Born and raised in Northern California, Ira Heinichen (director) began his professional acting career in the Redwood Curtain Theatre as the lead in The Cripple of Inishmaan and Amy’s View.  He moved to the Los Angeles area to attend the nationally recognized conservatory Acting program at Cal State Fullerton where he earned a BA and was nominated for a National Irene Ryan Acting Award for his work in The Orphan Muses.  Ira has since moved on to critically acclaimed lead performances in Theatricum Botanicum's A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth. Ira is the co-founder of J&I Productions, an independent production company. He can currently be seen in the long-standing web series Josh & Ira and on the Theatre Banshee stage as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice.  Blacked Out is his directorial debut.