Robert Bailey (he/him)
Writer/Performer
Robert Bailey earned his degree in theatre arts and dramatic literature from Brown University and was awarded a Samuel Arnold Fellowship to work with renowned theatrical innovator Jerzy Grotowski at the Polish Laboratory Theatre in Wroclaw. He subsequently became a founding member, actor, director and teacher at the Washington Theatre Laboratory, an experimental troupe in the nation’s capital which adapted works by Bertolt Brecht, Tennessee Williams, John Hawkes, and Hans Christian Andersen.
In New York, he was associated with several leading theatres, including Circle Repertory Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre, American Place Theatre, the Williamstown Theatre Festival and the Actors Studio, often working on first productions of new plays. His direction of Borderlines by John Bishop (Circle Rep) and Lilith by Allan Havis (Home for Contemporary Theatre and Art) won praise in The New York Times, New York magazine and the Village Voice. He taught acting for many years at the Corner Loft Studio in Greenwich Village, and conducted workshops and master classes for Sarah Lawrence College, Brown University, School for Visual Arts, Manhattan Theatre Workshop, Foundation for the Creative Community, Billy Siegenfeld and Dancers, Talent Unlimited and the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
In Los Angeles, Robert Bailey earned critical acclaim for his direction of John Bishop’s Borderline (winner of six DramaLogue Awards), Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, Eugene O’Neill’s A Touch of the Poet and Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero; and for his performances as an actor in Frank Wedekind’s Lulu, J.T. Rogers’ Madagascar, David Rabe’s A Question of Mercy, and Charles L. Mee’s Big Love. He directed for the Young Audience Program at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. His dramatic film Last Call won three awards at the Breckenridge Festival of Film in Colorado; was an official selection at film festivals in Avignon, Sedona, Long Island, Queens, Los Angeles and New York City; and was released on a compilation DVD produced by the Cinequest Film Festival.
Robert Bailey has been on the faculty of the USC School of Dramatic Arts since 2010. He teaches directing and acting at USC and has staged over sixteen School of Dramatic Arts productions, including three new plays written by students in the MFA Dramatic Writing program. He has taught the Experimental Theatre Workshop since 2019. He has taught and directed on the graduate and undergraduate levels at UC San Diego, UCLA and Brown University. He currently conducts the Directors Workshop, a training ground for aspiring film, TV and theatre directors.
IN SOME DARK VALLEY: The Testimony of Reverend Brand has been an artistic journey spanning several years of personal research and experimentation. It represents Robert Bailey’s deepest convictions about live theatre as a uniquely powerful mode of storytelling.
