Cornelius “Life” Jones
Cornelius LIFE Jones was born and raised in Richmond, VA, and was a former resident of Washington, DC (his second home). In 1999 he arrived in New York City after completing his undergraduate studies in musical theater at The University of The Arts and at Syracuse University.
NYC theaters credits include Broadway’s The Lion King, and Thou Shalt Not, on tour Smokey Joes Café, Off-Broadway Skylar’s Story (Three Lions Stage), and Off-Off-Broadway FlagBoy. His regional credits include, Dreamgirls, A Chorus Line, The Wiz under the direction of Tony Award Winner George Faison, and Big River.
Cornelius LIFE also had roles in the television and film industries, with appearances in Law&Order: SVU, Loa, Finding Kevin, Old School Hip Hop, StoryPorch, and The Vernon Johns Story. The one-man show, FlagBoy, written and performed by Cornelius LIFE marked his debut as a solo-show artist and playwright. It received an Outstanding Performance in a Solo-Show nomination at the 2008 Ninth Annual Midtown International Theater Festival.
As a poet, his works “Momma Said…(A Hard Life)” and “Chicken N Shrimp Gumbo” received honorable mention status in The Writer’s Place 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 Poetry Competition and appears in The 2008 and 2009 Writers Place Poetry Review.
He’s currently pursuing graduate studies at New York University, with a focus in Dramatic Writing and Social Theater (Theater of the Oppressed) and works as a teaching artist for Opening Act New York. He is also busy completing a book of poetry, personal essays, and a stage play, which is loosely based on his one-man show FlagBoy.
Along with his writing column for The Black Traveler, he’s a contributing writer and co-founder of www.thefutureforward.net in which his weekly column, Arts.Advocacy+Wellness, appears every Wednesday. For up to date information visit Cornelius online at www.corneliusjonesjr.com.
Cornelius’s favorite travel destinations: Salvador, Bahia / Rio De Janeiro(Brazil), Miami, Florida, and Sitges(Spain). Cornelius’s dream destinations: Morocco, Italy, and Costa Rica.
