James Serpento is a versatile performer, filmmaker, and educator rooted in the Midwestern United States. Born and raised in Iowa, he honed his craft at Iowa State University in Ames and Indiana University in Bloomington. His artistic journey has been significantly shaped by esteemed local organizations such as the Chicago Dramatists, the Bloomington Playwrights Project, and the Iowa Scriptwriters Alliance, which have all played pivotal roles in his development as a writer for both theater and film.
Chicago holds a special place in Serpento's heart, where he flourished as an actor, director, writer, and educator before relocating to Los Angeles. In LA, he has primarily focused on directing, but he maintains ties to Chicago through various projects.
Currently, Serpento is engaged in several exciting ventures: he is co-authoring a musical adaptation of Euripides' "The Bacchae," collaborating with Jeff Charis-Carlson on the book and lyrics, with music by Sarah Evans. Additionally, he is working on two new plays, "Every Cottage Home," in partnership with Louise Bylicki, and "Doll," which delves into the life of Franz Kafka. In 2021, he released a collection of new short plays titled "Love, For Short," co-authored with R. Andrew White, which draws inspiration from Anton Chekhov's works.
Outside of his artistic endeavors, Serpento is a devoted father to his son, Samuel.
