MOUNT VERNON — In 1993, budding young writer Mark Sebastian Jordan had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to work as a background actor — an extra — in a Hollywood movie.
Figuring it was something to check off on his bucket list, Jordan joined the supernumeraries for the filming of The Shawshank Redemption.
Little did he think at the time that this prison drama would someday become the world’s favorite film.
Jordan has since shared his behind-the-scenes stories while serving as a moderator for multiple reunions of movie staff, actors, and fans at three Shawshank festivals at the Ohio State Reformatory, and he has now gathered his stories and framed them with the backstory of where he was in life — a troubled college dropout — and how the movie served as a turning point in his own life, helping him escape depression.
Jordan has since gotten busy living, indeed, as the author of seven books, a dramatist/actor/director for 35 years, a music critic for 25 years, a storyteller and historian for 20 years, and recipient of honors from the Ohio Arts Council, the Ohioana Library, the Columbus Book Festival, the Buckeye Book Fair, the Jesse Stuart Memorial Award, the Ohio Theater Alliance, the Associated Press, the Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University, and more.
His column, History Knox, is featured each Saturday on Knox Pages.
The memoir, entitled Get Busy Living: Doing Time in Shawshank will be published Sept. 2 by Phoenix-based Alien Buddha Press, and will be available online at Amazon.com and at select independent bookstores.
Jordan will be selling and signing copies at his booth in the Big House garage during Ohio Heritage Days at Malabar Farm State Park on Sept. 28 and 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
He will also be scheduling talks and appearances throughout the region in coming months. He can be followed on Facebook at Mark Sebastian Jordan, Writer-Director-Speaker.
Knox Community Hospital proudly supports the vibrant pulse of our community by sponsoring the Life & Culture section on Knox Pages, celebrating the stories and experiences that make our region unique.