Paul teaches play analysis, all levels of acting, and directs plays. He was recently appointed Associate Dean for the School of Fine and Performing Arts. His book, Acting: An Introduction to the Art and Craft of Playing, was published by Allyn & Bacon in spring of 2006.
Professionally, Paul directed and performed in Half Moon Theatre Company’s 10-minute Play Festival this past June, and directed Mark Twain and David Ives’ Is He Dead for the company in November, 2011. Last year he was cast in Seven Stories, (March 2010), directed by Roger Hendrick Simon. Most recently, he directed Spike Heels for the Department of Theatre Arts at SUNY New Paltz.
Prior to coming to New Paltz, Paul worked at Stony Brook University, where he taught acting, voice, movement, directing, and directed plays, and was Director of Undergraduate Studies for the department. He was Head of Acting at Bradley University from 1993-1998 , directing eight plays and acting in three-both at the school and at professional theaters in the Midwest. In New York City for eleven years as a professional actor, director, and writer, Paul worked off, and off-off Broadway, in regional theaters, and as a guest artist. In addition, he has appeared in a number of films, several television shows, and industrials.
Paul has directed in New York City (most often with emerging playwrights), regionally, and at several Universities. He has written four original plays (including The Velvet Pumpernickel, which was produced at the Sanford Meisner Theatre in New York City). and several adaptations (including an updated, musical version of Lysistrata for which he also wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the music.
In addition to his book, Paul’s scholarly work includes several articles and many conference presentations on acting and performance theory. Publications include “The Four Fundamental Verbs ( Theatre Topics V9. N2) and “Random Acts”–an essay on applying an action-based approach to non-realistic theatre in Method Acting Reconsidered: Theory, Practice, Future (edited by Dr. David Krasner, St. Martin’s Press, 2000). He is the managing editor of The Players’ Journal, an e-journal by and for actors and teachers of acting.
Paul received his M.F.A. in Performance from the Florida State/Asolo Conservatory of Professional Actor Training. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association and the Screen Actors’ Guild.
