We were lucky to catch up with Jim Nieb recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jim, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’ve known that I wanted to be an actor / performer for as long as I can recall to be honest. For the first few years of my life I was in and out of the hospital for a variety of reasons, sometimes for weeks. The hospital staff was always wonderful with me but it was a lot of time alone. My mother had been widowed before I was born and had to take care of my three other siblings as well as me. She would be at the hospital as often as she could but her’s was the only household income. I still don’t know how she did it.

So I had to use my imagination to entertain myself for many, many hours. And I imagine the more I was entertaining to the nurses the more attention I would get. haha I did plays as many of us do in elementary school and high school. Senior year of high school I did a talent show doing stand up comedy and it was a wonderful success and led to me doing open mics around the VA, D.C., MD area. However it wasn’t until 1991 that I started getting paid to perform. Improv comedy at first then whatever I could get in the D.C. area.

I was doing plays, corporate and private shows, character work for events, clowning, Shakespeare, renaissance festivals. Basically whatever I could find to do. All while maintaining a full time job in accounts receivable at a small software company for 40 hours a week.

In the summer of 1996 I knew I had to make a change and told myself that if I could earn half as much performing and acting as I did at my day job that year that I would quit the job and pursue acting and performing full time. And, come December, I did it. I put in my notice and by May 1, 1997 I was a full-time actor / performer. I haven’t had a non-creative/oriented job since.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As I just mentioned I’ve been acting and performing since I was a kid. It wasn’t until my early 20’s I began doing it as a way to make money and not until my late 20’s that I started doing it full time.

I started as an amateur stand up and moved to improv comedy with ComedySportzDC in 1992 when a friend introduced me to the group. As a teen I taught myself to juggle and then as I got older I learned to do some close up magic, fire-eating, stilt-walking, balloon-twisting and other skills. I worked for nearly 10 seasons at the Maryland Renaissance Festival which gave me so much wonderful experience as an actor/performer/comedian. And I was also doing Shakespeare in the park in Northern Virginia during the 90’s in addition to all of the other gigs I was taking on. I performed sketch and improv around town as well with a variety of groups.

It’s funny though. as much as I was performing I look back and realize that I didn’t really begin to gain a real understanding of what I was doing, a structure if you will, until I moved to Los Angeles in 2004. Training at The Groundlings was a real eye opener for me in regard to how much more I could learn. And training for several years at Playhouse West gave me a wonderful foundation for becoming a more disciplined actor. While at Playhouse West I started a comedy program which ran for 8 years while I was there.

Now I’m the advanced teacher in the evenings at the Margie Haber Studio in Hollywood. I’ve been there since 2017 and have learned so much and feel I’ve really grown, as a teacher, actor, person.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Something I think that non-creatives, (and some creatives if I’m being honest), misunderstand about being an actor / creative / artist is that, in my experience, this isn’t a life where there is a clear finish line. Meaning, where you know you finally have it fully understood and have reached your full potential. This is an on-going process of learning that, hopefully, continues your whole life. Gaining better understanding of yourself, the world around you, people.

I know people in the creative field who have won the highest recognition for their craft, say, an Oscar. One might think they would feel they finally made it. Yet, in my experience, many times that person still feels like they haven’t yet accomplished what they hoped.

For me personally I’m realizing I’m in a constant state of realizing how much more I can learn. There were times in my life when I thought I had it all figured out. That I had nothing more to understand or learn. Only to be introduced to someone or something that turned on a light to an area I didn’t even know existed before. I, so often, don’t even know what I don’t know.

I’ve had to work on deepening my empathy as well. Coming from that place of understanding or, at least, trying to understand. And to stop trying to be perfect. To embrace and learn from my mistakes. Doing this helps me to accept and have empathy for others as well.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

From my perspective the arts are crucial for a functioning and free society. The arts can help us to better understand ourselves and to better understand others. To give us a window into the very soul of a society. The beautiful and ugly parts. In my view, the arts need to be viewed as an essential part of the growth of a people. And, therefore, needs to be encouraged and supported in every possible way. Start when our children are young encouraging them to use their imaginations. To get into their empathy towards those different from them. Give them spaces and opportunities to explore their creativity. And adults as well.

Imagination can lead to better understanding. Better understanding can lead to discovery. Discovery can lead to growth. And don’t we want our communities/societies to have healthy growth? To progress to better things?

Bring back the arts to our schools. Encourage out of the box thinking. Encourage theater again. Theater can bring a community together in a shared experience and, thereby, strengthening and unifying that community. Encourage self-expression. This can help empower individuals and, as a result, our communities.

Tell your leaders to support funding the arts again.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jimnieb.com
• Instagram: @jimniebhere
• Facebook: JimNiebActor
• Youtube: @jimnieb
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0630573/?fbclid=IwAR2BrF5Ure_zaTib3UsKcX0G_z9DZ0G-Hx0ybtjlDKudaE05kuYt4YxUnr4_aem_ActC7EdSlpnwxy3KwkETE5_co-BsuVeN25dCahbdxNqbQWMK631VmOqmYovOCaJ7IFNQ8WJyzG4tHMoQNsjJLw4T