Today we’d like to introduce you to Dani Bedau.
Hi Dani, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I am a theatre artist. I mostly identify as a director, but I have also written plays. I started out as an actor getting my BFA from CalArts. I worked as a professional actor for a bit and then transitioned to directing because I wanted to have more artistic control over my work and realized that I enjoyed the rehearsal process more than performing. I also really wanted to make social justice and transformation the focus of my work and felt I could do that more directly as a director. I received my MFA in directing from UC Irvine. During my years in graduate school, I also worked for an organization called the National Conference for Community and Justice where I founded several youth arts programs aimed at fighting bias, bigotry, and racism and promoting social justice including the Presidential award-winning Will Power to Youth program. In 2006 I became the Head of Youth Theatre at San Diego State University where I am still on faculty. I teach students who are interested in becoming teachers or teaching artists how to utilize theatre as a tool for learning and transformation. I also specialize in teaching and directing Shakespeare.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Ha! The life of an artist in America is never a smooth one. Figuring out how to balance art and life, earn a living as an artist and keep my spirits up has often been challenging. I grew up in a family where alcohol and drugs were being abused and that has shaped me in many ways. Some other challenges have included: Balancing family and motherhood… working for social change as a white-identifying person… living my values… finding time for self-care… getting divorced and learning how to parent as a single mom… Feeling that I am enough, I have enough, I do enough, I am enough. This is an ongoing struggle.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an arts educator and an artist. I am known for my capacity to create conscious communities where people feel safe to bring their full selves to whatever process we are engaging (learning, making, rehearsing). I am known for founding Will Power to Youth and for helping to make Shakespeare accessible to both performers and audiences. I am proud of many things: taking original work to Morocco, that Will Power to Youth is still around, and impacting the lives of young people in Los Angeles. I am very proud of a recent production of Love’s Labor’s Lost set in the late 1960s/early 1970s that I just directed at SDSU. I AM REALLY PROUD OF A “FAR OUT” NEW MUSICAL FOR HIGH SCHOOL AUDIENCES THAT I HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING AND WILL BE PRODUCED AT SDSU IN THE FALL. IT IS AN ADAPTATION OF JAMES BRANDON’S YOUNG ADULT NOVEL, ZIGGY, STARDUST, & ME; A BEAUTIFUL QUEER LOVE STORY SET IN 1973. What sets me apart from others is my ability to listen, to be present, to adapt, to genuinely collaborate respectfully with those working on projects with me.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was curious, enthusiastic, bossy, responsible, passionate, open-hearted, brave.
I was interested social justice issues, imagination, and the arts. I was into music and very social. My high school class voted me most talented AND most likely to be the first female president of the United States. 🙂
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @danibedau
Image Credits
Pam Lach
Rafael Santos
