, Cannon is playing the character… Cannon continues to seek truth through stillness. Here his focused search pays off in an ever intriguing, at times poignant, performance.

No Exit

Spotlight Theatre / Director, 2004

The RiverFront Times: The challenge for the director is to instill a disembodied philosophical tract with humanity, energy and momentum… Jason Cannon has sought to suffuse the dead with life through an assiduous attention to movement. Here it’s almost as it the three actors really are in a tag-team match.
KDHX: If there are serious obstacles to mounting this text successfully, this production avoids them well enough that they might as well not be there… I cannot single out any one cast member for special praise: they are consummately professional as an ensemble. For that, and for the clarity of their interpretation as a whole, they must share the credit with director Jason Cannon… a very satisfying experience.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Vanity Theatre / Producer, Director, Light&Sound Design, 2003

The Ladue News: Brilliantly directed by Jason Cannon. Simply put, Vanity’s production of Edward Albee’s savage, shocking and stupendous drama is masterful in its conceptualization and its interpretation. Despite its three acts and nearly three hours of performance time, the Vanity production under Jason Cannon’s direction is riveting virtually throughout the entire show. This brilliant production [is] a must-see for any devotee of serious theatre.
The RiverFront Times: The best compliment to a director in a realistic, character-driven play like this is that the directing was invisible. Jason Cannon deserves that compliment—clearly he encourages actors to take risks and play each moment. The result is that the action seems spontaneous instead of staged.

The Three Sisters

Washington University in St. Louis (Equity guest artist) / Lead Actor (“Vershinin”), 2003

The RiverFront Times: The evening is anchored in the Vershinin of Jason Cannon. Whenever he appears, the play attains an urgent hush. Cannon’s weary soldier justifies and exploits the production’s stillness; his mesmerizing performance is the essence of simplicity.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Alpha Players / Lead Actor (“Jack Worthing”), 2002

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR for Alpha Players 2001-02 Season

KDHX: That fine actor Jason Cannon, as Jack Worthing…often catches Wilde’s rhythms—he plays the final scene, when his character discovers who he really is, with deliciously bold pauses.

It’s All True

HotHouse Theatre / Lead Actor (“Orson Welles”), 2001

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Jason Cannon’s take on [Orson] Welles is larger than life; he fills the stage with boastful laughs, huge gestures, and a roaring, earth-shattering voice… In his quieter, thoughtful moments we see Cannon’s true talent and knack for honesty and emotion on stage… In a scene where he comes home to catch his wife in bed with another man, his silence is loud and clear.
RiverFront Times: Jason Cannon lustily devours the role of the egomaniacal Welles.

Actor Director Plays