James Bontempo

James Bontempo

A graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse under the direction of the legendary Sanford Meisner, Mr. Bontempo has performed on Broadway in Goodspeed Opera House’s production on “Going Up”, in the National Tour of “A Chorus Line” for almost two years first as Don and then as Al, in Las Vegas as Zach at the Sahara Hotel’s production of “A Chorus Line”. James played Diesel in “West Side Story” starring Patrick Swayze in the late 1970s. And, he performed in the finale of “Baryshnikov on Broadway” in 1980.

A teacher/director at AMDA Los Angeles for the past decade, he has also taught at USC School of Cinema-Television in both directing and writing programs. Working with Randal Kleiser, he recently conducted workshops in the Nina Foch Technique at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts in Orange County and conducted a master directing class as part of the International Digital Workshop in association with at the University of California San Bernardino.

As a director, James won the audience choice award for directing “Blue Tuesday” at the Attic Theatre in Los Angeles in the Fall of 2010 and continues to teach and direct locally and nationally. James coaches working professionals in writing, directing and acting and was acting consultant to Academy Award nominated director/writer Walter Salles, Jr. for his narrative directorial debut, “Exposure” and coached for Disney’s “The Jungle Book” and other features and multiple television productions.

As a writer, he is winner of the New Noises Playwriting Award at Perry-Mansfield, Steamboat Springs, CO, for co-writing “A Place at Forest Lawn,” which was also a finalist in the Palm Springs International Playwriting Festival and received its world premiered at the Arvada Center for the Humanities in Colorado to rave reviews. His writing also earned him quarterfinalist honors with both Scriptapalooza and Zoetrope Studios. His latest play, “She’s the Best” has been selected for a world premiere staged reading at the Open Fist Theater in Hollywood. He is now collaborating on the book for a new musical, “Genetic Eddy” which enjoyed its world premiere at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June 2012.