Jim VanValen

Jim VanValen, Assistant Professor of Theatre, is a professional actor who teaches courses in acting, voice and movement, advanced scene study, and auditioning.  A member of Actors’ Equity Association, Jim spent three years as a resident actor with the historic Barter Theatre and has performed throughout the country in such regional theatres as The Fulton Opera House, The Bread Loaf Acting Ensemble in Vermont, Florida’s Riverside Theatre, Florida Rep, The Riverside Theatre in Iowa, Iowa Summer Rep, The Connecticut Theatre Festival, and North Carolina’s Temple Theatre. 

He has served as an Adjunct Professor and Guest Artist at the University of Iowa, an Associate Director of The Arena Players Theatre in New York, and a Guest Director at the Old Creamery Theatre in Iowa.  Education: M.F.A. in Acting, University of Iowa; M.A. in Theatre Arts, State University of New York at Stony Brook; B.A. in English, State University of New York at Stony Brook.  Some past acting credits include: Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey, Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, and Feste in Twelfth Night, as well as such productions as The Foreigner, Our Town, The Mystery of Irma Vep, Rounding Third, Tuesdays With Morrie, She Loves Me, and The Guys.