What was it like working with director Jessica Francis Fichter?
Jess is a collaborator, an innovator and a terminator. She was sent from the future to make the show better. I guess in the future the show’s a pretty big deal because Jess is putting in work. She is tirelessly elevating this show beyond what I had ever imagined. Soon, she’ll probably get back in her disco ball and return from whence she came. In this scenario, I’m Sarah Connor
--Dave Seamon, Composer of The Eleventh Hour
Jessica Francis Fichter is a South Carolina based director, playwright, and teaching artist. She has had the opportunity to work in South Carolina, North Carolina, New Jersey, and New York City in varying capacities. Jessica is the current Executive Director of Trustus Theatre in Columbia, SC, she is a SDC associate member, and has worked at Food of Love NYC, Flat Rock Playhouse, Ensemble Atria, The Edge Theatre, The Connelly Theater, The Tank, The Kraine Theatre, Townstages, ASDS Rep Theatre, Feinstein's/54Below, Chapin Theatre Company, and multiple private and public school educational settings as a teaching artist and director. Before moving to NYC, she served as the Artistic Director for Chapin Theatre Company. She is the founder/artistic director of the New York/Columbia, SC based, Evolving Door Theatre Company. She is a proud acting finalist of the prestigious Actors Studio in NYC. She received an honorable mention for best direction of Pouf at SheFest NYC. She holds a MFA in directing from the Actors Studio Drama School, a B.A. in theatre education from Winthrop University, and a M.Ed in Divergent Learning from Columbia College. She has had the distinct honor of working with established acting coaches, Susan Aston and Jacqueline Knapp, and actors Irina Dnorovenko (American Ballet Theatre), Shaun J. Brown (True Blood), Emily Carding (Shakespeare’s Globe), Tashs Magigi (RSC), Nanya-Akuki Goodrich (The Public Theatre), and Broadway’s Miguel Perez, Janine DiVita, John Arthur Green, and Becky Gulsvig. Recent directing credits include: Twelfth Night: Welcome to Our Table (New York Shakespeare Best Comedy for 2020 award) Dandelion: A New Musical (Feinstein's/54 Below new musical series, NYMF finalist 2019), Shadows: A Dance Musical (AD to Tony Award Nominee, Joey McNeely), The Eleventh Hour (Townstages, Smugbug), If Women Rose Rooted (The Tank), John and Jen, Universe Without Him (Co-Lab), 1MPF (Mile Square), Road to Nirvana (ASDS), The Hallelujah Girls (CTC). She has published a YA novel, entitled Yellow Bird which can be purchased on Amazon.
As a director, Jess is committed to text based discovery and exploration. She believes that theatre is at its best when strong collaboration is present between the director, actors, designers, and production team. In the rehearsal room, she works to create an environment where the actor is free to play and contribute to the process. She enjoys collaborating with playwrights/composers on new works in both directorial and dramaturgical capacities. Jess views theatrical directing at its core as an art form of creative problem solving.
