About

Zachary Elkind is a director based in New York, interested in reimagined classics, new plays and musicals, and devised work.

Most recent projects include the world premiere of Rachel Vail’s If We Kiss in NYC and an upcoming feature adaptation of Three Sisters. My recent adaptation of Richard II premiered in NYC and later transferred to Luna Stage in NJ. The NJ Arts Maven raved “Taut, compelling, inventive […] a trail-blazing production”, and New Jersey Arts said it “hits you like a whirlwind […] With its speed, its energy and its unconventional staging, this is a consistently engaging production.”

From 2019 - 2024, I was the Associate Artistic Director of Bedlam, an Off-Broadway theater company, led by artistic director Eric Tucker. At Bedlam, I led the new play development programs, including commissioning Talene Monahon’s The Good John Proctor for Bedlam’s world premiere production and developing work with Zora Howard, Julian Hornik, Emily Gardner Xu Hall, Stefani Kuo, Zuzanna Szadkowski, Eleanor Burgess, a.k. payne, Emily Breeze, Madison Fiedler, Renae Simone Jarrett, Sam Hamashima, and Zack Fine, among others. In 2021, I directed Mary Stuart for Bedlam — with each act recorded in a single take, and four actors playing twelve roles, all in my actual Brooklyn apartment. The New York Times called it “audacious” and “bold”, noting in it “the same playful quality the scrappy and always inventive Bedlam is known for,” and commenting that “the four actors give generous performances, directed by Zachary Elkind with a snappiness that allows for each to contain multitudes.”

Upcoming projects include an adaptation of Anna Karenina; my work at Ghostlight Theater Camp, my artistic home and the perfect place to send a theater-loving teen; and a devised piece about the strange love affair between a conservationist and a whooping crane.

Contact me at zacharyelkind@gmail.com!