NATCHITOCHES - It didn’t take long for Donald Jones to get his first break. Jones, who earned a bachelor’s in theatre at Northwestern State University in May, has gotten a role in the national touring company of The Color Purple, which begins rehearsals in New York in February.

    “I just graduated in May, so it is exciting to get an opportunity like this to work with a touring Broadway musical,” said Jones from Fort Collins, Colo., where he is working at the Carousel Dinner Theatre as a choreographer and cast member in High School Musical. Jones has also been teaching at a local dance studio.

    The play is taken from the novel by Alice Walker, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and was made into a film. It tells the story of a woman who through love finds the strength to triumph over adversity and discover her unique voice in the world.

     “From the first time the theatre/dance faculty met Donald, we knew he was a very gifted artist,” said Coordinator of Theatre and Dance Scott Burrell. “We all felt very fortunate to have him select Northwestern State as his university. He could have easily gone to another program. All of his work at NSU was top notch whether he was acting or dancing. He was, and still is, a very hard worker and extremely dedicated to his art. All of us in the theatre/dance program are proud of him and his accomplishments.”

    Jones, a graduate of Brother Martin High in New Orleans, got the role of an ensemble member and the understudy for the Preacher. He found out about the auditions then sent in a headshot several weeks ago. He was called back for a dance audition and for a subsequent reading.

    “Doing well at the audition told me that the department at Northwestern prepared me well,” said Jones. “When I went the audition, I wasn’t too nervous and was able to represent myself well. It shows that the university is doing a lot of good things.”

    Rehearsals for The Color Purple will last two and a half weeks. The company will begin a tour that will last into 2011.

    “I am not sure where we will be going, but they did tell me to get a passport,” said Jones.

    Jones appeared in several Northwestern Theatre and Dance productions including Company, Romeo and Juliet, Cats, Something’s Afoot, Merchant of Venice, The Exonerated and the annual Christmas Gala.