Irene Bedard

Irene arrived on the West Coast after blasting the New York theater scene with her energy and talent. She has performed with the New York Theater Workshop, the Ensemble Studio Theater, Circle in the Square, and the Joseph Papp Public Theater. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of Mary Crow Dog in TNT's Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee, and won immense critical acclaim for her work in the indie film Smoke Signals. Other film credits include Greasewood Flats and Tortilla Heaven with Miguel Sandoval and George Lopez. Irene gave her talents to the voice of "Pocahontas" in the Disney movie, kicking off a successful voice-over career. She was also seen in the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of Lost Child with Mercedes Ruehl. Additionally, Irene's television credits include appearances on Profiler, The Marshal, The Outer Limits and The Agency as well as the TV movie True Women with Angelina Jolie.

Irene has been seen in the critically acclaimed Steven Spielberg mini-series Into The West and in the film Cosmic Radio with Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas and Michael Madsen. She was honored to be directed by Terrence Malik in the historical drama The New World with Colin Farrell. Currently, Irene is continuing her work as a voice for the new Spiderman animated series.

Irene is a lead artist and educator with VOX BOX Arts Collective. Irene Bedard and Janice Markham's partnership began in undergraduate acting conservatory in 1988 when Irene asked Janice to create an adaptation of Zelda a play about Zelda Fitzgerald, for a solo theatrical project. Thus, a partnership was born. Irene came on board with VOX BOX officially with the production of the play Just Wait and went on to co-direct the critically acclaimed premiere of Jigsaw. Irene and Janice will be collaborating further on the VOX BOX WORDs (We Open Reading Doors) literacy program.

Besides her multi-faceted work with VOX BOX, Irene is a tireless activist, advocate and mentor within the Native American community. In November 2010 she lead a film forum and acting workshop at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, invited by the Native American Student Association.