Joy Yvonne Jones

Houston native, Veteran’s wife, and mother of two, Joy Yvonne Jones is a multi-hyphenated multi-talented maven. As an accredited actor, poet, playwright, model, and entrepreneur, she embodies revolutionary art with every project and performance she is a part of.

 Upon graduating from the University of Minnesota in the Guthrie Theatre BFA Actor Training Program, she has graced film and stage across the country, most notably receiving the San Diego Critic Circle Craig Noel Award for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play for her performance of Saartjie Baartman in Voyeurs de Venus at Moxie Theatre. 

“…an astounding, heartbreaking demonstration of code-switching from Joy Yvonne Jones.”- Dan Letchworth, San Deigo Magazine.

Her stage credits include Caitlin in Ferryman (New Village Arts), France in Mud Row (Cygnet Theatre), Cherise Howard in Flex (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Isabelle in Ring Round the Moon (Lambs Players Theatre), Zuzu in Dance Nation (Moxie Theatre), Jane in Pride and Prejudice (Cygnet Theatre), Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (New Match Collective), Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (Texas Shakespeare Festival).

Cleopatra (Joy Yvonne Jones) and Antony (Andrea Acuna) are the title characters, and they bring all of the fire, passion, and cunning these two characters require. Jones is excellent as the regal if mercurial Queen of Egypt; she is imperious and charismatic. - E.H Reiter, Broadway World

Though she delights in manifesting the vision of other artists through the collaborative efforts of acting, her passion for expression flows beyond that into her writing, directing, and producing of both film and stage productions.

Joy chose to create the seductive short film Stupid Love… Stupid, Stupid Love in 2018, which she wrote, produced, and starred in. A captivating romantic drama that documents a poet’s desire to create an impregnable space for him and his muse to explore their feelings and art together unbothered by the reality outside. 

In 2020, she wrote and starred in the play “Ode to My Mothers,” which was featured in the Old Globe Theatre’s Juneteenth Celebration. A multi-medium play that explores both the gifts and pain passed through the maternal line of womanhood. This poignant and provocative piece follows the story of a young African-American woman on her self-awakening journey through the lens of her ancestral heritage.

Joy is a founding member as well as President of the San Diego Black Artist Collective. She also held the position of Associate Artistic Director and spearheaded the Education Department initiative at New Village Arts Theatre in San Diego. 

She is currently working on the revolution of art at the speed of inspiration with the creation of her One Woman show: Cleopatra, and her future short film, A Month of Sundays. Visit her Patreon to contribute and be informed regarding the debut of both of these works of art. 
You can look forward to many explorative and boundary-pushing works from the creative hurricane that is Joy Yvonne Jones. You can follow her on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook or visit her website to know where you can catch her next performance or production.