Jim Bray
Teaching Assistant Professor
Jim Bray is a company member with Playmakers Repertory Company as well as a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Dramatic Art at UNC. He instructs courses in Acting and Perspectives in Drama.
He has performed in New York and regionally with Workshop Theatre Company; Barrington Stage; Bay Street Theatre; Jennie T. Anderson Theatre; Dobama Theatre; Cain Park; North Carolina Theatre; Theatre Raleigh; The Musical Theatre Project; Forestburgh Playhouse; and Porthouse Theatre as well as in national and international touring companies. Outside of his work at UNC, he is a freelance acting coach and director.
Having received extensive training in the Sanford Meisner approach to acting, he studied initially with Don Biehn, a protégé of William Alderson, and later in New York with Maggie Flanigan. His training has been further enriched by working with the Michael Chekhov Association, Anne Bogart at SITI Company (Viewpoints), Tectonic Theater Project (Moment Work), Black Acting Methods, and with The Pandemonium Studio (Clown). His focus is on integrating various acting methodologies to promote a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to actor training.
Jim has taught acting at various university programs, including Stephens College, University of Northern Iowa, East Carolina University, Kent State University, and has led workshops at professional theaters, universities, and educational programs across the United States.
Dedicated to promoting diverse voices, he founded the Multicultural Theatrical Society at the University of Northern Iowa and is a member of The National Alliance for Acting Teachers and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s focus groups in Acting and Theatre for Social Justice.
Jim is a member of Actor’s Equity Association and holds an M.F.A. in Acting from Kent State University. www.jimbray.net