My first experience of theater was through ballet, but more importantly it was through the body. I have discovered and I continue to learn that the body contains more than just muscles, but also the mind and the soul. With theater, I seek to craft moments through and with the body. It results in a feeling and an understanding that can only be felt. The exploration of the body and the human's unique combination of the conscious mind and visceral body have shaped my views of theater. I seek an immediate theater of experience. I want to see images, ideas, and figures on stage rather than setting, plot, and character. I do not seek to create a realistic, theatrical representative of life. Instead, I aspire to build a theater that highlights life's inherent creative and constructive qualities presenting ideas as extraordinary and beyond our lives.
Claire's Biography Drawing from over 15 years of acting and dancing experience, Claire Bauman is a director and choreographer in Chicago who investigates theater through devising and collaborating with an interdisciplinary and feminist lens. She has directed for Rhinofest, Broken Nose Collective, and Chicago Theatre Marathon as well as produced and devised her own pieces and events. Claire has directed short pieces at festivals throughout Chicago and co-created Making (the) Movement, a dance arts festival supporting Chicago organizations dedicated to combating sexual violence. She has assisted and performed with Interrobang Theater Project and Walkabout Theater, where she is also an Artistic Associate. She also serves as a grant writer for Red Tape Theatre Company, Chicago’s only company promoting the Free Theatre Movement. Claire graduated from Vassar College, further trained at the Moscow Art Theater School and the American Conservatory Theater, and participated in DirectorsLabChicago, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Observership Program, and Hangar Theatre's Directing Apprenticeship.