JIM WARREN
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In 2008, Governor Tim Kaine awarded Jim Warren and Ralph Alan Cohen the Virginia Governor’s Award for the Arts for their work with the American Shakespeare Center, which they founded in 1988. In 2015, The Folger Shakespeare Library awarded the ASC with its Shakespeare Steward Award for its contributions in Shakespeare education. In 2016, the Arts Council of the Shenandoah Valley awarded the ASC its Circle of Excellence Award. In 2017, the Virginia Commission for the Arts named the ASC one of its “50 for 50 Arts Inspirations” in the category of Bedrock Institutions.
Jim Warren is the Founding Artistic Director of the American Shakespeare Center. He directed the ASC’s first show, Richard III (in which he played Buckingham), and a total of 128 productions, including 32 of Shakespeare’s 38 plays; he produced and cast over 280 shows during his tenure. Jim co-founded the ASC in 1988 as the traveling troupe Shenandoah Shakespeare Express. He grew the ASC touring scope from fourteen performances of Richard III in Virginia to over two hundred performances of three full-length Shakespeare plays and one modern classic in six countries during 1995; by the end of the millennium, the ASC touring arm had also performed in 47 states and one U.S. territory. In 2001, the ASC opened the Blackfriars Playhouse, the world’s only re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre. By the end of the 2016/17 Artistic Year, the ASC operating budget was over $3.5 million and the company was offering over 360 performances of sixteen titles annually.
Before retiring from the ASC in 2017 to launch a solo career as a consultant, director, and educator, Jim created Shakespeare’s New Contemporaries, a groundbreaking undertaking to develop a new canon of 38 plays that are inspired by and in conversation with Shakespeare’s work. The project integrates Jim’s passion for the classics, new plays, and an inclusive expansion of the artistic community.
FOR THE AMERICAN SHAKESPEARE CENTER
Director 2017 Peter and the Starcatcher adapted for the stage by Rick Elice
Director 2017 Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) by Ann-Marie MacDonald
Director 2017 Shakespeare’s Sister by Emma Whipday Professional Premiere
Director 2016 A Christmas Carol adapted by Jim Warren
Director 2016 The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Director 2016 Our Town by Thornton Wilder
Director 2016 The Rise of Queen Margaret (Henry VI, part 2)
Director 2016 Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson by Alex Timbers and Michael Friedman
Director 2016 Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
Director 2015 A Christmas Carol adapted by Jim Warren
Director 2015 The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Director 2015 The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Ginna Hoben
Director 2015 The Life of King Henry the Fifth
Director 2015 Shakespeare’s Joan of Arc (Henry VI, part 1)
Director 2015 Antony and Cleopatra
Director 2015 Wittenberg by David Davalos
Director 2014 A Christmas Carol adapted by Jim Warren
Director 2014 The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Director 2014 The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Ginna Hoben
Director 2014 Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe
Director 2014 Hamlet
Director 2014 Pericles
Director 2014 Edward II by Christopher Marlowe
Director 2014 Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmund Rostand, translated by Anthony Burgess
Director 2014 Macbeth
Director 2013 A Christmas Carol adapted by Jim Warren
Director 2013 The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Director 2013 The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Ginna Hoben
Director 2013 Henry IV, part 1
Director 2013 Othello
Director 2013 She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
Director 2013 Troilus and Cressida
Director 2013 Return to the Forbidden Planet by Bob Carlton
Director 2013 Romeo and Juliet
Director 2012 A Christmas Carol adapted by Jim Warren
Director 2012 The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Director 2012 The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Ginna Hoben
Director 2012 The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster
Director 2012 Love’s Labour’s Lost
Director 2012 King John
Director 2012 Cymbeline
Director 2012 The Lion in Winter by James Goldman
Director 2012 The Merchant of Venice
Director 2011 The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Ginna Hoben
Director 2011 A Christmas Carol adapted by Jim Warren
Director 2011 The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Director 2011 ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore by John Ford
Director 2011 The Winter’s Tale
Director 2011 Tamburlaine the Great by Christopher Marlowe
Director 2011 Hamlet
Director 2011 The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Director 2011 The Tempest
Director 2010 The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Ginna Hoben World Premiere
Director 2010 A Christmas Carol adapted by Jim Warren
Director 2010 The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Director 2010 Measure for Measure
Director 2010 As You Like It
Director 2010 Macbeth
Director 2010 The Fair Maid of the West by Thomas Heywood
Director 2010 Wild Oats by John O’Keeffe
Director 2010 Othello
Director 2010 The Taming of the Shrew
Director 2009 A Christmas Carol adapted by Jim Warren
Director 2009 The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Director 2009 All’s Well That Ends Well
Director 2009 The Knight of the Burning Pestle by Francis Beaumont
Director 2009 Romeo and Juliet
Director 2009 The Rehearsal by George Villiers and others
Director 2009 Titus Andronicus
Director 2009 The Merry Wives of Windsor
Director 2009 Much Ado about Nothing
Director 2008 A Christmas Carol adapted by Jim Warren
Director 2008 The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Director 2008 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
Director 2008 Hamlet
Director 2008 King Lear
Director 2007 A Christmas Carol adapted by Jim Warren World Premiere
Director 2007 Antony and Cleopatra
Director 2007 The Taming of the Shrew
Director 2007 Romeo and Juliet
Director 2006 The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Director 2006 Othello
Director 2006 Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmund Rostand, translated by Anthony Burgess
Director 2006 As You Like It
Director 2006 Greater Tuna by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, Ed Howard
Director 2005 The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Director 2005 Return to the Forbidden Planet by Bob Carlton
Director 2005 The Three Musketeers adapted by David Richmond
Director 2005 The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)
Director 2004 The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello
Director 2004 Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton
Director 2004 She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
Director 2004 A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Director 2004 Falstaff adapted by Ralph Alan Cohen
Director 2003 Tartuffe by Moliere, translated by Christopher Hampton
Director 2003 The Knight of the Burning Pestle by Francis Beaumont
Director 2003 Henry IV, part 1
Director 2002 Coriolanus
Director 2002 Julius Caesar
Director 2002 Macbeth
Director 2001 An American Christmas Carol, 1852 by Robert Smalls
Director 2001 Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw
Director 2001 The Comedy of Errors
Director 2001 As You Like It
Director 2001 Hamlet
Director 2001 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
Director 2000 The Roaring Girl by Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker
Director 2000 Othello
Director 2000 Richard II
Director 1999 The Merchant of Venice
Director 1999 Much Ado about Nothing
Director 1999 Hamlet
Director 1998 Measure for Measure
Director 1998 The Taming of the Shrew
Director 1998 Romeo and Juliet
Director 1997 Henry IV, part 1
Director 1997 Macbeth
Director 1997 A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Director 1996 Henry V
Director 1996 The Comedy of Errors
Director 1995 The Tempest
Director 1995 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
Director 1994 Othello
Director 1993 Romeo and Juliet
Director 1992 Macbeth
Director 1991 Twelfth Night
Director 1989 The Taming of the Shrew
Director 1988 Richard III
Road Director 1995 Hamlet
Road Director 1995 Twelfth Night
Road Director 1994 Much Ado about Nothing
Road Director 1994 The Taming of the Shrew
Road Director 1993 Antony and Cleopatra
Road Director 1993 A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Road Director 1992 The Merchant of Venice
Road Director 1991 Measure for Measure, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Road Director 1991 A Midsummer Night’s Dream
New Works Developed and Produced for the ASC
The Twelve Dates of Christmas by Ginna Hoben World Premiere
Shakespeare’s Sister by Emma Whipday Professional Premiere
Sense and Sensibility adapted by Emma Whipday World Premiere
A Christmas Carol adapted by Jim Warren World Premiere
Falstaff by Ralph Alan Cohen World Premiere
The Brats of Clarence by Paul Menzer World Premiere
New Plays Brainchild: Shakespeare’s New Contemporaries
Shakespeare’s New Contemporaries is an industry-changing undertaking to develop a new canon of 38 plays that vibe off of and are inspired by Shakespeare’s work. The project provides an opportunity for playwrights of every gender, race, and creed to partner with Shakespeare. It’s our chance to find the next generation of the world’s greatest playwrights.
If there were ever a time in this country for new Shakespeares to emerge, as we wrestle with the many challenges that face us, that time is now. ‘Shakespeare’s New Contemporaries’ is a timely, brilliant, and innovative competition, one that will attract both emerging and established playwrights. Like Shakespeare himself, who was inspired by earlier dramatists, these playwrights will help us grapple with the present while shaping our future. - James Shapiro, Columbia University
Directing World Premiere Plays Outside ASC
Director 2001 Bliss, by Cleve Lamison
Blackbird Theatre Company, off-Broadway, NYC
Director 1997 The Persistence of Memory, by Harry Kollatz, Jr.
the Firehouse Theatre Project; Richmond, VA
Director 1997 The Black Bird, by Cleve Lamison
Blackbird Theatre Company, off-Broadway, NYC
POST ASC ADVENTURES
C O N S U L T I N G
2019 Nashville Shakespeare Festival; Nashville, TN
• supplied extensive input to the NSF Artistic Director and Board of Directors heading into a new chapter, hiring their first full-time Managing Director in thirty years, planning their first state-wide tour, and considering the possibility of building their own space
2018 Vintage Theatre Company; Clarksburg, WV
• led a strategic planning retreat for senior staff to review/recognize past accomplishments, conduct SWOT analysis, and plan for the future
2018 Baltimore Shakespeare Factory; Baltimore, MD
• consulted extensively with the BSF Artistic Director (a retired high-school English teacher who started his company 10-ish years ago after being inspired by my company), networked with local colleges for future BSF partnerships, and created four hour-long Shakespeare scripts to increase grant opportunities for Baltimore area schools
2018 Semester Davis and Elkins College; Elkins, WV
• collaborated with administration and theatre faculty, advised former ASC actor, now heading the D&E Theatre Program, on how best to revitalize a small department in a rural college
D I R E C T I N G
Director 2021 What You Will (Twelfth Night)
Nashville Shakespeare Festival; Nashville, TN
Director 2021 all-female TBA Shakespeare Title, adapted and directed
Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center; Loch Sheldrake, NY
Director 2020 No Spring Chicken, by Ginna Hoben West Coast Premiere
directed for filmed live performance
Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival; Flagstaff, AZ
Director 2020 Twelfth Night directed for filmed live performance
Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival; Flagstaff, AZ
Director 2020 Shakespeare's Mixtape, adapted and directed for filmed live performance
The Performing Arts Conservatory at Notre Dame High School; Clarksburg, WV
Director 2020 A Midsummer Night's Dream, adapted and directed for filmed live performance
to be distributed to every middle school and high school in West Virginia
Vintage Theatre Company; Clarksburg, WV
Director 2020 all-female Hamlet, adapted and directed for live Zoom performance
Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center; Loch Sheldrake, NY
Director 2020 Lady Balthasar, by Ginna Hoben World Premiere staged reading for Zoom
Southwest Shakespeare Company; Mesa, AZ
Director 2019 Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and then some!), by Michael Carleton, etc.
Nashville Shakespeare Festival; Nashville, TN
Director 2019 The Tempest
Centenary College; Shreveport, LA
Director 2019 Romeo and Juliet
Nashville Shakespeare Festival; Nashville, TN
Director 2019 A Midsummer Nightʼs Dream, adapted and directed
Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center; Loch Sheldrake, NY
Director 2019 Twelfth Night, adapted and directed
Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center; Loch Sheldrake, NY
Director 2019 As You Like It
Vintage Theatre Company; Clarksburg, WV
Director 2019 Henry VI, Part 1, Pop-UpRight Shakespeare
Nashville Shakespeare Festival; Nashville, TN
Director 2018 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, adapted by Le Clanche du Rand
Randolph College; Lynchburg, VA
Director 2018 A Midsummer Nightʼs Dream, adapted and directed
Hollins University; Roanoke, VA
Director 2018 The Scarlet Letter, adapted and directed
Shakespeare Forum; East Harlem, NY
Director 2018 Romeo and Juliet, adapted and directed
Shakespeare Forum; East Harlem, NY
Co-Director 2018 King John, directed by Tom Delise
Baltimore Shakespeare Factory; Baltimore, MD
Director 2018 Hedda Gabler, by Henrik Ibsen,
Davis and Elkins College; Elkins, WV
T E A C H I N G
2020 January Term Hollins University; Roanoke, VA
• creating the curriculum/syllabus for “Shakespeare Boot Camp”
2019 Summer Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center;
Loch Sheldrake, NY
• taught eight classes, including Shakespeare’s Verse and Tablework, Cold Readings,
and The Art of Auditioning
2018 Fall Semester Hollins University; Roanoke, VA
• created the curriculum/syllabus for and taught a 300-level hybrid Theatre/English class:
“Shakespeare: Page to Stage”
2018 Spring Semester Davis and Elkins College; Elkins, WV
• taught classes in Acting, Directing, and Stage Management
W R I T I N G
“You Say You Want a Revolution...Rebuilding the Theatre Industry from the Ground Up After Covid-19” published October 2020 in American Theatre magazine
• a Jerry Maguire moment (without the morning-after regret) to lay out the harsh realities of the structure we have created and the hopeful possibilities of where we could go if we stop talking and start walking
“A Runaway American Dream: The Birth of the ASC”
• the preface to Shakespeare in the Light: Essays in Honor of Ralph Alan Cohen
Looking Back with the Lights On: A History of the American Shakespeare Center by the Artists Who Built It
• a full-length book in the works to tell the story of the ASC’s first three-decade era interlaced with actor stories
ONGOING PROJECT: A M E R I C A N G L O B E C E N T E R IN STRATFORD, CT
The former grounds of the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre will soon house the world’s only historically accurate re-creation of Shakespeare’s 1614 Globe Theatre, along with the Stratford Playhouse, our modern performing arts and education center.
Stratford will become home to a true destination for the region, the nation, and the world – presenting engaging, inclusive, entertainment-guaranteed classical theatre, alongside the best of today’s hits, to thousands of visitors from all around the world.
www.americanglobecenter.org
G R A N T S
• Facilitator and Actor Liaison, “Center for Renaissance and Shakespearean Staging,”
funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities
• Facilitator and Actor Liaison, “Women on the Page and Stage,”
funded by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
• Facilitator and Actor Liaison, Folger Institute Workshop
• Facilitator and Actor Liaison, “Bringing Shakespeare Home,”
funded by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
E D U C A T I O N
B.S. double major in Theatre and English
James Madison University
University of London Semester Abroad
Magna Cum Laude with Distinction in Theatre
Honors Thesis: “Love Somebody: Process of directing Romeo and Juliet”
JIM WARREN
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