Tad Janes

BFA Acting/Directing- West Virginia University, 1988

MA Arts Administration- Goucher College, 2001

Tad is an Assistant Professor at Frederick Community College where he is Program Manager of Drama and Production Manager for the Jack B. Kussmaul Theatre and is Producing Artistic Director with Maryland Ensemble Theatre. Tad is a member of Rotary International, former board member of the Frederick Arts Council, is on the Frederick Council for Downtown Revitalization, and was on the board that created Frederick’s Arts and Entertainment District.

Tad Janes hails from Fairmont, located in the hills of West Virginia. Tad went on to graduate with honors from West Virginia University with a BFA in Acting and Directing.  He then moved to Chicago, where he resided for 5 years.  In Chicago, Tad honed his theatre skills as actor, director, producer, designer, and creator.

With an ensemble of eight actors (some from Second City), Tad and company created the sketch comedy/improve troupe “They Must Know Somebody,” produced productions such as the Jeff Nominated musical “The Drunkard,” and produced ensemble created plays “House of Disarray” and “Living Free on Planet Three.”  With this company, Big Pig Productions, Tad was an actor, director, and producer.

In 1991-2, Tad was an original member of the Contemporary American Theatre Festival acting company.  Artistic Director Ed Herendeen specifically called on Tad because of his work ethic and dedication to ensemble creation for this company.

In 1993, Mr. Janes was a founder in the creation of a new theatre project in Frederick, MD called Maryland Ensemble Theatre.  The goal of the company was to bring theatre artists together in a mid-sized town with little professional theatre and “set up shop” as an ensemble theatre.  This theatre would be multi-faceted; housing a theatre school for young actors, sketch/improve troupe, a touring educational outreach program for school children, and a professional ensemble that bring eclectic works of theatre art to the region while also creating original works for local premiere.

Maryland Ensemble Theatre produces six mainstage productions per year, running each show for six weeks for a total of 108 performances.  The Fun Company family theatre company (a MET subsidiary) produces 5 performances with 25 performances per year for a matinee series and tours 4 different productions into the school system while also offering workshops.  The Comedy Pigs (sketch/improv) troupe performs over 25 gigs per year, writing original sketch comedy and songs, and MET’s Ensemble School teaches over 250 students over a year’s time the craft of acting and the values of ensemble theatre.  MET is housed in a 8,000 sq. ft. facility that features a 100 seat convertible black-box theatre with real theatre seats, a rehearsal hall, scene shop, costume shop, box office, dressing room, and concessions area.