Executive Artistic Director Brian Katz To Retire; New Leadership Announced

Custom Made Theatre Co.'s Board of Directors announced that co-founder Brian Katz will retire from his day-to-day position in mid-August after serving for twenty-three years, first as Artistic Director since their formation, and then as Executive Artistic Director since 2019. He will remain the President of the Board of Directors for the company.

The Board is also pleased to announce that current Associate Artistic Director Ciera Eis has been named Interim Artistic Director and will guide Custom Made through the remainder of the 2022 season (which, because of a COVID cancelation, now ends in February, 2023.) The Board will work with Eis and Katz to explore leadership models throughout the rest of the fiscal year and expects to name a permanent Artistic Director after developing a new strategic plan.

Katz is transitioning from actively producing to focusing on other pursuits and spending more time with his family; he will be taking a position in a local Jewish philanthropic organization and looks forward to having evenings and weekends at home. He said, "I am so grateful for all my time as Artistic Director at Custom Made. I love our small theatre community and am thankful for all the friends and skills I have acquired over the years. However, with recent life changes, including the birth of my daughter, it is time for me to entrust the company to new leadership.

"I am proud of everything we have accomplished while taking Custom Made from a scrappy nomadic company to one that has become a cornerstone in San Francisco's independent theater scene," Katz continued. "I've had the opportunity to direct countless plays and musicals that were important to me politically and spiritually, as well as adapt a few of my favorite texts. What I am most proud of, however, is that so many emerging theater-makers have counted Custom Made as an important stop on their artistic path. We've created a nurturing home where artists can take risks, hone their skills, and introduce themselves to an audience excited to be a part of their journey."

Ciera Eis has previously served as Associate Artistic Director, Casting Director, and Director of New Works at Custom Made. She ran the company during Katz's parental leave and has been a tireless producer and production manager during the current season. "Ciera is the perfect artist to be our next Artistic Director," says current Artistic Director Brian Katz. "I am endlessly wowed by her artistry, compassion, and drive and know those qualities will propel Custom Made into the post-pandemic landscape."

Eis commented, "I am incredibly excited to be stepping into Custom Made as it transitions to its next step of artistry in the Bay. At its core, Custom Made is a launchpad and home for Bay Area artists, and I look forward to continuing that mission and expanding upon it. I hope to re-create Custom Made as a place for new, transformative art in the Bay. A place where artists can interact, react and envision. A place where new risks are taken by emerging visionaries and where every production packs a punch. I want to thank Brian for his expansive leadership and for trusting me with this next leap in Custom Made's future."

Brian Katz (he/him) is the founding Artistic Director of Custom Made Theatre Co. He has directed over forty productions for the company, including his adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night (2017 San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle award for stage direction) which premiered Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters, The Play About the Baby by Edward Albee (SFBATCC award for entire production, 2012), This is Our Youth (SFBATCC nomination for stage direction, 2015), and Chess (SFBATCC award for entire production, 2016). Regional premieres include Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Red Light Winter. Brian has worked at Aurora Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, and with Killing My Lobster. He is an alumnus of Clark University, where he was awarded the Outstanding Young Alumni award along with his Custom Made co-founders. Brian lives in Berkeley with his wife, the director Ariel Craft, and their daughter Chava.

Ciera Eis (she/her) is a director and producer. She is the Interim Artistic Director of Custom Made, the co-artistic director of FaultLine Theater, and the creative producer of Pint Sized Plays. She actively develops and directs socio-political new work that explores immersive and interactive spaces. Ciera has worked with companies including American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Magic Theatre, Curran Theatre, Thunder Bay Theatre, and Shotgun Players. Recent directing credits include Circle Mirror Transformation (Custom Made Theatre Co.), The Lost Ballad of Our Mechanical Ancestor (Champagne Staged Reading Series at Shotgun Players SCRS), The Children's Farm (Town Hall Theatre Company), the virtual immersive interactive eight-bit online mystery play Murder at Roland Manor (Thunder Bay Theatre), Faustian Red Piling (The Ground Floor at Berkeley Rep), Every Brilliant Thing (Saint Mary's College), The Official Unicorn Hunter's Guide (PianoFight Shortlived VIII winner), and three commissioned media projects through Shotgun Players. She was a Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Observer (2019-2021) and graduated with a double major in directing and psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. cieraeis.com

The Custom Made Theatre Co. is now in its twenty-third season of producing plays that awaken our social conscience, focusing on the strength of the ensemble and creating an intimate theatrical experience. Now at The Phoenix Theatre on Mason Street, CMTC previously performed at the 99-seat venue at 533 Sutter Street from 2015 to 2020, having moved from the now-defunct Gough Street Playhouse and, before that, Off-Market Theatres. Awards include the Excellence in Theatre Award - Entire Production from the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle for Chess (2016), In Love and Warcraft (2015), and The Play About the Baby (2012). Over the past seasons, CMTC has been honored with fourteen TBA Award finalist designations, over twenty SFBATCC nominations, and the Paine Knickerbocker Award for a lasting contribution to Bay Area theatre. Recent world premieres include Good. Better. Best. Bested. by Jonathan Spector, Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night (Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters in 2018), Sam and Dede, or My Dinner with Andre the Giant (OffBroadway debut at 59E59 Theaters in 2017), Tinderella: a modern musical (with FaultLine Theater), Of Serpents and Sea Spray, The Braggart Soldier, and Little Brother. Recent regional premieres include Life Sucks, When We Were Young and Unafraid, Hooded, Or Being Black for Dummies, Isaac's Eye, Belleville, Rapture, Blister, Burn, In Love and Warcraft, Middletown, Kurt Vonnegut's SlaughterhouseFive, Peter/Wendy, and The Pain and the Itch. custommade.org