Nominations for recognition are carefully reviewed by EdTA and are chosen using highly competitive criteria. EdTA is an international association with more than 135,000 active members that supports and promotes school theatre. EdTA is the home of the International Thespian Society, an honor society for middle and high school theatre students, which has inducted more than 2.3 million members since 1929.

James Thomas Bailey has served as a distinguished theatre educator for 33 years and is currently director of theatre and visual and performing arts at Justin-Siena High School in Napa, where he founded Thespian Troupe 7802. Fitting that he would earn this award during a milestone year for the JS Theatre program—celebrating 50 years of theatre. Numerous alumni have lauded the program as transformative in their own lives, and all agree that with Bailey’s leadership these past 8 years the program continues to soar to new heights. The acclaimed spring musical production (NVR review) produced and directed by Bailey, Encore, shone a spotlight on the success of the program through the years, involving a number of alumni performers, technicians, and musicians alongside his student cast and crew of nearly 100.

Justin-Siena President David Holquin remarked, “With his uncanny knack for pulling the very best out of his student artists and making them shine, James Bailey is a true Lasallian educator and an inspired artist. We are blessed with his talent and dedication. His work, in particular, this past year, with Encore and 50th Anniversary celebrations of Justin-Siena Theatre, was a true testament to his commitment. He created a moving tribute that honored the past while engaging students and alumni alike—showing the power of the Justin-Siena community.”

In addition to his work at Justin-Siena and the youth theatre summer camp he hosts in conjunction with the Napa Valley Performing Arts Center at Lincoln Theater, Bailey has proudly produced more than two dozen state conferences, two in collaboration with EdTA, and is the creator of the largest teen improvisational program in the U.S. through his work with ComedySportz for which he serves as director and producer of this longest-running theatrical production in Los Angeles history. He is past-president of the California Educational Theatre Association (CETA) and currently serves as a cultural specialist for the U.S. State Department, teaching theatre techniques for conflict resolution in cooperation with the U.S. embassy in Cyprus. Locally, he serves on the Napa County Arts and Culture Advisory Committee.

Bailey has been an active producer in the professional theatre scene, having produced more than fifty shows in Los Angeles, including many west coast and world premieres. Most recently, his all-female improvised Shakespeare production, Chickspeare, played in Hollywood and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for several seasons. As an actor, he has appeared on television, in many national commercials, and in more than forty stage productions. His productions have won numerous awards (including top honors from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle). Bailey is also well known as corporate trainer and consultant, with clients such as Universal Studios, Walt Disney, ABC, Google, eBay, Nestle, and Coca-Cola, among others. He is the past president and board member of the California Educational Theatre Association.

“James is one of the strongest visionaries that I have ever had the chance to work with,” noted Amanda Swann of the California Educational Theatre Association.

About the Educational Theatre Association, home of the International Thespian Society
The Educational Theatre Association is an international association with more than 135,000 active members. EdTA’s mission is shaping lives through theatre education: honoring student achievement in theatre; supporting teachers by providing professional development, resources, and recognition; and influencing public opinion that theatre education is essential and builds life skills. EdTA is the home of the International Thespian Society, an honorary organization established at nearly 5,000 schools, that has inducted more than 2.3 million theatre students since its founding in 1929. EdTA also produces the International Thespian Festival and publishes Dramatics magazine in print and online for high school theatre students, and Teaching Theatre, a journal for theatre education professionals. The Educational Theatre Foundation is the philanthropic arm of EdTA.