John Rousseau is on the staff of Pacific Repertory Theatre as its Technical Director and has been a part of GroveMont/PRT since the first TheatreFest was created in 1984. As an actor, director, builder of sets and for his adaptation of stories and historical events into plays, he is responsible for much of the unique character of the productions of GroveMont/PRT.

John grew up in a rural area called Bryson near King City; his father was in the army. His earliest theatre experience was in high school. They did three productions a year and he worked backstage running lights. For some reason he never wanted to be on stage, but from his earliest years he had been interested in live theatre. His father had graduated from Pasadena Playhouse in 1934 and had a lot of theatre stories, his theatre makeup, and other memorabilia.

John first came to the Monterey Peninsula in 1966 to attend Monterey Peninsula College. He originally thought about majoring in physical education, but a friend was majoring in drama and that seemed more appealing. In his second month at MPC he got a paid technical position in the theatre department. Then he was drafted and spent a short time in the army, eventually returning to the peninsula and MPC.

Before too long he joined up with a group interested in doing original work, and for three years they worked as the resident company at Hidden Valley Music Seminars. The plays they performed were children's fairy tales. Originally they used old scripts. Soon they tired of this and started doing Story Theatre which is performing fairy tales in improvisational style, working with the audience, telling the stories, and using a minimum of props. They began to call themselves The Magic Carpet.

They eventually decided to do stories written by the children themselves, and performed over 30 original shows all over the United States and Canada. On a trip to San Francisco with friends, they met another friend who offered them a little theatre on Clement Street if they would perform the work there. So the Magic Carpet moved to San Francisco and also toured all over the United States, Canada, and once to Eurupe.

Concurrently John taught theatre at Mount Tamalpais High School with the students creating and performing original productions. The Magic Carpet then produced seventeen half-hour programs on Nickelodeon. They performed in San Francisco and toured from 1971 to 1986.

During the last few years of The Magic Carpet, John worked for a short time at California Repertory Theatre. There he met Stephen Moorer. Stephen asked him if he knew how to build scenery and he said " Yes." At that point TheatreFest was born and John has been continuously employed by GroveMont/PRT ever since. GroveMont had been performing nomadically. In 1985 John built the first TheatreFest set. In 1986 GroveMont found a permanent home at the Hoffman Playhouse.

Since the inception of TheatreFest and his employment by GroveMont/PRT, John has adapted and direc-ted Fairy Tale Theatre, has written and directed a historic play based on the pirate Hippolyte de Bouchard, has written three short scripts for "Actors in the Adobes," and recently adapted and directed MR. TOAD'S WILD RIDE and THE SNOW QUEEN. He performs numerous technical jobs for PRT such as set-building and electrical work. And he has appeared in numerous productions including DOWN AN ALLEY FILLED WITH CATS, THE MADNESS OF GEORGE III, HENRY IV, MOLLY SWEENEY, and DEATH OF A SALESMAN. He also has directed BEIRUT, THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS, and UNDER MILK WOOD.

John definitely has a humorous side and can write quite silly plays, but he gets quite serious when he describes his feeling about theatre and acting. He states, "Theatre allows me to live an honest philosophy in my life and share it with others. Honest feelings move people in whatever way. If they're not being moved, the performance has not been honest. If you're not being honest with yourself, its not fair to the audience or to other actors."

John has an expression he calls "thick air" and describes it, "When it really truly happens, which is really rarely, when the audience really locks into a true emotion which is happening between the actors and the audience....Everything seems to stand still. It's just a moment; as soon as you think you're doing it, you're not." Striving for the creation of this connection between the actor and his audience guides John in his work as an actor, writer, and director.