There is a new sound to theatreWashington’s social media voice — Jason McCool, an adventuritter who friends, follows, posts, shares, links, and tweets zealously about theatre and the arts. We consulted our “twictionary” to ask him a few questions in his native tongue: 140 characters or less.

tW: Actor, musician, teacher & social media thought leader. Like one the most?

JM: Uhhhh . . . depends on which I'm immersed in at the time. Nice thing about doing social is it's incorporated into flow of other activities.

tW: What initially sparked your interest in social media?

JM: It was a way to meet smart people/women (ha) who went to fun non-arts events! Soon realized sharing my passion for the arts was a great fit.

tW: When interest initially sparked?

JM: Around 2009? Linda Murray of @Solasnuacht told me about Twitter, and I started going to events, meeting good folks, and shortening my wit.

tW: Why is social media important to u?

JM: It's not necessarily that social media is important — sm is just a tool. It's what sm can help promote: conversations, connections, community.

tW: Which channel do you prefer? Facebook? Twitter? Another?

JM: Although I'm very active on FB, Twitter is my true scene. It's an up-to-the-sec nonstop flow of info from interesting, self-selected people.

tW: How much time do you spend on social media each day?

JM: Tough to measure exactly but probably at least 3 hours. Keeps me constantly reading and interacting. A much healthier addiction than TV!(?)

tW: What did u do to become “fluent” in social media?

JM: Learned basic structure of the tools. Hung out w/people who knew what they were doing. Jumped into conversations. Started using Tweetdeck!

tW: What hope to accomplish as tW social media voice?

JM: To promote incredibly vibrant #DCtheatre. To help tW truly be of service to the community via these tools. To meet interesting folks!

tW: Need more characters to answer that?

JM: Nope. Hemingway wrote a complete short story in 6 words. Haiku is beautiful. Master the art of using 140 characters. Brevity=soul of wit. :)

tW: What is the first event you’re doing to bring tW into the twitosphere?

JM: The #DCartsUp on 9-11 @busboysandpoets K St! Have been wanting to do this for years. With involvement of @SMCDC, stars finally aligning!

tW: What do u hope to accomplish with the event?

JM: I want artists+admins to get excited about potentials of new tools. I want fun folks to meet "IRL." AND to connect arts+"non-arts" people!

tW: Your top 5 favorite to follow on Twitter?

JM: Ooh not fair — so many different categories! Here's 5 essential arts folks: @PinkLineProject @chelseydc @mlaffs @margyartgrrl @AudienceDevSpec.

Jason McCool (@coolmcjazz) is a Washington, DC-based actor, musician, and composer; a member of a Helen Hayes Award-winning ensemble; and a social media consultant passionate about helping artists connect with new audiences. He currently runs accounts for the National Philharmonic and for theatreWashington, has consulted with #DCarts organizations such as the Capital City Symphony and District Karaoke, is an adjunct professor of music at Montgomery College, and will begin pre-concert lecturing for the Baltimore Symphony in September. Originally from Brockton, MA, Jason holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and UMD. He is a proud member of Actors’ Equity and Social Media Club of DC.

And yes, that is his real name.

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