James Shanklin

James Shanklin was born and raised in Baltimore Maryland. During his undergraduate time he would spend his summers working as a member of the Ocean City Beach Patrol as a lifeguard on the beach. The first professional theatre job was in David Hare's MAP OF THE WORLD at Center Stage in Baltimore, MD. . Along with other roles at Washington, DC's Folger Theatre where he performed with Stacy Keach in RICHARD III, Arena Stage where he was directed by the legendary theatre director Liviu Ciulei. From there he went on to do several plays with The New York Shakespeare Festival and The Public Theatre. From there he went on to the prestigious Yale School of Drama where he did a multitude of productions including John Guare's LANDSCAPE OF THE BODY with Laura Linney. Upon graduating from Yale he went on to do more plays with the Public Theatre and the NYSF including the world premiere of Thulani Davis's EVERYBODY LOVES RUBY with Viola Davis. James never stopped his passion for doing theatre even a