Hometown: Rochester, NY
Education: BFA NYU Tisch
Favorite Credits: As a composer, Marat/Sade, Coromandel, and Pyre Cantata. As a musical director, The Daughters, NYU Reality Show Abu Dhabi, and The NYU N'Harmonics!
Why theater?: When I was little, I would build miniature movie sets around my house. I'd collect all of my toys and cast them in the roles that I wanted them to play (usually as characters from "The Wizard of Oz" or a film I'd recently seen on HBO) and they would reenact the whole story. Sometimes alongside the movie, but usually I would play all of the parts.
Tell us about Coromandel?: Coromandel is a bizarre musical odyssey through the mind of poet Edward Lear. Comprised of six 10-minute operas, all written in different styles of music, the play is about an old man who finds himself at the end of his life, with only the characters he has written remaining in his memory. It is a whimsical music box about the limits of our own biological clocks... but told for children!!
What inspired you to create Coromandel?: Coromandel arose out of my frustration with bad musical theatre. Normal musicals, about normal people, singing about normal things. We have this amazing device called theatre that allows us to open up crazy, impossible worlds and discuss very difficult existential issues! By creating a world that was so outlandish and absurd, there was more of a truthful parallel to our world than there was in a musical about, say, BIG NYC DREAMS.
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I like theater that knows what it's about, that takes care of its audience, and tells the truth. I am always very inspired by my peers; directors, dramaturgs, and performers, who are relentlessly pursuing exciting new ways of storytelling.
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Michael John LaChiusa hands down. His music is a.) beastly and b.) EVERY NOTE is dripping with emotional, action-filled story.
What show have you recommended to your friends?: See What I Wanna See... now that we're talking about LaChiusa. Download the album. Right now.
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I might be played by Elijah Wood, and the title may just be signified by a series of eighth note triplets and a lot of melismas.
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: I will see your dog on the street, and I will surely stare at it till it notices me.
If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Musicologist.
What’s up next?: Coromandel will premier at Dixon Place July 29th at 7:30! And just two weeks after, I will be performing in my debut concert, Trevor Bachman: Songs of a Brave Soldier, at JOE'S PUB, August 12th at 7:30pm. For more information, check out trevorbachman.com