James Taylor

Nazarian Center 135 (401) 456-8639 jltaylor@ric.edu

Academic Background

Ph.D. in Dramaturgy and Theatre, Florida State University
M.A. in Theatre Arts, California State University, Los Angeles
B.A. in Radio, Television, & Motion Picture, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Background

Jamie Taylor is a director, dramaturg, actor, and playwright. He has studied with many prominent theatre artists: acting and directing with Lloyd Richards, former Yale artistic director and director of the original production of A Raisin in the Sun; directing with Woodie King, Jr., producer of several Off-Broadway plays and a leading producer of major African-American plays; theatre and social change with legendary socially-engaged artist, August Boal (Theatre of the Oppressed); and Dramatic Theory & Criticism with Bernard F. Dukore, one of the preeminent George Bernard Shaw scholars in the United States. Dr. Taylor’s areas of specialization are: 20th century acting theories, playwright August Wilson, African-American theatre, Greek theatre, and Shakespearean tragedy.

Jamie’s original plays Blood Line, Bodies That Blow in the Wind, When A Black Woman Speaks, and A White Man’s A Comin’ have all been produced by the Black Actors Guild in Tallahassee, Florida. He has also presented several papers, performed and directed at various national and international conferences: Theatre of the Oppressed, Breaking Barriers Literature and Emerging Issues International Conference, New England Theatre Conference, The McKnight Doctoral Conference, and the International Conference on American Studies and Literature of America, Great Britain, and the Pacific. Jamie presented a paper entitled “In Search of the Black Shakespeare: A Critical Examination of August Wilson and His Works” in Bangkok, Thailand.

Dr. Taylor’s main courses are: Auditioning Techniques, Contemporary African-American Theatre, Dramatic Literature, Fundamentals of Directing, Performing Arts Management, Theatre History, and Theatre Senior Seminar. He has directed several collegiate plays, gospel musicals, and staged readings. While at Rhode Island College, Jamie has directed The Little Foxes, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, The Boys Next Door, I Hate Hamlet, To Kill a Mockingbird, Steel Magnolias, The Foreigner, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Jamie currently serves as Rhode Island College’s Theatre Organization Faculty Advisor and the Managing Director of Rhode Island College’s Summer Performing Arts Camp. He is also a Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival Respondent. Dr. Taylor continues to spearhead the Remembering Democracy Summer Production series, a venue for producing political plays that tackle issues dealing with diversity and equality in America. As part of this social theatre, Jamie directed The Meeting and Dutchman, and he produced the theatrical productions Let Freedom Ring and Highlife.

Dr. Taylor is a member of the following professional organizations: American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR), Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA), New England Theatre Conference (NETC), The Drama League, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated, and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society (life-time member).