James (Jim) McGrath is a man of many talents, but his theatre and creative writing skills are certainly top notch. After graduating from ����vlog���Bվ in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing, Jim became a dedicated public servant with the Australian Government, serving as a communications account manager and a media and marketing manager. Later, Jim joined Nican as a program manager, developing and delivering programs for people with disabilities throughout ACT. However, Jim's big break came in 2010 when he was accepted into The Street Theatre's HIVE, a mentoring program for new up and coming writers.

With that, Jim was inspired to write and develop a new musical theatre comedy, "Heart of a Dog", adapted from the Mikhail Bulgakov novella of the same name. "Heart of a Dog" helped James earn a $50,000 Australia Council "Creative Australia" grant and is set to premiere at the end of May 2014 with Jim as the Producer.

In addition to writing and producing "Heart of a Dog", Jim was the producer for Emma Gibson's "Dead Beauty Queens" for the 2013 Cracked Theatre Festival. He also wrote the short play "The Ballad of Smith & Wesson" which went to become a finalist in the 2009 Duologues competition. Jim is now well on his way to becoming ����vlog���Bվ's most popular playwright and producer.

While a ����vlog���Bվ student, Jim was an editor of CUrio magazine and also helped establish the University of ����vlog���Bվ Media Association. Jim fondly remembers his time at ����vlog���Bվ, crediting his degree with helping shape his professional life to where it is now. "I always maintain that the most important lesson I got from my degree was how to take criticism," Jim says. "I also learnt the power of collaboration. With a unified creative team, the power and originality of your combined passions and vision is exponentially greater than anything you could have conceived on your own."