Evan Tsitsias

Co-Founder/Artistic Director

Evan’s plays include Aftershock (Summerworks), The Murmuration of Starlings, Unstuck (Frank Theatre), and Strange Mary Strange which he also co-directed at Summerworks. His short film Bagged, aired on the CBC, WIFT, DC Shorts and NSI. His musical Inge(new) will premiere in May 2023 in Toronto. As a founding member of the World Wide Lab, an international directors collective, he has spent the last decade traveling across the globe co-directing/co-writing/co-creating mostly site specific, immersive pieces at the Apollo Theatre in Greece, Irondale Center in New York, 435 Artzone in Taipei, Superior Theatre Festival in Thunder Bay and Teatro Due in Rome.  In Germany he’s also co-created/directed/written I am Invisible (Bluespots Productions/Augsburg), Berlin Bound, My Berlin (FELD Theatre/SDF) and We Are The Play (Sisyphos Der Flugelefant/English Theatre Berlin)for the 25^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall at the Berlin Wall Memorial.

Selected directing credits: Strega Nona and The City of Tigers (Houston Grand Opera/Opera to Go) First Dance (Impact Festival/Aquarius/Grand Theatre -Studio), A Misfortune (Next Stage), 25^th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee (Koogle), staged reading of The Pride (w. Anthony Rapp/Fundamental Theatre Project-NY), Edges (Musical Stage), The Real Inspector Hound  (Fordham University), I Love You, You’re Perfect… Now Change (Angelwalk/Koogle), Silent City (Best of Fringe) The Mercy Seat (Alchemy), Burn This!, Don’t Tell Mama, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom (Buddies) Chandelierva (New York Fringe), Perfect Life (Alleyway Theatre- NY). He was a Directing Observer for The Wild Party starring Sutton Foster (Encores Series/NY City Centre). He has produced Homebody/Kabul (Dora Nomination) with Mercury Theatre, Pterodactyls (Tarragon), Talk Sixty To Me (Summerworks) and an Ontario Tour of Shirley Valentine.

Evan trained at York University, Sheridan College and has his Professional Training Certificate in Theatre of the Oppressed from London, England where he trained with Augusto Boal, Julian Boal and Adrian Jackson. He is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Chicago Directors Lab, Playwrights Guild of Canada, SDC Member and was a resident artist at Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center. He’s also worked in the Tarragon Playwright’s Unit and the Stratford Festival’s New Play Development Program. He’s been nominated for a Dora Award, the John Hirsch Directing Prize, Tom Hendry Award, Herman Voaden National Playwriting Prize (Honourable Mention), Broadwayworld Awards and a finalist for the Charles Abbott Directing Fellowship. He’s spent the last 9 years at Theatre Under the Stars in Houston, Texas, where he’s directed James and the Giant Peach at Miller Outdoor Theatre, worked as an Associate in the Education/Community Engagement Department, has been the Artistic Assistant for the company, and Head of Acting for the Humphreys School of Music Theatre. He is former and founding Artistic Director of Eclipse Theatre Company. In his time there, he directed Kiss of the Spider Woman and Sunday in the Park with George and created the Musical Theatre Lab, culminating in 19 Dora nominations and four awards for the company. His book, The Directors Lab, was published with Playwrights Canada Press.   His other work has been published in Germany, Canada and the USA. He is currently co-editing (with Bilal Baig) a new 2SLGBTQIA+ monologue anthology for the Press.  www.evantsitsias.com