Jake McDermott, age 17 (almost 18!), is beyond honored and thrilled to be working with such an amazing creative team and talented cast in Conejo Players Theatre’s Beetlejuice JR. This is his absolute dream role and he has been having the time of his life rehearsing and promoting this show. He cannot wait for opening night on September 25th!
Jake has had a flair for the dramatic from birth, and even started begging his mom to let him be “in the TV” when he was only 2 years old. After years of wearing her down, his mom eventually let him try professional acting when he was 6, and he was hooked immediately. Jake is a proud member of SAG-Aftra and he truly loves acting on television and film, but he says his true passion is theater and acting on stage! His very first musical was Shrek, Jr., when he was in first grade. He played baby Shrek. Soon, he moved on to bigger roles, including Kurt von Trapp in The Sound of Music, and Daddy Warbucks in Annie, Jr., in which he insisted on shaving his head completely bald for the performances. For Beetlejuice, he has grown out his hair for over a year, but reluctantly got a small trim for his high school senior portraits. Jake fully commits to his roles!
Before the pandemic, Jake tried out for his very first show with Conejo Players Theatre. It was The Music Man, Jr., and he was so excited to be cast! Sadly, the show had to be postponed because of Covid, but his relationship with CPT had begun. Throughout the next two years, Jake participated in many virtual shows with Conejo Players, including Schoolhouse Rock, Home for the Holidays and Flat Stanley, and he performed in CPT’s Halloween Car Park Theatre with Born to Perform Studios as well. Later, he was thrilled to be cast as Conrad Birdie in Conejo Players’ Bye Bye Birdie Young Performers Edition, and then as Colin Craven in CPT’s main stage performance of The Secret Garden, both in 2023. That same year, Jake was truly humbled to be awarded The Dick Johnson Education Award at the annual Conejo Players Theater Harlequin Awards.
Many generations of Jake’s family also have had the joy of working with Conejo Players Theatre. His great grandmother, Helen Mahan, was a CPT member and Publicist for Conejo Players during the 1970s and 1980s. She loved taking her granddaughters, Kelly and Laura (Jake’s mom) to see shows at Conejo Players and the Moorpark Melodrama as well. Jake loved hearing about a time when his mom and aunt were kids in the audience of Snow White and their grandmother encouraged them to meet the cast after the show. His aunt was too afraid of the actress who played the witch to stand next to her for a picture because she was so convinced that she was a real witch. Jake says that is because the acting at CPT is always the very best!
Jake’s great grandfather, John Mahan, appeared in many Conejo Players productions, and also directed for CPT. His big production was the musical Brigadoon in 1970 where Jake’s great aunt, Paula Mahan, played the role of Bonnie Jean. Jake’s great uncle, Kevin Mahan, worked on lighting design for over 20 CPT shows, beginning with 1978’s Bus Stop. In 1985, while working for Conejo Players, Kevin was one of only three people in the entire country selected for an apprenticeship at Juilliard in New York City. There, he learned more about lighting and electrical design. His dream was to one day do the lighting for Broadway shows. Jake hopes to carry on his great uncle’s legacy by applying to Julliard himself this fall, and acting on Broadway one day! Jake and his entire family miss Uncle Kevin so much. He loved his family dearly, and he had an infectious laugh and was so talented and funny.
Jake’s great grandma Helen was tickled pink when he became an actor and loved seeing him on TV and on stage. She always wanted VHS recordings of his work and would get very annoyed at her grandchildren and great grandchildren for trying to show her digital recordings instead. Grandma Helen would have been so thrilled to see Jake on stage with Conejo Players. Sadly, Helen passed away in 2018 at the age of 95 and she is also greatly missed. Jake really enjoys meeting so many people at CPT that remember and love the Mahan family!
Jake’s brother, Nate McDermott, has done tech for CPT, helped with lighting and paint days and strike and has painted props and posters for his brother’s shows. He also enjoys helping out in the snack bar and of course cheering on the cast as a regular audience member. Nate says his favorite show that Jake has ever been in is The Secret Garden with Conejo Players.
Jake McDermott is so proud of his long family history with Conejo Players and he hopes to be in many, many more shows with CPT in the years to come. He loves carrying on the family legacy at Conejo Players Theater all these generations later. The Mahan and McDermott families are so proud of him and can’t wait to see what his future holds!
