I had a professor in grad school who said, “If you want to change the world, you are going into the wrong profession.” At first, that sober declaration from someone that I admired made me feel a little ashamed. Naive. It’s true. I was a dreamer. As time went on, I continued to consider the pessimistic assertion about the lack of transformative power in my art. And I grew angry. The theatre had changed me. Is that not changing the world? More than that. There have been times in my life when the theatre has saved me. The existence of art, the experience of art, the creation of art. It has pulled me through and lifted me up. That is the art that I want to create. As a human. For other humans.
What we do as artists is the opposite of suffering in silence. It is the opposite of pain and horror without reflection. It is, rather, a deep, loud, fearless dive into every dark recess of who we are. And I love it. All of it. And that can change the world. That can save the world. I believe. It can.
Please visit New Play Exchange to learn more about Jim’s work in the theatre and to explore his plays.
published works:
FEED available through Next Stage Press.
Flying Fish included in Stage It! 7: 30 Ten-Minute Plays.
A Hostile Takeover in Battery Park included in Stage It! 5: 20 Ten-Minute Plays.
education:
Master of Fine Arts, Dramatic Writing
New York University, TISCH School of the Arts, 2010
Dean’s Fellowship, 2008-2009, 2009-2010
Bachelor of Arts, Theatre
California State University, Northridge, 2008
Screenwriting on the Write Side of the Brain
University of California, Los Angeles, 2006
Associate of Arts, American Sign Language Interpreter Training ProgramVenice Skill
Center, Los Angeles, 1999
C.R.O.C.P. Scholarship, 2000
