Tugging at the Heartstrings | James Vagias - Artistic Director, Producer

James Vagias | Producing Artistic Director, Producer, Educator
www.americantheatregroup.org

Jim Vagias (Producing Artistic Director) has been involved in the
entertainment industry since 1983 and has had the pleasure of working with
some of the industry’s leading professionals, as well as discovering and
nurturing up-and-coming talent who later have gone on to great success (e.g.
Thomas Kail, Tony Award-winning director of Hamilton; Joe DiPietro, Tony
Award-winning author of Memphis.) A former attorney, Vagias founded
American Theater Group in 2012 with industry professionals Joe Mancuso and
Rick Sordelet. Prior to American Theater Group, Vagias produced over 40 new
and classic plays and musicals, including 14 world premieres, 6 of which
successfully transferred to Off-Broadway (such as I Love You, You’re Perfect,
Now Change, and Swingtime Canteen). Jim has also worked for commercial
producers such as NAMCO (Chicago, Seussical, Waitress) and Timothy
Childs (Annie revival). He has worked with Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin)
to inaugurate the New American Musical Reading Series, a program designed
to help emerging writers of theatrical musicals to develop their work. In
addition to having served on several panels of the ASCAP Musical Theater
Workshops, he has also served as the magic consultant for Broadway
productions. Vagias has taught courses on Theatre Management and
Entertainment Law at Montclair State University, and has also been a guest
lecturer at Rutgers, Kean University and the New School.