Jessica Francis Fichter is a Nashville– and South Carolina–based director, playwright, and teaching artist. She is the incoming Artistic Director of Nashville Repertory Theatre and is currently completing her final season as Executive Artistic Director of Trustus Theatre in Columbia, SC. An SDC member, Jessica has worked extensively throughout South Carolina, North Carolina, New Jersey, and New York City in both professional and educational theatre settings.
Her directing work has been seen at Trustus Theatre, Theatre South Carolina, Feinstein’s/54 Below, The Tank, Town Stages, The Kraine Theatre, The Connelly Theater, Flat Rock Playhouse, Workshop Theatre, Ensemble Atria, Food of Love NYC, ASDS Rep Theatre, and more. Recent directing credits include Into the Woods, Aida, Little Shop of Horrors, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Stupid Fucking Bird, Twelfth Night: Welcome to Our Table (New York Shakespeare Best Comedy Award, 2020), Dandelion: A New Musical (NYMF Finalist, Feinstein’s/54 Below), and Shadows: A Dance Musical (Associate Director to Tony Award nominee Joey McNeely).
Jessica is the founder and Artistic Director of Evolving Door Theatre Company, based in New York City and Columbia, SC, and previously served as Artistic Director of Chapin Theatre Company. She was a proud acting finalist at the Actors Studio in NYC for three consecutive years and received an honorable mention for Best Direction at SheFest NYC for Pouf.
She holds an MFA in Directing from the Actors Studio Drama School, a BA in Theatre Education from Winthrop University, and an MEd in Divergent Learning from Columbia College. Jessica has worked with renowned acting coaches Susan Aston and Jacqueline Knapp and with artists from American Ballet Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Public Theater, and Broadway. In addition to her theatre work, she is the author of the YA novel Yellow Bird.