GREY'S ANATOMY: "I think I've grown into the role," Menou says of hosting SCQ. "I do the homework. I'm in the habit of doing that."
TITANIC. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? Scent of a Woman. What do these movies all have in common? Apart from the fact that they rank as Oscar-nominated classics, Jamaican actor Jean-Paul Menou auditioned for all of them.
The United States. Jamaica. Chad. What do these countries all have in common? Apart from the fact that they are all appealing travel destinations, Menou has resided in all three of them. A true man of the world. He grew up right here in Jamaica until he was 10 years old. That’s when his parents decided to migrate to the States and then to Chad, because his father was going to be stationed there. But it was back to the US for school, which led to coming-of-age sojourns in New York and Chicago.
He speaks lovingly of his folks. “I really was very fortunate to have parents who made education a priority,” he says. That solid education held him in such good stead that he landed a job as a visa officer not only at the French Consulate in Chicago but also at the French Embassy in Kingston upon his return to Jamaica to reconnect with his roots and diversify his résumé. “When the French Consulate closed,” Menou remembers, “it was like God’s way of saying to me, That’s not your life.’” He chuckles.
And when Power 106 got swallowed up in the RJR-Gleaner merger, Menou found himself out of work for the first time in a long time. “Changing times,” is how he sums it all up. While he would teach part-time, it was in the theatre that he could always be his best self. You could say he found solace.
Bedward. After Mrs. Rochester. Tek Yuh Han’ Off Ah Me. What do these plays all have in common? Apart from the fact that they are award-winning shows, Menou had starring roles in all of them over the course of an acting career that continues to flourish despite limited financial gain. “Theatre is one of those things I do for the love. It’s not a lucrative business. People can’t make money unless it’s full time,” explains the actor, whose body of work spans collaborations with everybody from playwright-producer Basil Dawkins to the Brian Heap-led University Players, and filmmakers Jeremy Whittaker (Destiny) and Michelle Serieux (Sugar).
This season, Menou is garnering awards buzz yet again for playing Felix (opposite Nadean Rawlins’ Doris) in Pablo Hoilett’s adaptation of the two-hander The Owl & The Pussycat. “The play is lovely because it speaks to the power of love – with two very different people,” he says.
At the moment, there’s another role Menou is reprising with mucho gusto: quizmaster on Schools’ Challenge Quiz, now in its 50th anniversary season. “It’s exciting to be a part of the 50th. Doing Schools’ Challenge Quiz is one of my favourite jobs. I feel like I’m in a position for educating young people,” says Menou, who also lectures full-time at the School of Drama (Edna Manley College), teaching voice and speech, among other subjects.
Sporting a red tee-shirt, shorts and sandals, Menou could easily be mistaken for a sight-seeing American tourist down here at the Victoria Pier. But on closer inspection, SCQ aficionados and theatregoers will recognize him. Physically, he’s much stouter than then last time we saw him in person. Professionally, he wants to keep growing. “For now I’m focusing on teaching. I have a responsibility to my students,” says Menou, who works with Nadean Rawlins and her Raw Management company, nurturing young artistic talents.
Are Menou and Rawlins an item? He blushes. “She’s lovely.” That’s all he’ll say, after removing his hands from covering his face.
The University Players, under the baton of Michael Holgate, are doing a show in May and he’ll probably be cast in it. SCQ, meanwhile, runs until March. Menou loves having a full plate.