Immediate Past President, NAST (Board of Directors)
Term ends March 2026
Jim Hunter is Professor of Theatre at the University of South Carolina, and served from 2004 to 2014 as Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance and Artistic Director for Theatre South Carolina. He teaches courses in scene and lighting design.
Professor Hunter is a member of the theatrical designers’ union, United Scenic Artists, Local 829 in both scene and lighting design. His designs have been seen at such theatres as the Folger Theatre, Florida Stage, Theatre Virginia, Phoenix Theatre, Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Florida Repertory Theatre, Charlotte Repertory Theatre, SC Education Lottery, The Lost Colony, Turner Broadcasting/Mad Monkey, Drury Lane Theatre in Chicago, Heritage Repertory Theatre in Virginia, the Veggie Tales Live National Tour, World Stage Design in Toronto; and he toured for several years with the modern dance company, Wall Street Danceworks. Professor Hunter’s scene design for Thoroughly Modern Millie at Phoenix Theatre in Arizona was awarded his second consecutive AriZoni Award for Excellence in Scene Design.
Professor Hunter was elected to the NAST Commission on Accreditation as a member in 2008, and as Chair in 2014. He served NAST as President from 2020-2023 and Vice President from 2017-2020. He has also served as a mentor for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) Leadership Institute and member of the University Resident Theatre Association‘s (URTA) Membership Application Procedures and Rules Committee.
Professor Hunter earned a Master of Fine Arts in Scene Design from the University of Virginia, and a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
__________________
Updated March 2023