Ask an Apprentice: Jamie Herb

Get to know more about our 2026 Acting Apprentice Jamie Herb! A jack of all trades and life-long APT goer, Jamie has taken the stage this year in As You Like It, The Matchmaker and Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea. Read on to learn more!

APT: Jamie! As we start to wrap up on warm summer days, could you tell us a bit about how your summer has been?
Jamie: It's been amazing! Everyone is so generous and welcoming to us new folks! It's been wildly busy, but so worth all the hard work.

APT: The summers tend to fly by at APT - especially when working in rep. Would you mind sharing a little about your journey to APT?
Jamie: I actually grew up 40 minutes away from APT, so I was lucky to see lots of amazing shows here when I was a student. That led me to do APT's summer camp for a few years when I was in high school. Part of me always knew I wanted to perform here for real one day. And now, after auditioning, here I am! It feels a bit like a homecoming. It's really special.

APT: A life-long APT-er from audience to stage. Seriously, how special. Well, now that you're here working as an apprentice, what does a typical day in your life look like?
Jamie: For most of the summer we've had classed 9:30am-11:15 am, then rehearsal 12pm-4pm and 6pm-10pm. Now that we've opened all our shows, we're working on our apprentice project. So, our new schedule is rehearsing that from 12pm-4pm and then performing the mainstage shows in the evenings. Very full days! I've had to get really good at meal-prepping.

APT: I bet you have! Amongst these busy days, have you had any "aha" moments that you'll be taking with you?
Jamie: We did a Rasa Boxes workshop with Elisa Gonzales that I loved. She taught us the 8 basic rasas (Sanskrit for essence/flavor): Adbuta (surprise, wonder), Sringara (love, ethos), Bhayanaka (fear, shame), Bibhasta (disgust, revolt), Hasya (laughter, the comedic), Karuna (sadness, compassion), Raudra (rage, anger) and Vira (courage, the heroic). We practiced embodying each with physicality and breath, and eventually we used them to work on monologues. I loved it because I used a monologue that I've had for years and was able to discover so much newness within the old piece simply by fully embodying the 8 rasas in different combinations, regardless whether they made logical sense. Got me out of my habits!

APT: That's incredible. Discovery is such a huge part of the process. Looking at how far you've come, it must be nostalgic to look back. Tell me, what is your earliest theatre memory?
Jamie: I remember seeing Wicked at the Overture Center in Madison when it was touring when I was a kid, and as a big Wizard of Oz fan, I just thought it was the most magical thing ever.

APT: What an incredible show to catch! When you're not working or exploring the yellow-brick road, what do you do in your free time?
Jamie: I'm such a hobbyist - I love knitting, printmaking, playing instruments, sewing, reading, mending clothes, woodworking - you name it. For better or for worse, I'm almost never bored. It's been fun to meet other people here who do many of the same things!

APT: Lovely! As always, we'll end on a fun one. Would you rather: have to spring up the Hill on a pogo stick everyday OR never get to wear bug spray for the rest of your APT season?
Jamie: Oh gosh, I have to go with springing up the hill every day. For some reason the mosquitoes LOVE my blood and even with bug spray I've been eaten up quite a bit this summer.

APT: Thanks Jamie!