When we first met the founders of Bated Breath, they presented a bold vision for community theater worthy of the big stage while focused on social issues worthy of deep consideration. Together, we came to a treatise on “Theatre sans Theatre”—an idea of theatre unencumbered by the limitations of a familiar brick and mortar space. Theatre should be accessible or brought to the people. It’s an idea we jokingly called “BYOChair Theater”. Indeed, Bated Breath put on physical experiences that took place in galleries, warehouses, street corners, and living rooms (and yes, as with the inaugural performance, even in an Off-Broadway Black Box).

In many ways, had it not been for the acclaimed team assembled by artistic director Helene Kvale, this could have been easily perceived as amateur community theater. That’s where we came in. CO:LAB’s role, from the inception of the company until Kvale’s transfer of leadership, was to ensure there was no misunderstanding about the work being produced: This was top quality, inventive, impeccably produced work.

Beyond developing the brand personae, we worked with Kvale at early stages of performance development to challenge the reach of the production and to translate the concepts into promotional materials such as posters coveted by Bated Breath patrons. We developed the visual arts companion to the performance art of Bated Breath—and it worked! By the end of Kvale’s directorship of Bated Breath, they were considered leaders, pioneers, and noted members of the theatrical community in Connecticut and well beyond.