Early in his career, Paul Verdier was a member of the Jean-Louis Barrault/Madeleine Renaud and Nicolas Bataille repertory companies of Paris. He was also a playwright, and in 1982 established Stages Theatre Center at 1540 N. McCadden Place, Los Angeles. He served as its artistic director, and for a while, he and his wife owned and ran the Café des Artistes next door to the theater.