Jason Kientz
SAG-AFTRA
Hi!
I am an actor, writer, musician,
and spacecraft engineer
My Acting Craft
Acting is my thing. I love it. My “happy place” is on any set anywhere. I love the energy, the people, the collaboration, but most of all I love exploring what it’s like to be someone else.
I also believe deeply in the power of stories. I fell in love with movies a long time ago and the way they challenge us, help us to feel, and to escape. So I’m grateful and thrilled with each opportunity to be part of that magic.
I study at “The Acting Center” in Los Angeles in addition to doing private coaching with Marshall McCabe. I also have a long-form improv background. The Acting Center technique is wild and revolutionary in ways I can’t even begin to summarize, but the bottom line is that it is a practical, repeatable way for me to create and “be” a character. It’s fast and agile such that new aspects of a character can easily be layered on or off, which makes exploring a role and taking direction easy!
Space Engineering
When I’m not acting I’m making space ships. So pretty much my 6 year old self’s dream!
My proudest achievement in this arena is working on the James Webb Space Telescope with NASA. I worked on the program for two years and even traveled to French Guiana for the launch. Then this sucker went on to take beautiful photos and discover some of the oldest galaxies in the universe!
If you’re curious, I’m an autonomy systems engineer which means that I design software that helps the spacecraft fly itself and detect/correct failures that might otherwise end the mission.
Music
Music is my secondary art. I sing and play the guitar in a 90’s rock cover band called Sweet Weasel. I’m also teaching myself to play the piano.
Music and acting are closely related for me. For one, I am always playing a character when I perform as a musician, so there is that aspect. But I am also fascinated by the degree to which music is both a “science” and an “art.” There is indisputable theory and technique that you must know to be a good musician, but at the same time music has one of the strongest connections to the “soul” of any art form and can become a transcendent experience for both the artist and the audience. That’s exactly how I want my acting to be; smart, substantive, repeatable and deliberate behind the scenes while presenting as improvisational, real, meaningful and moving. For me and for audiences.
