About
James Royce McGuire is a playwright, novelist, and mime artist whose work spans theater, literature, and physical comedy.
Theater
James's plays have been produced at several venues including Circle Rep, The Drama Book Shop, and Cornelia Street Café in New York. His first full-length play, Daddy Kathryn, premiered at HERE, was filmed for the BBC, and received readings at Ensemble Studio Theatre and The Abingdon Theater Company, with a production at The New York International Fringe Festival.
His work has been featured at The Actor's Studio New Play Festival, The Last Frontier Theater Conference, and selected for PlayLab at the Great Plains Theatre Conference. His plays are archived in the permanent collection at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Mime & Performance
As a mime artist, James trained at The Goldston School for Mimes, with Marcel Marceau, and has performed with Periwinkle Theatre for Young Audiences, Celebrity Cruises, and The New Haven Symphony Children's Program. He appeared as the mime in the award-winning film Jonathan's Turn (dir. Ed Levy).
James is currently developing comedy-mime material for clubs, colleges, and corporate events, and is building a comedy troupe, Commedia del Gringo.
Writing
His fiction has been published in Story Shack, fictionontheweb.com, HGMLQ, and The Legendary. His debut novel, Elle's Book, a comedy about identity, family, and unlikely alliances, will be published by Ars Notria Press in May 2026. Literary readings of his work have been held at the 92Y and KGB Bar.
Background
James is an alumnus of the BMI Musical Theater Workshop, a member of The Dramatist's Guild, and was awarded a prestigious Hawthornden Fellowship for playwriting. He teaches mime at California State University, Long Beach, and lives in Long Beach, California.