At 18 years old, Montana is an accomplished actress, musician, and writer. As a musician, she is a multi-instrumentalist, skilled in the electric and acoustic guitar, ukulele, piano, alto saxophone, etc. At the mere age of seven years old, Montana created her first play, in honor of her brother, Arizona, who is autistic. Her call to advocacy runs deeper than familial ties. She can be seen working hard to assist children and adults with special needs via the Special Olympics, 401 A League Of Our Own, and Power Of You Teens, an organization that helps young women in New York City plan their future through mentorship. Montana and her brothers even created an organization, Children’s Voice, which gives kids a platform to speak out about issues that affect them. Please read our exclusive interview below to learn more about Montana Jascobowitz.

Where are you based?
I’m currently based in Rhode Island.

What prompted you to become an actress? How did your passion start and develop?
What prompted me to become an actress was, when I was younger, I had a passion for the performing arts. In the third grade, I was a very shy kid, so my parents decided to sign me up for a theater production at my school and I loved it. I booked one of the lead roles in the production and performed in front of 200 people. After that experience, I truly realized that I wanted to pursue acting as a career.

You've taken on roles in series like "Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life" and "Confessions of A Teenage Critic." Do you feel these roles resonated with you? Do you feel directors can get it right when creating a fictional modern teen?
Both roles were very important to me because it was the first time I was constantly on set and in a movie. Both roles helped me expand as an actress because I learned so much from being on those sets. Steve Carr directed the book adapted film of ‘Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life”. He was a great director that had worked on amazing kids projects such as “Daddy Day Care”, “Disney’s Freaky Friday”, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”, etc. I would definitely say he was a perfect director for the project, let alone working with 200 plus elementary and middle school kids a day, it took a lot of patience, lol.

You wrote your own play at the age of seven in honor of your brother, entitled "My Brother Arizona." What is the story behind your creation? How did you feel when you saw your idea come to life?
The play guidelines were to present a story that involved everyone being treated equally. The story behind the play that I wrote was actually set where my friends and I were having a picnic and I brought my brother, Arizona, to the picnic with me. As I mentioned in the play, Arizona is autistic and people do not understand him and tend to bully and judge him. In order to have everyone understand, I had to demonstrate and explain to the children at the picnic, that Arizona is a little different, but at the end of the day “everyone is unique in their own way.” This was the main message within my play. I was really excited to see it come to life because I was able to present an important message. The funniest thing was that the video was originally supposed to be presented only to my fourth grade class, but ended up becoming a school sensation and the play coordinator decided to post it publicly on YouTube.

You are also a singer-songwriter. How did you get interested in music?
Growing up, my parents wanted my brothers and I to have a musical background. We quickly adapted to our parents' taste in songs from the 70's and 80's and my parents purchased a piano, a xylophone, harmonicas, an accordion, and drums for my brothers and I to jam with. I was personally inspired to become a singer-songwriter and musician when I walked in on my brother, Arizona, playing the piano. He sounded amazing. I wanted to be able to teach my brother music, as well as other children with special needs.

“Ask Me Why I Cry” is a very powerful song. Can you tell us a little bit about the background to this song?
Thank you so much. My song, Ask Me Why I Cry, focuses around various social issues that people in the world face, such as bullying, foster care, homelessness, abuse, etc. The song pretty much explains what my family and I went through and why I (we) cry.

Jejune also loves your “Put The Guns Down” Rap. Can you tell us a little bit about this piece?
Thank you so much. That rap truly means a lot to me. For years I’ve wanted to do the trending #TenToesDownChallenge, where people would make either a freestyle song or rap and share it to social media. Based on what’s currently happening in the world with Black Lives Matter, and the demise of black people, especially black men, I decided it would be a great time to write a freestyle rap; which I wrote in 10 minutes and performed it with my beat maker pad on my computer. The message of the rap was although I might be a young, black girl in America, there's no need to be afraid. I want peace, not violence. At the end, I mentioned we were all of God’s children, meaning we are equal, not different and should be treated equally.

We are in historic times right now. Have you been out protesting?
Due to the numbers of Covid-19 rising, I have not been protesting outside. But I have been using the social media approach of protesting, such as creating music, for example, Put the Guns Down, to show my support for the movement, as well as informing people of the news and various resources for helping support the cause so that “everyone can someday be equal.”

Do you plan to write more songs about what is going on these days?
Yes, definitely. I have been songwriting like crazy throughout this quarantine and I can’t wait to get back to the studio and record them. I actually have a song called “The Things I’ve Done”, coming out to stores and VEVO July 15th. The song is actually about looking at things from the past (history), or yourself, and pretty much moving on with life and learning from your mistakes. I personally wrote this song about a part of me that many people are not familiar with. My heritage includes Native American, and the song was about that part of my culture that I wanted to share with everyone because you rarely hear songs relative to Native American culture/history.

Around this time, most 18 year olds are preparing for graduation, college, etc. However, as a result of the nationwide quarantine, it seems social gatherings such as prom and graduation may be canceled. Did you find ways to celebrate?
Being an 18 year old, or a teen in general, and stuck in the house is our worst nightmare, lol. Back in February/March, I was supposed to go to Atlanta to film my TV series and then fly to LA to attend an event, but quarantine happened. Post-quarantine, I can’t wait to resume projects and fly out to LA. In May, 2020, I was supposed to graduate college. I was looking forward to it and I was really excited about it, but I have to settle for a virtual graduation in August. We were shipped our diplomas and have to do a car pick up for our caps and gown. I’m going to be releasing a YouTube video about it next month, which I’m very excited about! My mom's birthday was in June and we celebrated in the traditional home fashion way; we usually would have gone out for dinner, but my mom refused to eat out while COVID-19 is still prevalent, and without a vaccine.

Before lockdown, you were involved with many organizations, such as Power Of You Teens, The Special Olympics, Children’s Voice, and 401 A League Of Our Own. What drew you to these organizations? Are you still able to be active with any of them during this time?
What drew me to these organizations is that I’m a huge advocate on giving back and speaking up for issues that affect society. Power Of You Teens helps girls in urban areas and provides them with an opportunity to pursue their goals; POYT also helps with internships. Events are scheduled monthly so that the girls can interact and make friends. I’m not active with this organization at this time due to the pandemic. In February, I released the music video to my song, Reckless, which focuses on the equality of women and women empowerment. What drew me to volunteering at The Special Olympics and 401 A League Of Our Own was that my brother is autistic and he participates in both organizations. This gives him an opportunity to participate in sports, have fun, and make friends, which otherwise he may not have the same opportunity. I’m currently not involved with these organizations based on the situation right now and both are shut down at the moment. The organization, Children’s Voice, is an organization that my brothers and I started when we were very young to give children the opportunity and the platform to speak out about issues that affect them. I am currently involved with this organization at this time virtually and through social media.

Many of these seem to be related to your brother’s autism. Are you two close? How has his autism impacted your life?
We are very close and have been since we were very young. Aside from my parents, I take care of him and teach him new things all the time! He is my greatest influence as a singer-songwriter and musician because he is not able to fulfill his dream as a musician.

How are you staying positive during shelter in place?
I am staying positive during shelter in place by songwriting and making music, and perfecting my craft with vocal coaching, and playing my instruments, working out, dancing, and walking. My manager constantly sends me auditions, so that keeps my mind off a lot of things because I have to memorize a lot. I’m also working on my YouTube channel for content involving music videos, BTS, vlogs, challenges, etc.; I have a lot of them from past projects.

What is your motto in life?
Keep moving forward and thriving by working hard everyday and it will pay off. Don’t let the haters stop you from reaching your dream because the outcomes can be endless. Take every opportunity you can, even if you think it might not go anywhere. Most of all, never forget where you came from.

To learn more about Montana L. Jacobowitz, please follow her via the below platforms:
Official Website - https://www.montanajacobowitz.com/
Instagram - montanajacobowitz
VEVO Music Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrQWiaem1dP-6rZu5R_Uu3A
My Extra YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtebzRAhr1myxU7PWzk303g
FaceBook - IAmMontanaJ
SnapChat: little1cutie
Twitter - IAmMontanaJ
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@iammontanaj
IMDb - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7082389/

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Find My Song Let Me In
Listen | Download | Stream | Music Video Link:
https://song.link/xxkqpqbct6h0h

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Find My Song Ask Me Why I Cry
Listen | Download | Stream | Music Video Link:
https://song.link/7mgxdfk576c6n

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Find My Song Reckless
Listen | Download | Stream | Music Video Link:
https://song.link/6cfnr3vkzrq7v

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Find My Song The Things I’ve Done
Lyric video coming 07/15/2020
Listen | Download | Stream | Presave | Link:
https://song.link/us/i/1518971613

Montana L. Jacobowitz Proves You Can Do It All