On the Scene with Jeff Brackett

Jeff Brackett grew up in Portland, Ore. He studied music and chemistry at Portland State University for a year, then, in 2009, he left Oregon for Maui to work on a farm and study yoga.

Three years later, after doing community theater shows on Maui, he came to Oahu where he resumed his formal education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and pursued a career as an actor.

Since then he’s appeared on “Hawaii Five-0” and distinguished himself onstage with performances with most of Honolulu’s major theater companies.

Brackett, who got his degree in mathematics at UH earlier this year, gives his age as “the ninth odd prime number.”

JOHN BERGER: How does a degree in math fit in with your interest in acting?

JEFF BRACKETT: I came back to school to get a degree in math because to me it’s a balance of both sides of the brain. Math to me is foundational to both science and art. I have a passion to grow my creative side and this allows both to grow in tandem.

BERGER: Last November you starred in the title role of “The Legend of Georgia McBride” at Manoa Valley Theatre playing an Elvis impersonator who is forced by circumstances to become a female impersonator in a “drag” show. Was that the most demanding role you’ve played?

BRACKETT: Technically, yes, it was the most challenging piece that I’ve ever done. I was on a turn­table stage, and as it was turning I had to keep changing things. There were certain things that had to be in certain places at certain times so it was like juggling.

BERGER: Did you really go out in public as Georgia?

BRACKETT: Yes, I did. One of the show sponsors was Hula’s (Bar & Lei Stand) and they invited me to be a judge for their Halloween costume contest. That was fun. I had a lot of friends who came to the Halloween contest and nobody recognized me because our show hadn’t opened yet. No one knew it was me until I said it was.

BERGER: Is there something about you that might surprise people?

BRACKETT: I’m scuba certified. On my certification dive in Olympia, Wash., I found a giant octopus underneath a 20-foot capsized boat. It was deep red and had big yellow eyes, and then when it decided it wanted to hide, it turned deep purple.

BERGER: What’s your next big project?

BRACKETT: I have two big projects. I’ll be Orpheus in “Eurydice” by (playwright) Sarah Ruhl, with Rachael Uyeno as Eurydice, at Hawaii Pacific University. We open July 20 and run for two weekends, and then I leave for New York in August. The next two years I’ll be in conservatory at the Stella Adler Studio (of Acting).

BERGER: What would you like to be doing five years from now?

BRACKETT: “Shakespeare in the Park” in New York. I can also see myself in a Broadway show or traveling for a film project. Most of all, I want to have grown as an artist and know that I have deeply affected people and their lives through this craft.

Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com