James T. Majewski
Actor
"James T. Majewski’s every movement is an explosion."
- The Washington Post
James T. Majewski is an American actor and theater director based in New York City, whose work has been seen both internationally and across the United States.
In June 2024, James directed and performed in an original adaptation / translation of Karol Wojtyla's The Jeweler's Shop. The text was newly adapted by James and his wife, Karina Majewski. The entirely sold-out run of performances was presented by Arthouse2B, a NYC-based artist collective and non-profit with which James serves as an Artistic Associate.
In November 2023, James directed Arranged, a new one-act play by playwright Karina Majewski. Performances occurred at Theater 71, remounting the play with a fresh cast and design team after its first production in March 2022. These initial performances saw James perform alongside his wife in the two-person play.
In June and October 2023, James performed in Ruah: Breath of Life, an interdisciplinary, immersive arts performance featuring original artwork, poetry, dance, music, and theater, and which James co-directed with visual artist Erin K. McAtee.
In May 2021, James developed and performed in the original one-man show Magnificat, a theatrical realization of the 20th-century French poet Paul Claudel's Third Great Ode, presented in NYC by Arthouse 2B in a new translation from Jonathan Geltner, published by Angelico Press.
In Fall 2020 and as theaters were shuttered, James appeared in the socially-distanced outdoor performances of City of Ghosts, an original work written and directed by frequent collaborator Manon Manavit and presented in the Catskills by Delaware Valley Arts Alliance.
At the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, James performed in the premiere production and festival-long run of here comes the tide / there goes the girl, by New York City playwright and member of Ensemble Studio Theatre's YOUNGBLOOD collective, Nadja Leonard-Hooper,
James has engaged in artistic residencies abroad, including in 2019 at Site de pratiques théâtrales in Lavauzelle, France, as well as at the Instytut im. Jerzego Grotowskiego in Wroclaw, Poland in a collaboration between Galiana & Nikolchev’s The Useless Room and members of Teatr ZAR in 2018.
In Los Angeles, James worked as a collaborator with the international interdisciplinary artist group DREAM WALKER and was a featured performer in their 2018 multimedia immersive performance, Dreamscape, first conceived in residency at Automata in downtown LA, and later presented variously at Thymele Arts in Hollywood and as part of the biennial Public Urban Multisensory Presentations (PUMP) Festival.
Additional LA performance collaborations include at Hauser & Wirth LA with visual and performance artist Sichong Xie, the Hollywood Fringe Festival, and the short film, Hearse, directed by renowned American experimental filmmaker, Lewis Klahr.
Originally from the Washington, D.C. metro area, James was an Artistic Associate with the now-defunct Brave Spirits Theatre. James performed in several plays with Brave Spirits, one of which, The Bloody Banquet, featured James in the first professional production of the Jacobean revenge tragedy in nearly 400 years.
James originated the role of The Art Object in the world-premiere production of OBIE Lifetime Achievement Award-winning playwright Caridad Svich’s Magnificent Waste (Factory 449: A Theatre Collective), and was acclaimed for his performance of the titular role in D.C. NPR station WAMU’s radio broadcast of Romeo and Juliet (Lean and Hungry Theater), rebroadcast on KUT/FM Austin, Texas and Sirius XM Book Radio.
Select Washington area credits include leading the premiere production of a new translation of Albert Camus’ Les Justes (WSC Avant-Bard), Richard Foreman’s Paradise Hotel (Capital Fringe), roles in Hamlet, Macbeth, and Twelfth Night (VpStart Crow), as well as with Molotov Theatre Group.
James received his MFA in Acting from the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles and earned his BA in Philosophy summa cum laude from the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, OH. He lives in New York City with his wife and two sons.
"James Majewski has brought this character to light in a way that really hasn’t been done before.
It’s delightful, genuine, and a little sobering."
- DC Metro Theater Arts
"James Majewski as Romeo glided through his poetic lines with a sweet fluidity that made this listener’s jaw slack"
- Shakespeareances