For Oliver Jones, the journey to establish a thriving, community-based theater in Pahrump has been anything but conventional. Full of false starts, relocations, personality clashes, and creative triumphs, it’s a journey that has now culminated in the Pahrump Theater Company finding a home of its own—a turning point that promises to transform the future of performing arts in town.
Jones first dipped his toes into Pahrump’s theater waters back in 2013, attending a rehearsal with the Shadow Mountain Players while still performing in a Las Vegas Strip show. The experience, however, left him unconvinced. “It was very loosey-goosey,” he recalled. “At the time, I was doing structured shows on the Strip, so it just wasn’t my vibe.” He moved on but returned five years ago when he came to town to help his parents. What was meant to be a temporary stay gradually transformed into something more meaningful.
He became involved with the Pahrump Arts Council, where he helped lead youth theater camps. His work there quickly earned him the title of vice president—more out of necessity than formality, he joked, due to a lack of organizational structure. Despite early challenges, Jones began developing a strong vision: build a real theater community in Pahrump. His initial momentum included summer camps, live readings, and a middle school production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest that introduced local students to classical theater in a refreshing way.
In December 2022, Jones met Heath Robertson, a local teacher, to brainstorm what would become the Pahrump Theater Company. Originally a committee under the Pahrump Arts Council, the project was meant to breathe new life into community theater. But tensions soon arose. “Some people thought I was trying to take over,” Jones said. “But nothing else was happening. I just kept trying to push forward.” Eventually, he severed ties with the Arts Council in October 2023, effectively losing the nonprofit umbrella that allowed them to function.
Despite the setback, Jones didn’t give up. He staged a series of performances at 5280, including a successful Valentine’s Day show made up of short plays. These productions gained traction after earlier Murder Mystery shows, including one where Jones played the Grinch, caught the public’s attention. This is one of his favorite roles, and he plays this multiple times a year.
Still, a recurring challenge loomed large—where to perform. Jones briefly attempted a Shakespeare-in-the-Park concept at the Calvada Eye, but extreme summer heat and lack of facilities forced its cancellation. The Salvation Army provided rehearsal space temporarily, and later, Black Cow Coffee hosted a performance titled Dreams and Nightmares, reigniting interest in his vision. That momentum led to the founding of the official nonprofit Pahrump Theater Company in September 2024, the paperwork fittingly submitted on Friday the 13th.
From there, Jones spearheaded a Halloween haunted house fundraiser at the pool house at Petrack Park, generously lent to him by the town. The holiday season brought a Christmas show at the Valley Electric Association’s conference center. With each production, Jones inched closer to a permanent solution—until a timely conversation with Alex Lannan changed everything. Lannan offered to help fund a dedicated theater space. Coincidentally, the very building Jones had been eyeing had just become available. The stars aligned, and the Pahrump Theater Company finally had a space to call its own.
Plans are now underway to build out that space into a functional black box theater. Jones envisions a traditional setup with audience risers to create an intimate, downward-looking stage. Storage space will house costumes, props, and paint for set construction, with the possibility of simultaneous rehearsals once additional space next door becomes available. “Everything we were doing had been scattered,” he said. “Now it will be all in one place. It gives us the foundation we’ve been missing.”
Jones’ background is a blend of classical training, street-savvy performance, and underground creativity. He got his start at Palo Verde High School in Las Vegas, which boasted one of the most robust theater departments in the city, at the time. There, he thrived in improv and traditional stage roles, winning multiple acting awards and even attending international festivals for his superior monologue work. After graduation, he taught improv at Western and Sunrise High Schools, but financial instability and youth made it hard to sustain. That period also saw him delve into music, but a robbery that cleaned out his apartment pushed him back toward his theater roots.
He soon joined a writing and acting circle at the now-demolished Katherine Gianaclis Park for the Arts in Las Vegas. The eclectic space—equal parts bohemian art commune and functional theater—reignited his creative drive. He became involved with the Insurgo Theater Movement, which performed cutting-edge, alternative versions of classics like a mob-themed Othello. Their popularity grew, and they became the first nonprofit theater invited to perform regularly inside a Las Vegas casino, setting up shop in the Plaza Hotel’s old bingo hall.
From those early Vegas days to now, one theme has remained consistent for Jones: he’s most fulfilled when helping others discover theater for the first time. He co-created “$2 Ten-Minutes” at Cockroach Theater in downtown Las Vegas, where anyone could watch a short play for just two bucks during First Friday events. “It was a workshop space, not just for me to write and direct,” Jones said, “but for others to try acting. Some of them had never been on stage before. And the transformation is incredible.”
That same love of transformation fuels his passion for youth theater in Pahrump. He continues to run theater camps where students help write, direct, and act in original shows created in just one week. “They go from being shy and insecure to commanding a stage. It’s the coolest thing to watch,” he said. He believes that by making theater cool to kids, it will eventually shift the community’s entire perception. “Kids drive the culture,” he noted. “If it’s cool to them, it becomes cool for everyone.”
Currently, the Pahrump Theater Company is preparing for its first official performance in its new home, the recently vacant Gaming Lounge located at 1266 E Calvada Blvd, Suite 1. The play—a Western-themed twist on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Originally planned as an outdoor desert performance, the new venue has allowed for a more traditional setup. Jones is still finalizing the exact dates, but opening night is currently targeted for May 31, with performances continuing into the first week of June. To market the show, the cast will distribute hundreds of custom “Wanted” posters around town featuring each character, in keeping with the play’s Wild West theme.
Tickets are expected to be $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $10 for kids—pricing that Jones says is modest compared to shows in Las Vegas, but still helps cover necessary expenses. “We’ll adjust if we have to,” he said. “We’re just figuring it all out as we go. We’re not afraid to take risks.”
With space, structure, and spirit now in place, Oliver Jones is ready to see his vision come to life. And if his track record proves anything, it’s that determination and heart—paired with a little help from the right people—can turn even the most scattered dream into something extraordinary.
