Celeste Jones’s "how-I-got-into-acting" story contains enough happy accidents and stars aligning to make most struggling thespians hang up their Hamlet skulls. After graduating in 2006 with a theater degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C., the no-nonsense 24-year-old won a performing apprentice position at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis. There, she got her stage legs as a bit player, appearing in shows such as The BFG and Suessical.

But it wasn’t until the Portland, Ore., native ventured out into the broader Twin Cities theater scene that those bright balls of gas really started lining up for her. After an actor dropped out of Frank Theatre’s spring 2008 production of Brecht’s Mr. Puntila and his Hired Man Matti, Jones filled in, playing the titular drunk’s would-be fiancé. This role led to an audition for the lead in the Little Mermaid­-esque Once on this Island at 10,000 Things Theater. She didn’t get the part, but once again an actor dropped out and Jones stepped in, drawing rave reviews for her turn as an orphan girl who makes a Faustian bargain to save her lover’s life.     

Celeste Jones had arrived.

Of course none of this right-place-at-the-right-time business would be possible without Jones’s huge talent. “Celeste is an actress of tremendous presence, honesty and charm,” says Children’s Theatre artistic director Peter Brosius. “I auditioned her at Howard University for our performing apprentice program and was tremendously impressed with her maturity, her range and flexibility.”

Given her acting chops and breakout year, you’d think Jones would be working nonstop. When we spoke with her last fall, however, she didn’t have any roles lined up. But she didn’t seem worried and neither were we. “Something always comes up,” she says, and this couldn’t be closer to the truth.