Ian Ellis James
Teacher
IAN ELLIS JAMES WGA/ASCAP/DG
AKA WILLIAM ELECTRIC BLACK
CREDITS: (TELEVISION) William Electric Black, aka Ian Ellis James, is a seven-time Emmy Award winning writer for his work on "Sesame Street" between 1992 and 2002. He also wrote for Nickelodeon's "Allegra’s Window" and Lancit Media’s "Backyard Safari." In 2022-2023, his children’s television show - “Rap-U-Cation” was optioned by FarView Entertainment. He also developed an original TV show for FarView called Dragon Clouds. In a series of multimedia projects with Doug E. Fresh, Chuck D, and Artie Green, he has campaigned for exercise and good nutrition for young children, prescription drug awareness and obesity prevention.
CREDITS: (STAGE PRODUCTIONS) (2024) Betty & The Belrays – Writer/Director – La MaMa ETC, NY, NY -- (2024) Fly To Tomorrow – Additional Book Writer – Jooda Culture – South Korea --(2024) The Frankenstein Project – Writer/Director - TNC, NY, NY -- (2023) Romeo & Juliet: Tribal Rock Musical -Writer/Director, TNC, NY, NY -- (2022) Romeo & Juliet: Tribal Rock Musical - La MaMa ETC, NY, NY
AWARDS: Awards include: Sesame Street (7 Emmy Awards) La MaMa Regional Theater Tony Award, 2018. NY State Assembly Citation - Charles D. Lavine, Member of Assembly, 2018. He has received a Bronze Apple (National Educational Video Award) for directing. He has also received several Best Play Awards and has been published by Benchmark Education, The Dramatic Publishing Co. and Smith & Krauss. He has been a faculty member at NYU’s Tisch School (Dept. of Dramatic Writing and NYU’s Summer High School Program) for some 20 years.
SPECIAL PROJECTS: In 2009, he directed Theater for the New City's sensational and serious "Lonely Soldier Monologues: Women at War in Iraq," a staged series of monologues based on a book by Helen Benedict. The play earned widespread notice and significantly helped the issues of America's female soldiers to be widely recognized for the first time. His series of plays re; gun violence -(Gunplays: Five Plays on Inner City Violence and Guns), was recently published by Applause Books. He is also the author of a series of Pre-K, early reader books re: gun violence awareness - A GUN IS NOT FUN. These early childhood books, written to combat gun violence awareness and prevention, are part of an in-school pilot program that he is developing. (see www.Gunplays.org for his plays and children's books on gun violence awareness). His NPR interview and NBC Nightly News interview can be see via these links -- https://www.npr.org/2015/03/22/394636746/william-electric-black-tackles-gun-violence-in-5-ambitious-plays -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42uiaKTOgvU
https://www.americanslaveryproject.org/william-electric-black