Ask an Apprentice: Byron Johnson

Get to know more about our 2026 Acting Apprentice Byron Johnson! From film to stage and soul food to Culvers, learn a bit more about Byron, his background and his busy APT summer! You can see Byron on stage this season in As You Like It, The Matchmaker and Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea.

APT: Hey Byron! Thanks for being here! How has your summer at APT been?
Byron: My summer at APT has been very fruitful! I've been learning so much about the craft, about myself, about other actors and their processes! It's been great to be around artists who continually want to grow, and are so giving with their time to help you grow as well.

APT: Lovely! Would you share with us a bit about your journey to APT?
Byron: Yeah! So, I heard a little about APT through my time in Cleveland at the CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program in my first year. I got to audition for Carey Cannon at that time in 2023. Thankfully she remembered me haha, and when I auditioned again in my third year, they informed me that an apprenticeship spot was open and offered me a spot. I did further research for myself and realized how great of an opportunity it would be and gladly accepted. It's proving to be a great move.

APT: We're so glad its been such a positive experience. Now that you're here, what has a typical day in the life of an acting apprentice looked like?
Byron: A typical day for us looks like getting up, hopefully going to the gym if I'm being disciplined haha, getting cleaned up and heading to class from 9:30 until 11:15. Then, we usually eat lunch and go to rehearsal from 12 until about 5. We get our dinner break and then come back at 7 for either a show or more rehearsals if we hadn't opened anything yet. So, some pretty full days.

APT: Kudos to you! Have you had any "aha" moments throughout the process so far that you'll be taking with you?
Byron: SO MANY! There are plenty of times when I will be watching a play or be in a scene, and I'll see something that I've gotten used to seeing, but then I will either see or hear it differently, and it'll be an "aha" moment where I realize what is being said or what the line actually means. There are also times in conversations with the veteran actors here when they give me advice, and it's an "aha" moment as well. So it's a few!

APT: I love that. It seems like you are looking for something to learn in every experience! With that, I want to turn back the clock a bit - What is your earliest theater memory?
Byron: My earliest theater memory was actually in Grad School. I started acting in Film/TV first, so my first time doing theatre was in my first year at CWRU/CPH. We did a play called Middletown by Will Eno. I played a few characters, but my favorite was this doctor I got to play. I felt so alive on stage every night! I'll never forget it.

APT: Wow, from film to stage you've been doing phenomenal! So, when you're not working on acting projects, what do you do in your free time? Have you discovered any local treasures?
Byron: I watch movies, and I love talking to my friends and family back home. I love to read autobiographies and I still love to play sports. The local treasures I have discovered are Culver's and Kwik Trip! I have eaten so much fried chicken from Kwik Trip and Culver's Concrete mixer's, haha. Thank God the gym is right next to my apartment. No excuses right? *winks*

APT: Oh yes! Being from Louisiana you probably haven't gotten to have those Midwest treasures before coming to Spring Green! Let's end with a fun one. If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be and why?
Byron: It would be a soul food meal for sure: Honey Hot Fried Chicken, Mac and Cheese, Candied Yams, an Arnold Palmer and Pralines and Cream Ice Cream for Dessert! I'm a southern man through and through.

Thank you Byron!