Today we’d like to introduce you to John-Christian “J.C.” Maheu.
Hi JC, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, where my love for performance, leadership, and community first took root. I was a performer even before high school, participating in community theater opportunities and singing wherever my heart lead me. I started high school at Denver Lutheran and spent my last two years at Faith Christian Academy, competing in sports, Speech and Debate, and performed in the plays and choirs. I graduated from FCA before heading to Adams State University to pursue my Bachelor of Arts in Theatre.
My time at Adams State shaped me profoundly. I served as the department head for publicity for three years, led the electrics team for two, sang with the chamber choir for three, and performed with the improv troupe for three. I was honored with the Bridge Builder Leadership Award and served as both a first year student mentor and a new student orientation leader. I graduated in 2017 with a deep love for theatre and a commitment to building inclusive, creative spaces.
After college, I spent three years working as a subcontractor for a construction company and restaurant employee while returning to the arts. I began acting across the Denver metro area with companies including The Three Leaches, Cypherbird Project, Miscreants Theater, Invictus Theatre, Atomic Theater, City Theater, Su Teatro, TheatrixUSA, and Act One Productions. While pursuing the arts I developed as a performance artist, I created four original pieces that allowed me to explore storytelling in new and personal ways with the Lab on Santa Fe. As well I have started a small independent film company with my siblings – currently – The Maheu Brother Productions – of which we have competed in several film competitions over the last several years. It has been a challenging and awarding experience to be able to work with them on a deep passion of mine.
Around this time, I also discovered and developed my drag persona, Gigi G’Amour — a project and relationship that grew into a decade-long journey of artistry, glamour, and community. Today, Gigi holds a residency at The Three Leaches Theatre, where I host quarterly drag bingo, perform in shows, and bring campy joy to audiences as a hostess and entertainer. As well Gigi has become a Drag Mother and mentor to several other aspiring artists of all ages. This has shown me a new level of growth and the profound ability one has to aspire and nurture creativity.
I’m also the current Technical Director for The Three Leaches Theatre, where I design, maintain, and operate the technical elements of the space. This has added a new level to be able to create in the visual world. I’ve been able to expand our theater and ability to ensure light can give to the story. Outside of the theater world, I work as an Appeal Medical Claim Analyst, balancing my analytical day job with my creative life onstage and behind the scenes.
My story is one of building — building shows, building community, building spaces where people feel seen, celebrated, and connected. And I’m still building.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My journey hasn’t been a straight line – Its been complicated and full of the life adventures that shape a person from the inside out. I grew up navigating my parents’ divorce learning early how to mold myself together when the world around me felt like it was splitting apart. The experience combined with navigating being the older sibling to several others taught me independence yet leadership, but also empathy – the kind gained when rebuilding foundations.
As I got older life didn’t slow down. I was closeted in the church community that was not too keen on people like me, only coming out after graduating and was in college. I had to find a way through while hiding part of myself In college I experienced freedom and was able to truly open myself up to the world. Once I graduated college, it went even faster and hasn’t slowed since. I became caretake for several family members in their final days and having to step into this type of role demanded strength, patience, and a kind of emotional endurance I didn’t know I had. Being present for people at the end of their lives changed me and forced me to confront who I am, what I value, and who I want to become. It hasn’t just been about caring for them – it has also been about trying to piece and grow my own identity, learning through grief and growth at the same time.
Through it all, I’ve kept creating, performing, building community, and discovering new parts of me I have grown to love respect. Through every hardship grew a new and deeper understanding of who I am, who I want to become and what I am meant to do. My story isn’t just surviving difficult chapters, It’s about becoming something stronger, more grounded and more authentically myself because of it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve often been called a renaissance man, and I suppose that fits. My life has stretched across disciplines, identities, and creative worlds. I’ve built and renovated houses, learning the precision and problem solving that construction demands, and I’ve carried those skills directly into the theater — building sets, crafting technical elements, and shaping the physical environments where stories come alive. I also design and maintain the technical elements for a theater, shaping the lighting, sound, and projection that bring live entertainment to life. It’s a space where creativity meets engineering, and I love the challenge of seeing the whole picture while breaking it down into the individual pieces needed to make it work.
I’m an actor and an improvisor, stepping into countless roles, sometimes several within the same performance. There’s a particular courage and wonder in slipping into someone else’s shoes, seeing the world through their eyes, and discovering the humanity inside every character – while having the audience feel and experience them with you. Theater gives me that gift again and again.
Over time, I began developing personas of my own, including my drag queen, Gigi G’Amour. Creating Gigi opened a new emotional landscape for me — a place where character, artistry, and identity collide. Each persona I build teaches me something new, expanding my range and deepening my connection to performance. It has also deepened my love and support for my community of people. Being a mentor has helped me to shape other people’s creative personas that they have been exploring.
Through all of this, I’m proud of my adaptability — the ability to shift roles, perspectives, and skill sets — and the way I can hold both the macro vision and the micro details at once. It’s the thread that ties my work together and the reason I thrive in every corner of the arts.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I see myself continuing to act and produce art, entertainment, and theater while stepping more fully into the role of teacher and mentor for the people around me. I also see a lot of travel. I’m standing at the edge of a major life transition — closing an entire book and beginning to write a new one. For the first time, I have the freedom to choose where I want to land, whether that means staying in Colorado or starting fresh somewhere entirely new. I’ve become the sole caretaker of myself now, responsible for my own well being, my own growth, and the life I want to build. It’s a powerful, open horizon. And no matter where I ultimately end up, one thing is certain: the arts will remain at the center of my world, shaping the life I choose and the person I am continuing to become.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cracy_jc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jc.maheu4/
