Faultline Theater Announces New Co-Artistic Directors Brady Brophy-Hilton, Ciera Eis, and Vanessa Flores

San Francisco's Indie theater, FaultLine Theater has announced the appointment of three new Co-Artistic Directors, Brady Brophy-Hilton, Ciera Eis, and Vanessa Flores.

All three women have worked extensively for larger theaters in the Bay Area (American Conservatory Theater, Shotgun Players, Magic Theatre, Custom Made Theater and Z Space) in different administrative and artistic capacities. This leadership change comes just as theaters and community spaces across the world struggle to remain open, create new ways to reach audiences and maintain community as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

While the closure of theaters is a challenging feat in itself, the Black Lives Matter uprising brought about by the death of George Floyd in March, has also forced theaters in the Bay Area to reconcile with their own racist history and wrongdoings brought about by the BIPOC Demands from We See You White American Theater and The Living Document.

"For every theater company, this year has been a time for deep introspection and a re-evaluation of what theater means now. It's a time to re-define who theater is for, both behind-the-curtain and in front of it," the team states.

While FaultLine's origins and history are based on a co-leadership model, this is the first time the company will be run by three women. Each director will take part in the artistic vision, voice, and planning while also holding a key role in the company. The change comes after Co-Artistic Directors Cole Ferraiuolo and Rose Oser stepped down to bring on Brady Brophy-Hilton as the Creative Producer on Caveman Play. Brophy-Hilton was then voted as Artistic Director of the company in the fall of 2019. She then made the decision to incorporate a model of distributed leadership by bringing on Ciera Eis (Co-Artistic Director, Producing) and Vanessa Flores (Co-Artistic Director, Creative), and naming herself Co-Artistic Director, Executive in July of 2020. The three women each have a personal artistic history with the company, Flores being the playwright of FaultLine's 2018 Fall show Where the Boys Are, Eis having a key acting role in the play, and Brophy-Hilton's lead-producing role in Caveman Play. "I had the unique experience of being one of Faultline's emerging resident playwrights commissioned to work on a play from idea to full production in 2017-2018. It was a spectacular and challenging experience I look forward to offering other playwrights in the future."

The new team has stated that these leadership roles are rotating and temporary. "A structural part of the new leadership model intends to make way for new leadership every 1-3 years in order to ensure the empowerment of new artists, voices, and visions," Brophy-Hilton explains. "This model ensures that no single person holds a leadership role indefinitely." In honor of the distributed leadership model, the Co-AD's also openly invite artists and administrators alike to contact them about their interest in joining the company in a leadership role that would most benefit their emerging career.

Though the team has been quick to reexamine and expand FaultLine's previous commitments to Anti-Racism, Anti-Blackness and equity, Brophy-Hilton, Eis, and Flores have openly stated they are committed to continuing FaultLine's original mission while continuing to build and maintain the theater's community of beloved patrons and artists. "We have each participated as artists with the theater prior to assuming these positions. We've either acted, wrote, directed, or dramaturged for FaultLine as emerging artists ourselves, and very much value what we believe to be the ethos of FaultLine and the original mission of the company," Brophy-Hilton said. The team commits to continuing to provide emerging artists empowering opportunities and promises some thrilling new programming even before the close of an already eventful and challenging year in theater. FaultLine Theater will team up with their fellow indie colleagues PianoFight to host a trivia based fundraiser (that is also a drinking game) mid November called "BrainPower Hour." Other FaultLine upcoming events include an immersive murder mystery on the platform GatherTown, an audioseries, and a webseries.

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