The internet is for… checking emails — duh. Trekkie Monster, played by the multi-talented Tyler Jones, is a character from Avenue Q, who has an obsession with certain internet things. If you do not yet know what I am referring to, check out the Stevens Dramatic Society (SDS) production of Avenue Q, which is playing now till Saturday.
It was not until auditions for Avenue Q came around that Tyler thought about seeking out a role. Having been told that,“Freshman year is the year to do [musical theater],” Tyler auditioned for the musical. A cascade of events followed. While trying out for the role of Trekkie Monster, he was asked to do “the Trekkie-voice,” which is, “basically the Cookie Monster voice,” according to Tyler, “and before I knew it, I got the part of Trekkie.” He added, “This is definitely one of the defining moments of my freshman year. It has been a lot of fun!”
The performing arts have impacted Tyler in more ways than one. First off, in the sea of engineers on the Stevens campus, Tyler is a first year Music & Technology major who is also minoring in Mathematics. In addition to being in SDS, Tyler is also in the Stevens Choir, Torch Alliance, and Audio Engineering Club. In his free time, Tyler enjoys playing instruments and composing — you can listen at soundcloud.com/tylerjonsi.
Originally from Montvale, NJ, Tyler began playing multiple instruments from a young age starting with the drums, and then branching out to playing the piano, some guitar, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, bass, and saxophone.
Tyler has been a musician since the age of 9. He was originally part of his school band, and then realized that he wanted to do more with music. He kept exploring new instruments, and soon, music became “more of a hobby, and now it’s my major,” Tyler says. Also at the age of 9, Tyler’s dad got him a Guitar Hero video game, and he started playing that a lot, and got really good at it — to the level that he (at the age of 9) won a competition at his local GameStop. This victory marked a critical moment in Tyler’s musical career. A light bulb suddenly went off, and he thought, “But what if I tried this with a real instrument?” It was not long before Tyler got a drum set and began taking lessons.
Like most high school students, Tyler, at the time, was unsure about what he would major in in college. He was between majoring in Music or majoring in an Engineering-related field. After applying and getting into Stevens, he was set to study engineering and to focus in nanotechnology, but then the summer going into his freshman year, he changed his intended major to Music and Technology. In explaining how he came to this conclusion, Tyler quite simply stated, “I need to do music. I want to do music really bad, so I did it!”
While attending a school heavily focused on engineering, it is easy to overlook other majors offered — from majors like Music & Technology and Visual Arts & Technology. As discussed in a plethora of scholarly articles, individuals involved in the performing arts are statistically more likely to succeed academically compared to those that are not. Through music in particular, mental agility is required to exercise both sides of the brain. Practicing and rehearsing cultivate memorization skills, which aid in learning not only music, but also facts and figures needed for STEM classes. In addition, “[c]onquering performance anxiety helps with public speaking,” Tyler added, and it even helps with social interactions, “being in the band helped with social anxiety.” This idea is not new. Recently, the arts are slowly beginning to be held to the same standard as STEM-related fields as well, which turns STEM + Art into STEAM.
“Go for it,” Tyler advised to anyone considering participating in SDS shows or any performing arts group on campus. From blaring three-part harmonies about wishing to go back to college, to songs about people being just a little bit racist, there is no doubt that the Stevens production of Avenue Q will be a hit!
