Out of the Wings: James Pillar

James PillarJames is thrilled to be joining the creative team at San Diego Junior Theatre with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.  As Director of Young Performers’ Conservatory at La Jolla Playhouse, he has had the pleasure of working with several talented students who have enjoyed training and performance at JT, and he looks forward to becoming acquainted with the abundance of talent that flourishes here.
Mr. Pillar has over 20 years experience as a Director, Performer and Teacher.  Born in Devon, England, he holds an honors degree in Directing, Composition and Performance from Dartington College of Arts in the UK.  Much of his practice has focused on new works and empowering performers of all ages and abilities to harness their skills to create thought-provoking performance of their own.  As a Director, James has worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company (Education), BBC Radio, British Film Institute, Alakazoo Children’s Theatre of London, The One Foundation (Belgium and NYC) and Traveling Lantern. Mr. Pillar is Lead Teaching Artist for La Jolla Playhouse and has also been on the teaching staff of The Old Globe, Playwrights Project, and Mainly Mozart. Mr. Pillar believes everyone can benefit from theatre arts opportunities and is especially proud of his work with students in Juvenile Hall and Juvenile Court and Community Schools.  His groundbreaking work over the past seven years with students in San Diego public high schools through LJP’s InterACTion program has led to scholarships at La Jolla Playhouse and UCSD.
James has performed his own work at the Institute of Contemporary Art (London), Blue Coat Gallery (Liverpool), Green Room Theatre (Manchester), and at the Edinburgh Festival, as well as touring Europe with the Barclays New Stages Award-winning Pants Performance Association.  Most recently, with 3rd Space Theatre at the 2014 San Diego International Fringe Festival, he co-created Jackie and the Beans Talk, an interactive contemporary fable that played on an old RV parked at Horton Plaza, which won Outstanding Site Specific Performance.
James looks forward to stepping through the Wardrobe and continuing his adventures this winter with Junior Theatre.

Out of the Wings: Ira Bauer-Spector

Ira Bauer-Spectre
Out of the Wings: Ira Bauer-Spector, director of San Diego Junior Theatre’s premiere of Flight of the Lawnchair Man.
Flight of the Lawnchair ManWe are delighted to welcome back Ira Bauer-Spector. Ira is a San Diego-based theatre artist whose directing credits at San Diego Junior Theatre include: James and the Giant Peach (NYA Award – Outstanding Production), HONK!, Zanna, Don’t! (AMT), Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale (Alumni) and Pinkalicious: The Musical (Rippledink’s Repertory).  He has worked at many theatres in San Diego including: The Old Globe (assistant to Rupert Holmes), San Diego State University (Into the Woods), American Rose Theatre (Spring Awakening), Diversionary, North Coast Repertory, ACT – San Diego.  He has also performed as an actor extensively across the country.  Honors include: FringeNYC Award for Outstanding Ensemble for Dear Harvey (Diversionary), Kennedy Center SSD&C Directing Fellowship Finalist for Cabaret (CU-Boulder), NYA Award Nomination for Outstanding Directing for James and the Giant Peach (SDJT).
He is the Founding Artistic Director of Breakthrough Workshop Theatre, a non-profit theatre organization in San Diego.  With BWT, highlights include the award-winning Dear Harvey at the 1st San Diego Fringe Festival, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Bette Midler Project and “BWTinRep” (You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown & Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead), as well as writing, directing and starring as Miss M in the World Premiere of Miss M Saves the Universe! at the 2nd Annual San Diego International Fringe Festival.
Education: BFA Musical Theatre/BFA Theatre Performance, University of Colorado at Boulder; MFA Musical Theatre (Directing Emphasis), San Diego State University.