Daily Inspiration: Meet Jacque Arend

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacque Arend.

Hi Jacque, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in Southwest Michigan, one giant lake away from Chicago. I grew up on SNL, late-night TV and Nick at Night. I moved onto Phoenix in 1999 with hopes of pursuing a film career in LA. However, I got distracted by life and a job in the service industry. In 2005 I returned to Chicago for a summer at iO, an improv comedy mecca of that time. I did this in an attempt to not be old and still waiting tables. Improv seemed like the perfect solution to my wandering spirit who still had a love for the entertainment industry.

Truth was, that although I opted for a film major, which I never completed, I really wanted to be in front of the camera and improv put me back on stage to perform. I fell in love with it, it was exactly what I needed at that time in my life.

My love for it motivated me, and I found a group to perform with as soon as I returned from my summer in Chicago. Through that I connected with the good folks running the Phoenix Improv Festival and joined the staff in 2006. I continued to volunteer for the Phoenix Improv Festival and was the Managing Director for six years. Thanks to my connections and friendships made through that, I co-founded the Torch Theatre and volunteered/worked/instructed for that organization from 2007 to 2018.

Through both of those endeavors, PIF & The Torch Theatre, I learned how to operate a theater, administer a training center, manage volunteers and a website. I offered applied improv, facilitating team building events for corporations, organizations and outreach programs. I also became a community leader, a better listener, an intuitive coach and most of all disciplined, something I always lacked. The school of experience as they say…all fueled by a passion for improv. During this long stint, I did so many wild & wacky things, met some of my best friends, including my husband and had the time of my life.

In 2011, I attended my very first Camp Improv Utopia, created by my good friend Nick Armstrong. This is a sleep away camp retreat for adults who love improv. It was perfect for me and so I fell in love with that, and was a dedicated Camper, until 2013 when Nick expanded and brought me on as staff. I became the registration coordinator for all Camps in 2015 and recently within the last year got promoted to General Operations Manager and Education Director. This organization connects improvisers and actors from all over the world who wish to learn from folks who they wouldn’t normally have access to. This has created an incredible network of like-minded people and expanded the accessibility of improvisation as an art form.

In 2013, I was hired by Brandy Hotchner of Arizona Actors Academy to offer improvisation training to actors. I still work for Arizona Actors Academy, as the Assistant Artistic Director, handling administration, web & systems design and general operations.

I began training under Brandy Hotchner in 2016 and returned to my interest in acting. I dove into serious acting and challenging myself at a new level. Over two years I worked to build my discipline and pad my experience with solid actor training. I tempted a serious attempt at becoming a working actor and began dreaming of a career in the industry. Doing this is hard work, and requires incredible discipline, which I am constantly dealing with.

In 2018, the time of my life I previously mentioned was no longer true. Things got overwhelming and anxiety was rampant in my life. Sometimes you build your house and then come to find, it’s no longer what you want or need. So, I restructured my life, Improv, my initial passion that had gotten me this far, was no longer the top priority in my life. In fact, I finally made myself the priority and part of that was believing in myself. I built my acting resume and started auditioning. I got cast in the lead role of a comedy called Red Velvet Cake Wars at TheaterWorks in Peoria. Since I have been slowly picking up experiences here and there to continue to build my resume, hone my acting and network myself into more opportunities. I got representation this year with Dani’s Agency and in the back of my mind, I’m always noodling content to write…. which is a whole other discipline challenge. Living in Phoenix, it’s a snail’s crawl… but I’m not in any rush.

In 2020, after a couple years of semi-retirement, working only as much as I needed to get by, taking much needed personal reflection and a couple amazing Camp Trips to Ireland, I realized it was time to buckle down and get back to work. By now I have been an independent contractor for just over two years. I put out in the universe my willingness to receive more opportunities, doing anything, really, cause I found myself lost, not afraid, but unsure of what my future would be, or even what I wanted it to be. So my goal was to open up to anything and assume it will all make sense. While I waited, I focused on fashion, music and learning to glide.

In 2020 – during “self-isolation” I got a role in a play reading called Wooden Nickels. In doing this I made a relationship with Devorah Medwin the playwright to work on projects through her organization Collaboration Labs. The goal is to combine entertainment and theater with education, helping folks tackle hard topics and conversations in their own lives. This project is truly innovative and has incredible application in the world, so it’s an honor to be part of the creative process as well as an actor. Through Devorah, I met Dr. Howard Silverman who took improv classes at my old haunt The Torch Theatre and decided that improvisation is an incredible tool to make Doctors better, not just in their communications with patients, but also their own emotional resiliency. For a year now, Dr Silverman and I have been building programs for the healthcare professionals and are truly excited about growing our partnerships.

Another job landed in my lap in 2020, working for Arizona Food Bank Network assisting them with admin and a grant program. Working for this organization gets me out of the arts and into another part of life, I am learning so much about food insecurity and how the good people of this world support the mission to fight it.

I dug into website design a little deeper and built an immersive blog site. This experience made me realize I had a skillset here and suddenly folks were coming to me to build their websites. So yeah, I’m a website designer now too. How bout that.

I am currently starring in a one woman play called Zombie Girl, a B3 Virtual Production. It is part of a double feature for their Halloween show and it is by far the most challenging and rewarding role I’ve ever had the honor to play. This show goes up the last two weekend of October. I also perform regularly at Second Beat Improv Theater owned by my husband Sam Haldiman.

Now that life is getting slowly back to normal, we have completed two Camp Improv Utopias in 2021 with great success and safety. I look forward to traveling more for improv, teaching and performing, going back on the festival circuit. In November I will take my first festival trip since October 2019 to Tucson Improv Movement for the Tucson Comedy Arts Festival.

That’s me, I’m in a state of letting life happen, not fearing the rewards, and trying to enjoy the struggle. I can report it’s pretty great.

Notable Websites

Camp Improv Utopia: improvutopia.com
Arizona Actors Academy: azactorsacademy.com
Second Beat Improv Theater: secondbeatimprov.com
Arizona Food Bank Network: azfoodbanks.org
Personal Unofficial Website: jacqurearend.com

Websites I built: azactorsacademy.com, dagolflabs.com & more to come.

B3 Production of Zombie Girl & Swamp Girl: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/b3-theater/b3-presents-zombie-girl-and-swamp-girl-by-paco-jose-madden-99237/

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest obstacle/challenge I’d like to address is knowing your worth. I have worked a long time for beans, volunteering and taking little pay. I learned a lot doing this cheap labor, so I look back on it as free school. However, the outcome is that I didn’t think I earned expertise, I did not believe this increased my value. I think it made me competent, however, I never saw my true worth, had no ability to communicate it and I feared asking for it. It took a lot of folk believing in me to get me to believe in myself, and I wish I had started doing so much sooner. It’s not a light bulb, it doesn’t just turn on, it takes work, it takes faith. I love aging, I am happy to be in my 40s… I much prefer this wise old age to my 20s and 30s. I look forward to my “second life” as an opportunity to live the life I want for myself. I look forward with hope and healing and adventure.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
– Actor
– Performer & Improvisational Instructor (Coaching, Directing, One on One, Groups, etc)
– Applied Improvisation for Team Building & Skill Building
– Administrative Services
– Data Systems & Websites
– Camp Improv Utopia Staff
– Arizona Actors Academy Staff
– Arizona Food Bank Network Staff

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Well, luck. One day, after my senior year of High School, it’s the summer before college, and I need a little job. I’m hanging out at the Middle Eastern restaurant where my friends work and there was an awkward altercation with the dishwasher. The owner walks up to us and asks “does anyone want a job?” I said, “I do, I want a job”. “Great, come by tomorrow.”

And then I had a job. Luck, I lived much of my life assuming life would go on like this… dropping things in my lap, as if it were luck. But, I’m sorry, I do believe now, it is our relationship with the ‘universe’ (or your word of faith) that makes things happen for you. It is not conspiring against us, it is conspiring with us. Perhaps that opinion will change or evolve, the great thing is, we’re allowed to change, in fact we must, nothing in this world holds permanence. So, find out what you want, and go after it, the ‘universe’ will help you and as I mentioned, if you enjoy the struggle, life is sure to be grand, by the power of you.

Pricing:

• Improvisation (Varies $50 per hr+)
• Private Coaching ($65 per hour)
• Website Building (Varies $1000+)
• Admin Services ($25 per hr)

Contact Info:

• Email: jax@jacquearend.com
• Website: jacquearend.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldtoothe/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacque.arend/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackerstheshoe
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9LPGiBkvvwn6Qgr0wO5KBg

Image Credits
Brad Reed
Michael J. Astrauskas
Mary Fisher Hall
Jess Klemm
Kevin Hornsby