About the Jonah Mac Theatre
and what makes it so special

The Jonah Mac Theatre was built in partnership with the Jonah Maccabee Foundation, in memory of our beloved student, Jonah Dreskin. We are so lucky here at The Play Group Theatre that we have not just one, but two beautiful theatres, each available to provide the right stage for our students, at the right moment in their creative journey. And, each with their own distinct personality - just like our students! Here's a bit about the Jonah Mac's personality (and that of the boy it is named for) and why it is the perfect home for our First Stage students!

Billy and Ellen named their son Jonah Maccabee Dreskin. When we met him, we called him Jonah. It seemed the right thing to do - it was his name. And it suited him. When Jonah went off to college, he pulled Ellen and Billy aside on move-in day and asked them not to call him Jonah - he wanted to be known as Mac. And there at Buffalo University, that was his name. His friends only knew him as Mac. He was carving out a new, adult identity for himself. We don’t know where he would have landed with that - what he would have ultimately called himself.

We named this theatre - Jonah’s theatre - the Jonah Mac Theatre, because we want to honor the child that Jonah was while he was here at PGT, and the adult he was choosing to be out in the world. And we hope that all of our students will be inspired by that - to fully embrace their childhoods, and to lean into who they are while in the warm embrace of their parents and this theatre, and then use that as a foundation to go out and create the adulthoods they envision for themselves.

Jonah was really friendly. Not just friendly….but FRIIIEEEENNNNDLY. Like it was his mission. So it was really important to us that we fill the Jonah Mac Theatre with welcoming, vibrant color, and warm lights. My favorite memory of Jonah is from callbacks for Secret Garden. The show calls for a cast of adults (which in our world means teenagers) and just two young children. Back in our studios, before this beautiful theatre, we were in a small room and there were a ton of teenagers, and just a couple of younger kids. Among the younger kids: a young Noah Weiner at his first ever PGT callback. He was super nervous and totally overwhelmed by all the noise and all the big kids in a crowded space. At the beginning of every callback, the first thing we do is tell everyone to take 2 minutes and find someone they don’t know and make a new friend. Well, Noah (who was about 9) was so nervous that he crawled under the upright piano that was up against the wall. And when I looked up, Jonah (who was about 16) had crawled under the piano with him, to introduce himself and make a new friend. Jonah stayed there with Noah until he felt confident enough to come out. (it took a while!) Our orange piano is a fixture in the Jonah Mac Theatre. It is for all the little Noahs who need refuge, and for all those, like Jonah, who are friendly enough to join them and make a new friend.

To know Jonah was to be prepared for the unexpected. He was full of surprises. You would say “hey, Jonah” and he would sweep you up and swing you around in a big hug. Not just his friends. Me. And Steven. That joyful element of surprise created a feeling of whimsy that followed Jonah around. And it made him such a great actor….brilliant, really. Audiences just loved that they never quite knew what to expect from him - his work on stage always felt spontaneous and fresh. And so we’ve included surprises in the Jonah Mac Theatre: a random orange chair; a random blue pipe. We want our students to surprise themselves, and each other. To let themselves take creative risks, and wander away from their prepared plan, to take their craft seriously but never take themselves too seriously.

Our Jonah was able to listen to the beat of his own heart. He didn’t look sideways to see what everyone else was doing when choosing who to be, or how to think… or what to wear. He didn’t care that nobody else was wearing a black and white checkered fedora hat. He liked it, so he wore it. We honor that confident, creative, non-conforming spirit with floor to ceiling black and white checkered curtains, and we hope that our students will be inspired to be bold, courageous and totally their own selves. We want our students to Dare to be Different, as Jonah did.

The truth is, these curtains were a total pain to install….but they are totally magnificent! Just like Jonah! Throughout the installation, we ran into one unforeseen obstacle after another. It took days longer than anticipated. I kept hearing Steven say something to the effect of “Why won’t you do what I want you to do?!?!” It felt familiar. As Jonah’s parents and directors can attest, raising and teaching Jonah felt like that… a lot! But once the curtains were installed, we stood back and were awestruck, speechless at how they transformed the entire theatre. We couldn’t get over how amazing they were. Which also felt familiar. It is just how we felt when we watched Jonah on stage. Awestruck. Speechless. Unable to believe how amazing he was. That was Jonah: a total pain, and totally worth it! We want our students to know that it is ok to be a pain. It is ok to struggle. It is ok to be difficult. It is ok to hit obstacles along the way. Getting to “installation” isn’t always a straight line. Often, the obstacles are what get you to the magnificence. It doesn’t have to be easy. We, the adults who love you, are ready to struggle with you.

This theatre does not take away our loss. And we will always miss Jonah. But something about designing the Jonah Mac Theatre logo with the Dreskins, cutting it out, sanding it, staining it, so it is just right for hanging outside the theatre door… helped. When we couldn’t find a light fixture to hang in the odd two story tall area by the windows, creating something by hand from scratch helped. So, thank you for that. To the Dreskins, and to all who loved and lost Jonah Dreskin, we pledge that as artists and educators we will continue to work to make that loss matter here in the Jonah Mac Theatre.

Thank you to the Jonah Maccabee Foundation for giving us a space that honors Jonah, and for helping PGT to provide scholarships and theatre programming to all kids throughout the year.