
Our Story
2008
Bated Breath Theatre Company was founded in 2008 by Founding Artistic Director Helene Kvale with Michael Bradford, Casey McDougal, Marie Saddlemire, Paul Spirito and Greg Webster in order to bring dynamic theatrical performances to the Greater Hartford area. Bated Breath’s early work ranged from reinterpretations of classic plays to experimental and contemporary performance pieces. From its inception, Bated Breath has pushed into site-specific spaces and to create interactive theater experiences that blur the distinctions between audience, performer, and location. Bated Breath’s early works centered on Kvale’s adaptation of A Doll’s House, The Parkville Project, and Hunger.
2012
In 2012, Mara Lieberman took over as Executive Artistic Director and launched the Interludes Program, creating original theatre custom-tailored thematically and site-specifically for art galleries, museums, and other public spaces. In just five years, Lieberman wrote six new plays, received an award from the Connecticut League of History Organizations for Freedom: In 3 Acts, and was granted an award for Artistic Excellence from the Connecticut Office of the Arts.
2017
One of Bated Breath’s Interludes, Beneath the Gavel, created in collaboration with the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut, transferred Off-Broadway to 59E59 Theaters where it met glowing reviews and sold-out houses. Lieberman, who began her career in New York City, opened the Bated Breath NYC headquarters and inaugurated the Physical Theatre Training Center in Brooklyn.
2019
Bated Breath created a small phenomenon partnering with Fever/Secret NYC and Madame X in the Village. Unmaking Toulouse-Lautrec immersed audiences in the decadence of the Belle Epoque with this boozy tale of the life of iconic artist, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
2020
Unmaking Toulouse-Lautrec closed due to the pandemic. Lieberman, obsessed with finding a way to create live theatre safely, created Voyeur: The Windows of Toulouse-Lautrec which premiered in September and ran for 10 months. Voyeur became the longest-running, pandemic-friendly show and proved live theater was long from gone.
2021
Voyeur was nominated for multiple Off-Broadway, BroadwayWorld Awards and then went on to win awards for Best Play, Best Production of a Play, Best Direction of a Play: Mara Lieberman, Best Costume Design of a Play: Christopher Metzger, Best Sound Design of a Play: Mark Van Hare, Best Lighting Design of a Play: Ebony Burton & Keith A. Truax, Best Scenic Design of a Play: Ebony Burton, Lina Younes & Sandra Tehrani.
Lieberman is named a Future Maker by Time Out, one of 50 people across the globe changing the future of incredible cities.
Development of Chasing Andy Warhol begins with a small devising company.
2022
Following in the same vein as Voyeur in March 2022, Chasing Andy Warhol premiered as Bated Breath’s second pandemic-friendly show. This Pop Art extravaganza ran throughout the summer.
Today, Bated Breath Theatre Company continues to pioneer the future of audience engagement. Bated Breath uses a combination of rigorous research, docudrama, physical theatre, and daring theatricality to ignite the audience's imagination.
2025
Mara Lieberman opens the New York Center for Immersive Theater (NYCIT) – a real and metaphorical space where the future of theatrical audience engagement can be envisioned, composed, pushed, revised, and shared with audiences.