Jim Nieb

Jim currently teaches the advanced acting class at The Margie Haber Studio and former staff member at Playhouse West School and Repertory Theater where he taught the Meisner technique as well as founding the first comedy program there for 8 years. Jim got his start doing comedy improvisation, theater and stand up comedy in high school. 

Currently living and working in Los Angeles, when not teaching acting, Jim has had some wonderful opportunities to act on stage, in film, on television and in commercials as well as new media. He’s currently waiting excitedly for the release of “Barney Burman’s Wild Boar” and is in pre-production on a new web series called “Ax Man” where he plays the title character.

Conceived in Germany, born in Ohio, and raised in Northern Virginia Jim started his career doing stand up comedy his senior year of high school. In 1992 joined ComedySportz, DC and his professional comedy career officially began. It was around that time that he also began doing anything he could that was performance based: on camera, voice-over, improv comedy, teaching, juggling, stilt-walking, renaissance festivals, clowning, magic, balloon sculpting, fire eating, impersonations, corporate entertainment, and much more.

2004 was the year that found Jim making his move to Los Angeles.

Since moving to Los Angeles Jim has had the great fortune to work on camera with some amazing directors over the years including such legends as Peter Farrelly, Clint Eastwood, J.J. Abrams, and Jerry Zucker to name a few.

In 2005, while waiting to join the writing lab at Groundlings, Jim was introduced to the prestigious Playhouse West School and Repertory Theater and knew he'd found a home and he began training. The school, founded by Robert Carnegie and Jeff Goldblum, is one of the very few Meisner schools in LA sanctioned by Sanford Meisner himself. During his time at Playhouse West Jim performed in a number of shows and plays including being in the original cast of Scott Caan’s new play, Word Faithful, which premiered at Playhouse West in 2014.

A student at the school for many years under the watchful eyes of Chris Liebe, and Mark and Tracy Pellegrino, Jim decided he wanted to give something back to the school that had given him so much. In April, 2009 he launched the Playhouse West Comedy Program until leaving the school in the fall of 2017. Over those years the program grew and evolved seeing hundreds of students come through the program in a school not, previously, known for comedy. You can now find the program at The Zoo Comedy.