As a bilingual performer who has helped develop world premieres and reimagine classics, directing became a natural expansion of Christian’s artistic trajectory. He benefits from having worked closely with world class directors who left an indelible mark of leadership, kindness and clarity. As a director, Christian values strong dramatic structure, arresting visuals, robust use of language and a sense of poetic minimalism. His work aims to capture the complexity of human behavior while creating a theatrical experience that lifts a play beyond the written page.
Christian participated in the development of new works that received subsequent productions at Denver Center, South Coast Repertory, Yale Repertory Theatre and the International Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He closely ushered the creation of Brett Ryback's stage musical Joe Schmoe Saves the World, which was selected for the NAMT New Work Festival and the ASCAP/Dreamworks Musical Theatre Workshop. The piece received development support at the Geffen Playhouse, the Wallis Annenberg Center, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Indiana University, Bloomington.
Below are recent productions he’s directed. COMING UP: “Letters from Cuba” by Maria Irene Fornes at Mission College in Los Angeles and, later, the world premiere of “Lilly and the Pirates” by John Maclay, Brett Ryback and Will Eno at First Stage Milwaukee.
IRONBOUND
by Martyna Majok
A darkly funny, heartbreaking portrait of a woman for whom love is a luxury and a liability as she fights to survive in the United States. At once humorous and heartrending, Ironbound spans 22 years to tell the story of Darja, a Polish woman getting by on a cleaning job, aggressive pragmatism and sheer will. In this wry drama, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Martyna Majok highlights survival as, perhaps, the only means of success. Christian’s production was selected to be showcased at the Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival and went on to receive 9 national awards, including Distinguished Achievement in Direction.
BLOOD WEDDING
by Federico García Lorca
translated by Langston Hughes
In a small village, a young man has decided to marry a young woman from a neighboring hamlet. However, the young woman is secretly still in love with Leonardo, a member of the Felix family, the murderers of the young man's father and brother. The wedding proceeds, but as the guests celebrate the union, passion takes over, secrets are revealed, and choices are made that create havoc and more bloodshed. Langston Hughes's rarely-performed translation is a gripping balance of romantic ideals, rich language and the magical realism that is a hallmark of Lorca's work. Christian’s production featured Tony winner Leilani Jones Wilmore as the Mother.
EL NOGALAR
by Tanya Saracho
Set amid the explosive drug wars in present-day Northern Mexico, El Nogalar is the story of the Galvan family’s struggle to hold on to their homestead—and their precarious social status—before it slips away. The play shadows the family’s housekeeper, Dunia, as she watches the family matriarch Maite and her daughters squander their money and risk losing everything to a local drug cartel. Despite warnings from friends and family, Maite ignores her dwindling fortune as stubbornly as she ignores the sinister capos simmering at her doorstep. This poignant and moving story, inspired by Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, explores the choice between adapting to the changing world or getting left behind.
JOE SCHMOE SAVES THE WORLD
by Brett Ryback
A dance-rock musical that takes place during the Arab Spring and tells the parallel stories of an indie rock duo in America and a pair of Iranian students in Tehran. With a narrative that weaves back and forth creating a dialogue across hemispheres, the music of the band connects the two couples in a surprising act of artistic collaboration. Reacting against conformity, fear and the status quo, the young women at the center of the story risk everything in an attempt to change the world through their art.
