James Leard

James Leard is one of the University of Victoria theatre department’s first graduates. After earning his BFA in 1970, Leard spent a season at Theatre Calgary and returned to Victoria shortly thereafter.

Upon his return, Jim became one of the original members of Company One, an early experimental company based in Victoria that toured across Canada with a fresh, innovative approach to performance. He continued to perform with practically every group in the city while teaching at the University of Victoria and Norfolk House School for Girls until 1978, when once again he left Victoria to earn his Master’s Degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

1981 marked Leard’s second return to Victoria as a professional theatre practitioner. It was during this year that he began teaching at the UVic’s Department of Theatre as a full-time instructor while also founding The Story Theatre Company. This company eventually became his primary focus; his productions were soon invited to tour across Canada and parts of the United States, featuring at The Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Smithsonian Institute, Wolftrap, The National Arts Centre, as well as International Children's Festivals in Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Ottawa. The company is still going strong after 30 years, basing itself in Victoria while travelling across the continent.

Leard continues to write for the Story Theatre Company while also working as a freelance film and television actor. His resume includes roles in the popular sci-fi drama The X-Files, as well as appearances in Cold Squad, Davinci’s Quest, and Intelligence. His current work includes writing and directing the Story Theatre Company’s 2013 production of Hey... Bully, Bully!