On this page you’ll find words from publications/ humans I don’t know but what means the most to me is how people in the room see me:

Steph Paul is a wonderful choreographer who really responds to the uniqueness of individual actors. Steph builds on what we’re working from, rather than placing moves on us from the outside.

“The fleet-footed quartet seem to be in constant motion and grooves in sync to Steph Paul’s kinetic choreography. Perhaps you recall her outstanding designed movements in “The Royale” at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in 2017.”

[Q Brothers Christmas Carol, St Louis Shakespeare Festival]

“Dickens’ story has been updated to the 21st century, with a spirited infusion of hip hop, rap and other modern musical genres to complement the show’s abundant, exuberant choreography, dazzlingly devised by choreographer Steph Paul.”

[Q Brothers Christmas Carol, St Louis Shakespeare Festival]

“Under Steph Paul’s direction, the playing in Steppenwolf’s in-the-round space is spare and quickly paced…just stunningly beautiful and one of the more emotionally immersive experiences I’ve had at a play in a long time.”

[Sanctuary City, Steppenwolf Theatre]

“I felt for the first time that the theater had staged a show in the round in an organic way that could only be done this well in the round. Both of these performers feel present and alive and the show is so well-paced as to be deeply involving. It’s really something.”

[Sanctuary City, Steppenwolf Theatre]

“Paper Mill Playhouse is now presenting an extraordinary, finely tuned production of the iconic rock musical, Rent. The show enjoys excellent direction by Zi Alikhan, spirited choreographies by Steph Paul and top musical direction by Amanda Morton.”

[RENT, Paper Mill Playhouse]

“But to best grapple with the intricacies and impossibilities of navigating the world as a body that is a site of contradicting choices, made by ourselves and others, you’ll need to run to New York Theatre Workshop to see Liliana Padilla’s first-rate How to Defend Yourself, which they co-direct with Rachel Chavkin and Steph Paul, who also handles the production’s invaluable movement work. A masterclass in ensemble theatre as wide-ranging exploration, it asks smart questions about consent, fantasy, and the blurring effect that desire can have on the politicized psyche.”

[How to Defend Yourself, New York Theatre Workshop]

“Profound, funny, and shocking, one hopes How to Defend Yourself graduates to a bigger stage—truly, it should go to Broadway—just to prove A Doll’s House does not have the monopoly on big endings.”

[How to Defend Yourself, New York Theatre Workshop]

“Their lived-in, effortless performances keep Where the Mountain Meets the Sea at a high otherwise — not only their speaking, but their movement, conceived by Steph Paul. Scenes in which each man is carefreely dancing — Jean with himself, and Jonah with another man, portrayed by Shaun Bengson — are the play's highlights.”

[Where the Mountain Meets the Sea, Manhattan Theatre Club]

“Dancing, different according to character, is particularly infectious. Choreography by Steph Paul organically suits each character as if improvised.”

[Where the Mountain Meets the Sea, Manhattan Theatre Club]

“Directed and choreographed by Steph Paul, KC Rep’s production turns boxing into an intimate affair… all of the elements at play in “The Royale” fuse seamlessly for a powerfully electric 90 minutes.”

[The Royale, KCRep]

“The Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s ingenious production, directed and choreographed by Steph Paul, brings spare intensity to the Copaken Stage, with minimalist set designs by Yu Shibagaki and fight scenes that are once stylized and abstractly realistic.” 

[The Royale, KCRep]

“Steph Paul suggests actual serves with vigorous but stylized arm movements so elegantly integrated into the staging that they cannot be unthreaded from it.” 

[The Last Match, Writers Theatre]

“… the choreographer Steph Paul, creates a very viable racquet-less movement vocabulary that works because it captures the tension of the game.” 

[The Last Match, Writers Theatre]

“The production, deftly and poetically choreographed by Steph Paul, takes us from the tennis match to inside each players’ head, both before, during and after the tournament.” 

[The Last Match, Writers Theatre]

“Great theater almost always requires the provision of hope, the holding up of at least the possibility for greater human understanding. Perhaps that’s why I found one sequence in this show so moving: a kind of interpretive dance, beautifully performed by a character named Eggo (Jayson Lee, doing movement created by Steph Paul).” 

[How to Defend Yourself, Victory Gardens Theater]

"Whether it’s a highly stylized kickboxing sequence or a character who sneaks into the gym early to have a private and uninhibited moment of dance, movement director Steph Paul succeeds in creating pieces that are almost always set in reality, though it is heightened and highly stylized.” 

[How to Defend Yourself, Humana Festival - Actors Theatre of Louisville]

"… Movement Director (Steph Paul) did a marvelous job. This cast moves fluidly on the small stage.”

[Mansfield Park, Northlight Theatre]

"… exuberantly choreographed, brilliant dance sequences…”

[Mansfield Park, Northlight Theatre]

"It’s to the credit of writer Isaac Gomez, co-directors Stephanie Paul and Maggie Popadiak, and especially the vibrant cast that the show feels very much like we’re hearing these stories for the first time. The voices we meet in this narrative collage feel distinct, not filtered through a sole authorial voice."

[Ofrenda, Albany Park Theater Project]

 

 "Directors Stephanie Paul and Maggie Popadiak mix elements of dance and movement in with the storytelling, adding an expressive element to the production which viscerally communicates the emotions that words sometimes cannot." 

[Ofrenda, Albany Park Theater Project]

 

"Stephanie Paul’s choreography brings vibrancy to Nana’s neighborhood, a place alive with street performers and unexpected beauty."

[Last Stop on Market Street, Chicago Children's Theatre]

 

"Choreographed with spunk and spirit by Stephanie Paul, the story leaps from the page to the stage. It’s an infectious, colorful, heartwarming story with an important lesson for everyone."

[Last Stop on Market Street, Chicago Children's Theatre]

 

"Special kudos should be given to the movement director, Stephanie Paul. She has choreographed the action so deftly that watching the girls stretch before each game and run drills as they talk and engage becomes mesmerizing. It feels like an actual soccer team has been transplanted onto Studio’s fourth floor."

[The Wolves, Studio Theatre]

 

"You can’t take your eyes off these athletes, because that’s what they are, not just actors. The play had a movement choreographer (Stephanie Paul) and the good work shows in the seamless integration of soccer warm ups, drills, and noodling around with the ball that look completely natural. This is a play that focuses on physical awareness with the same artful delicacy as the dialogue." 

[The Wolves, Studio Theatre]

 

"Stephanie Paul probably has the most challenging technical role as the Body Percussion and Movement Choreographer. The fights looked brilliant. She managed to get her actors to look like trained fighters. The body percussion is possibly one of my favorite things I have seen in a show in a very long time."

[The Royale, City Theatre]

 

I’ve never seen a show before that captivates you so much with rhythm and the natural effect of bodies making noise. This play smarts with anticipation because of its artfully directed pace. I owe this experience to “Body Percussion and Movement Choreographer” Stephanie Paul and the interlacing that occurred to carry the plot so fluidly."

[The Royale, City Theatre]

 

"Movement and body percussionist Stephanie Paul, did an outstanding job in giving this non-musical show a musical feel. The way the fights were staged, the way the ensemble cast created rhythms though stomping and clapping, gave the production a gritty but ethereal feel." 

[The Royale, The Repertory Theater of St. Louis]

"Stephanie Paul's wonderfully acrobatic, vaudeville-tinged quintet "Ourchestra" makes an impromptu band out of a group of musicians who've forgotten their instruments."

[And Now for the Dancing Pants!, Chicago Dance Crash]

 

"There are tricks aplenty, with highlights including Stephanie Paul’s percussive choreography using bodies for instruments." 

[And Now for the Dancing Pants!, Chicago Dance Crash]

“Learning Curve, which is directed by David Feiner and Jennine Willett with Marissa Nielsen-Pincus, Stephanie Paul, Maggie Popadiak, Edward Rice, Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez and Carlton Cyrus Ward, is a very sophisticated piece of theater. There are, after all, 26 sets, all of which are lit, many of which are filled with complex movement and some of which feel more like art installations. Most high school drama you'll have seen will have inhabited merely a literal plane; Learning Curve embraces the symbolic, the inner life of the kid, the deeper context.”

[Learning Curve, Albany Park Theater Project + Third Rail Projects]

 

"There is nothing uneven about the troupe's percussive abilities, or the pop dance acrobatics of its women, led by beguiling and passionate Stephanie Paul, Be the Groove's able artistic director."

[Winter Break Down, Be the Groove]

 

"Stephanie Paul is a beautiful, enticing soloist, limber and spicy, with hints of Caribbean hues in her arsenal."

[Winter Showcase, Be the Groove]

"She's great."

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