Meet Jax Schuck | Owner and artistic director of Bliss Out Productions.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jax Schuck and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jax, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
I would say most of my artistic inspiration comes from random interactions with other people. Whether it’s friends, colleagues, or strangers; the most mundane, trivial, crude, or straight-up immature dialogue can reveal invaluable information about that person and how they go about their lives. There are a lot of people that harmfully withhold themselves from having conversations like this because they think they’re useless (to business or life as a whole). I completely disagree. Childish jokes, strange “would you rather” questions, and cliched gossip; all of these things are important to learning about and empathizing with other people, which should always be the goal. People need to distract themselves from the uncontrollable big scary things happening all around them. That’s what makes human life so particularly interesting. We are (mostly) all fairly aware of the world around us and the fact that we (probably) exist. The question that always festers in the back of my mind is “How To Exist”. How different people go about distracting themselves from these problems. For me, it’s mostly chitchat, stupid tv shows, and of course theater (among a million other things). We are all going through the exact same cosmic existential problems. The main difference is people’s perspectives on life. I want to be able to share both my perspective and the perspectives of other people I’ve learned through these chats. When we’re gone and our bones are disintegrated all that’s really left of us is our art and the love we provided to the world and the people in it. That’s what inspires me to create.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
When I started Bliss Out Productions my main artistic motivation was the ability to freely express my bizarre and perhaps contentious theatrical passions. The world is an extremely confusing and scary place, and to me, that state of being is best expressed in productions that are absurd, surreal, darkly comic, unsettling, full of existential horror, and maybe controversial. Work that explores more what it feels like to be alive over a fully realistic depiction of life. The world around us often makes people bitter and it’s not an inherently bad thing to be mad at parts of it. But anger without a worthy goal is a waste. No matter how indignant, pointed, or dark the work I do is, I always want the end goal to be humanistic, empathetic, and layered with love. Isn’t that the point of all of this anyway? I’ve directed and written a few plays through/for my high school, and they were great experiences, but with growing political issues of free speech (book bannings, angry parents, etc.) there are a lot of topics and things that you’re simply forbidden from doing. Though I have my (many) reservations about that, I realize I’m not going to be able to single-handedly change the political climate of the world. So when I wasn’t able to direct the show I wanted this year, I decided why not just do it myself with my friends? I figure that I’m young enough and with enough energy (or maybe angst) to give my best shot at this whole theater thing. I’m 17 and about to be 18 in a week, so why not? Start the company before I’m an official “adult” and hopefully grow and change with it. Let me say what I want and what I can right now. You never know if you’ll get the chance tomorrow. Now is the time to show empathy and love. I think the best way I can show those is through theater.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my friend were to come down to the DFW area there are a lot of places I would want to take them. Mostly in the McKinney/Frisco area just because that’s where I live. The first night I would maybe take them to what is probably my favorite restaurant in the area, Spoon + Fork Thai Kitchen in McKinney. Great food and super nice people there. The next day I would take them to one of the many Starwood cafes around DFW. I’m not normally a breakfast person but I like it a lot there. As juvenile as it may be, they have super-good chocolate milk. Later, I would take them to Downtown McKinney to show them some of the really cool places to eat and shop. The Groovy Coop, The Celt Irish Pub, Mom and Pop Co, Hutchins BBQ. It’s also just a good time to walk around the square. There are some sick murals and interesting architecture around the area. I also love the John and Judy Gay Library downtown. Very lowkey and calming atmosphere. It’s fun to just look through different titles of books. At some point, I’d like to take them to Deep Ellum to check out some punk shows. I really like the Studio at the Factory. Perfectly sized venue in my opinion. Trees is a classic too. I got to catch some of my favorite bands at those two (Drug Church, Boston Manor, PUP, Movements, etc.). There are some very nice parks in the area too. My personal favorite is Bonnie Wenk in Mckinney. Finally, I would take them to a show at The Comedy Arena also in downtown McKinney. They have some really funny and enjoyable shows.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a shout-out to my mom. She’s an extremely supportive and talented woman who pushes me (and everyone around her) to do better every day. She is also incredibly intelligent, funny, and caring and I truly strive to be like her. Her devotion to the people and things around her is inspiring and shows me that there truly are good people in the world. I could not do what I do without her support. She lights up a room and the lives of people who get to know her.

Website: Jaxschuck.com

Instagram: @blissoutproductions

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jaxsaysgoodbye