We were lucky to catch up with Jason James recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jason , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
How did I learn to do what I do? Oh, that’s a deep rooted question. I guess the easiest and most straight forward answer is I went to school and took class. However, let me also say that I am constantly learning about what I do and how I can do it better.
How could I have sped up my learning process? I don’t know if that’s possible, is it? I mean, we all learn in different ways, through different experiences, and from different teachers. There is no one path to learning, and I don’t believe they’re a short cut. I’m not entirely sure I would have done anything differently to speed up the process. If I had to give an answer though, I would say I should have started college at an earlier age. I think there were fundamentals I missed as a young actor that could have benefitted and strengthened my learning path. Haha, that isn’t to say that those fundamentals could have only been learned through college. In our current climate the battle of going to college to or not going college is at the forefront of most high school students. Should you go to college? Where to go to college? And if a young aspiring artist does decide to go to college then they are faced with, is college worth the cost and what’s the return of the investment? All of that to say, I, at a young age, with no experience or mentors, wasn’t aware of anything else.
Patience, work ethic, and passion, for me, were essential. I love what I do and have loved theatre since I first discovered it at the age of 12. Although I often think about what it would be like to do something different, non performance related, I don’t think I would WANT to do anything different. There’s nothing like sitting in a theatre, knowing that you are about to create something new. The whole creative and collaborative process continues to excite me day after day. Plus, I now have the pleasure of working with young college age artists. I love that I get to spend my days educating and helping to inspire and guide the next generation of artists and performers.
This industry is hard. I’m sure we have all heard that many times. But having the patience to go out there time and time again and do your best work, in spite of the rejection, competitiveness, politics, and self doubt, that is admirable in my opinion. Truly knowing that this is what you want to be doing and finding ways to continue making your art, even when you may feel impatient or frustrated, that takes a deep sense of patience and trust within your own body.
I have always believed I have a strong work ethic. I can’t tell you where it came from or how it grew throughout the years, but it is something that I have held in high regard for a long time. Maybe it was those years doing summer theatre at a young age, where we learned basic theatre fundamentals and etiquette. We all worked on the set, we all painted, we all did the shows, we all learned what a gobo was and how it worked, and we all relied on one another to show up and be present. Sometimes showing up and being present is half the battle. Knowing what to do once you get there, that takes a lot of time and a lot of hard work!
What obstacles stood in the way of learning more? My insecurities and lack of accessibility to information. I didn’t come from a “performing’ family. I was the only person in my family who did theatre and I only did theatre because a friend of mine told me about a local community theatre who needed guys. It sounded fun. Through the years and through different theaters, I watched what others were doing and tried my best to soak up information. It got to a point where I knew there had to be more out there, so I went looking. That’s how I ended up at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. After school I struggled to find new opportunities; all I knew was how to audition. I look back now and realize how much I didn’t know. It wasn’t long after gradating that I made the decision to use my talents from behind the table, as a producer and director. An entirely new learning curve, but where my skill sets would be put to good use. It was time and immaturity and maybe even myself that stopped me from learning more. I just didn’t know what I didn’t know. It’s something I work really hard at now to give my students. I don’t just pass along information, or teach them how to act. I strive to give them a space to think critically and understand the importance of transferable skills. I am a resource, a support system, and a guide.
Jason , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I was born and raised in Southern California, specifically the Inland Empire, which is about 60 miles east of Los Angeles. I started doing theatre at the age of 12, as I mentioned before, and worked at quite a few local community theaters throughout high school and for a few years after I graduated. I continue performing while taking classes at a local community college and landed a job teaching at a performing arts studio in Riverside, CA. I taught there for about 3 years leaving for school in New York City. I spent five years total in New York, 3 years of which were spent after graduating auditioning, working as an actor, and teaching at a private dance studio in Fairfield, CT. I traveled on the weekends, judging for a National Dance Competition and met some of the most wonderful people, whom I still keep in touch with today. I loved living in New York. It was truly a dream. When the 2008 recession hit I moved back to Southern California and started my life all over again. I began my journey as an actor, but quickly changed course as a director. It was 2 years later, after directing a fundraiser for the California League of Cities and a bi-centennial musical production for the City of San Bernardino I was offered the position as the Producing Artistic Director at the Sturges Center for the Fine Arts, a city subsidized 700 seat theatre. It was quite an undertaking for someone who had never been an actual theatre manager or producer before. But believe me when I say, I was up for the challenge. I spent the entire first year combing through budgets, contracts, and riders. Figuring out how to take this charming and incredible theater to the next level. I had a great team and felt my career was finally starting to take off. I spent two years at the Sturges Center and learned more than I ever could have imagined. I’m especially proud to say I was the first person to produce a fully mounted production under the Sturges Center for the Fine Art’s name, in 88 years. I left the Sturges Center in 2012 due to financial hardships from the city. After departing from the Sturges Center, I was fortunate enough to get an offer to go back to the world of dance competition, where I spent the next 8 years. While working as a Regional Director, I was able to continue my work as director in the competition off season and went back to school to complete my BFA in Musical Theatre and started my a graduate program in Performance Pedagogy at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. I left the dance industry in June 2020 and obtained my Masters Degree (MFA) in December of 2022.
The past few years have been hard…for all of us. During the pandemic I really questioned what I was doing and why I was doing it. (Mind you I was also in the middle of my masters program) I kept seeing so many fundraisers and online events happening and I just felt like I wasn’t doing anything to support my fellow artists. It was in August of 2020 that I started The Actor’s Establishment, an online creative studio for actors and artists from anywhere in the world to harness their work, stay creatively active, and to freely express their own artistic interpretations. I held weekly “get togethers” where we discussed plays and talked about analysis and interpretation. I even brought in several guest artists to hold masterclasses. In the midst of complete chaos and devastation, I felt like we had a place to go to, even if it was only a few hours a week, to forget about the outside world and focus on the things that we love doing. It was cathartic to be with a group of people who were supportive of each other and wonderful humans. I owe them all so much. Through the work we did with The Actor’s Establishment, I had a crazy idea to expand my ideas and goals and 2 years later coARTS Group was created. coARTS Group, was a non profit 501(c)3 orgnaization, committed to upholding equitable practices throughout the Los Angeles theatre and arts community through inventive and quality theatrical productions, effective educational programs and classes, and examining humanity through all creative art forms. coARTS was about community and humanity while advocating for better working environments for all actors and artists within the greater Los Angeles area. I tell you, building a non profit was NOT on my pandemic bingo card, but wow, again, I learned so much.
In March of 2023 I was offered a position as the Director of Musical Theatre and Theatre at Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana and my family and I decided to start a new adventure and move to the midwest. Unfortunately, the coARTS board and I made the difficult decision to dissolve the non profit.
In this new phase of my career, I’m really excited to work with and cultivate a new generation of students and artists. I approach the work I do with the same ideologies I started The Actor’s Establishment with. It’s about community, humanity, and allowing every person to learn through their individuality. What sets me apart as an educator (and as a director) is the fact that I don’t subscribe to the “lecturing professor”. The “sage on the stage.” We have an entirely new type of students, who went through high school during a pandemic, and we, as teachers and professors, have to find ways of communicating our knowledge with a sense of grace. I believe, especially coming from and teaching at a liberal arts university, that I should be offering my students a broad education, through multiple modalities and methodologies; creating a safe space for exploration and experimentation.
The same is true for me as a director. I love working with companies and producers who want to find new ways of doing theatre. I’m a big fan of directors who do what they feel and conceptualize and don’t look back. If we all (as a collaborative team) agree and take on the vision of the production, then let’s do it the best of our abilities. I conceptualize and then turn it over to the designers. The ones who do their jobs the best.
My hope, in this new chapter of my life, is to work with theaters who share my same passion, ideologies, and collaborative culture. I love challenging actors and offering up questions for them to come up with answers for. I love working with designers who are excited about a project and bring ideas to the table we may have never tried before. I’m a “yes” person. Let’s try it. Let’s figure it out. I don’t know how to do that but let me get back to you. Unfortunately, the obstacle we all face is time and money. Theater companies are struggling nationwide which results in shorter rehearsal periods and less time to work on the nitty gritty parts of a script. I try and be a director who closes that time gap problem, and works with actors and designers, on the nitty gritty, the detective work, within the time frame we have. I’ve successfully done it in the past and I look forward to the opportunity to do it again here in the midwest.
It has taken me 20 plus years to get here. There have been highs and lows, months or even years of living paycheck to paycheck, bouts of depression, self loathing, family divisions, and years of therapy and self improvement. I say this so I can tell you I’ve finally accepted I am right where I am supposed to be. And as someone who looks at the person next to them and compares every one of their accomplishments to every one of my failures, each day is a struggle to be a better artist, creative, educator, partner, and human. Working on myself is probably the hardest gig I’ve ever taken. However, I highly recommend it.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I want to continue learning from those that know more than me. I don’t want to stop evolving as a person or creative. I want the opportunity to sit in a rehearsal room and learn from those that create works that inspire me. There is so much theatre being created across the world, it makes me excited to connect with other directors and creatives.
It’s about impact. I want to impact my students and leave them with something that will not only help them with their careers, but in their life in general. I want those that I come in contact with to be impacted to be better humans. I want that for myself as well. I want to be impacted. I do believe it’s all intertwined and if we stop the gatekeeping and start sharing information and making the arts accessible for everyone, I believe, as a community, we can do better.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
One of the best parts about being a director is sitting in the back of the theatre as people leave a performance and listening to the comments. Good or bad, doesn’t matter to me. It means we did something worth talking about. I think that the theatre is the only place where we can bring together creatives of all different talents and collectively we strive for one unified product. That’s amazing to me. When we create something on paper and we start to see it come to life, right in front of us, there is no better feeling.
As an educator, it has got to be the light bulb moment for students. The moment when something finally clicks and the light bulb goes off for them and they get it! That’s the joy, that’s why I keep doing this. Students and actors alike, professional or otherwise, we are all looking for something. I love being given the opportunity to witness that.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jasonjamesdirector.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/director_notesj2
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-james-theatricaldirector/
Image Credits
Rowena Curtis KC Wilkerson