DIRECTING
The Nobodies Who Were Everybody
A national crisis. An economic catastrophe. Marches. Breadlines. Riots. The year is 1935 and the Great Depression is roaring. Six theater artists find themselves newly employed by the New Deal's Federal Theatre Project. Playing everybody from Macbeth to Mussolini on stage, these hardworking but unsung artists bond over their work on some of the Project’s great plays. The Nobodies Who Were Everybody gives voice to the thousands of incredible artists, the "nobodies," who powered the Federal Theatre Project, and examines why it is still so difficult to give artists––and audiences––the support we all deserve.
Created by Theater in Asylum; Co-directed with Katie Palmer; Designed by Gizel Buxton (scenic), Brynne Oster-Bainnson (costumes), and Dan Stearns
(lights); Photos by Shubhra Mishra
Click here to learn more about The Nobodies Who Were Everybody
Created by Theater in Asylum; Co-directed with Katie Palmer; Designed by Gizel Buxton (scenic), Brynne Oster-Bainnson (costumes), and Dan Stearns
(lights); Photos by Shubhra Mishra
Click here to learn more about The Nobodies Who Were Everybody
Hephaestus
God of fire, god of the forge, the worker god: Hephaestus. At once a meditation on labor, dis/ability, and beauty, Hephaestus interrogates our relationships to our bodies, and our ideas of beauty and divinity. Drawing on texts ancient and new, Hephaestus explores the limitations of the body and the self, and our desire to transcend them.
Written by Willie Johnson; Directed by Paul Bedard; Choreographed & Associate Directed by Katie Palmer; Composed & Sound Designed by Dylan Neely; Scenic Design by Lina Younes; Costume Design by Heather Freedman; Lighting Design by Dan Stearns; Photos by Ryan Prado, LPAC / Rough Draft Festival
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Totally Wholesome FoodsSet in Gowaynus, this wild satire follows Wendy and her community from the excitement of re-opening their beloved community garden to the chaos and frenzied terror of watching that garden, once destroyed by Hurricane Bobby, be destroyed again by the global wellness franchise Totally Wholesome Foods.
Written by Alice Pencavel ; Directed by Paul Bedard; Music Composition & Direction by Paul Hinkes; Scenic design by Dan Daly; Costumes & Prop design by Claire Moodey; Lighting Design by Dan Stearns; Photos by Ahron R. Foster
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¡Olé!
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A chronicle of the relationship between Spanish poet Federico García Lorca and poet Salvador Dalí that asks, "Why do we make art?"
Conceived and directed by Paul Bedard
With text by Salvador Dalí & Federico Garcia Lorca Original score by Randall Benichak Choreographed by Katie Palmer & Theresa Burns Dramaturgy by Samantha Keogh & Jake Lasser Lighting Design by Dan Stearns Costume Design by Karli Brae (NYC) & Stephanie Levin + Chloe Treat (Tour) Scenic Design by Walter Ryan (NYC) & Paul Bedard (Tour) Click here for more about Theater in Asylum's ¡Olé! |
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The Infernal MachineJean Cocteau's wild and devastating take on the Oedipus myth.
Written by Jean Cocteau; Directed by Paul Bedard; Presented at The Hangar Theatre as part of a Drama League Directing fellowship; Dramaturgy by Ella Carr; Scenic Design by Dan Daly; Costume Design by Camilla Morrison; Lighting Design by Topher Strumreiter; Sound Design by Garrett Hood
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PRESS
- Interview on TDF Stages: "Why a Play About the Federal Theatre Project Is So Urgent Right Now" by Joey Sims
- "This is smart theater... genius... brisk, unyielding..."- Rochester City Newspaper on ¡Olé!
- "This was the way to spend the nervous hours before voting began on Tuesday... Forthright, in-your-face, up-to-the-minute... Let's hope we don't have to wait four years and another embattled primary for a troupe like Theater in Asylum to visit Hartford again." - The Hartford Courant on The Debates 2016
- "Bedard infused intelligent metaphors on socialism into The Infernal Machine, with deep commentary on society being both openly highlighted and discretely suggested at all the right moments... Bedard had carefully placed surprises to keep his social commentary sensibly shocking and invigorating."
- Theater is Easy Blog on The Infernal Machine
