Director

Christopher Fülling is an American theatre director and tenor based in Los Angeles and Amsterdam. He had directed experimental and ritual theatre works on three continents. His work explores ritual, the ecstatic, and the numinous in widely different contexts from reconstructions of traditional liturgies in European churches to original works from Bali to Burning Man. Inviting deep impact through wit and context, he brings his unique approach to staging diverse repertoires from sacred chant and 17thC music to physical theatre, concept art, new music, and outrageous rock opera. He co-founded the Art Monastery in Italy, where he directed many spectacles, rituals, and concerts.  He teaches physical theatre skills and his own course “Biomechanics for Musicians”.


Education & Training

BFA in anthropology from Princeton, MA in Interdisciplinary Art (including theatre and film directing and choreography) from Ball State University, and an MFA in opera directing and voice performance from California Institute of the Arts. He studied Biomechanics with Gnadi Bogdanov and physical theatre with Irina Andreeva of Teatr Novogo Fronta.  He assistant directed productions for Julian Webber, Craig Belknap, and Robert Benedetti; and worked as an associate producer at the Long Beach Opera, stage manager for Gabriel Garrido and Ensemble Elyma, and intern for Pierre Audi at the Los Angeles Opera.

Curriculum Vitæ (.pdf)

2012 Doktor Prospero (Quilter, Haydn, Parry, Ochs arr. Fülling) Annie Besant Lodge, Los Angeles 2012 First Vegas Burn lighting ceremony & Burning Opera Showcase for First Fridays, Las Vegas 2011 Avatar Cabaret. Syrup Loft, Los Angeles 2011 Art Monastery Presents [diverse musical styles benefit performances] Seattle, New Orleans, 2010 Art Monastery Presents: Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles 2010 Chirico [rock pasticcio varieté] founding convention API Aleanza per l’Italia, Labro, Italy 2010 Vivamus [17thC and contemporary pasticcio itinerant spectacle] for Manciano Festival, Italy

2010 Debutto I & II: [classical and pop pasticcio varieté] Art Monastery, Labro, Italy

2009 Art Monastery Presents: Seattle, San Francisco 2009 Burning Opera: How to Survive the Apocalypse (Nichols & Davis) Teatro Zinzanni, San Francisco 2009 Tentazioni dell’ Estate (Monteverdi, Palestrina, bluegrass, jazz): Labirinto Calvi dell’Umbria, Italy 2009 Burning Opera: How to Survive the Apocalypse (Nichols & Davis) Stagewerx, San Francisco 2008 Art Monastery Presents: Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Bloomington, New York, Boston 2008 Tra Quercia e l’Uliva (Renaissance) Festa di S. Pancrazio, Calvi dell’Umbria, Italy 2005 Joe Messiah (Oberthaler & Fülling) Theatre Artaud, San Francisco & Burning Man 2005 Ninfamania! (Landi, Monteverdi, d’India arr. Fülling) Theatre Artaud, San Francisco 2005 Situbanda (Oberthaler, Balinese traditional, et al) Bali Arts Festival, Denpasar & Indonesian tour

2004 New IMPROVED Music [Improvised deconstruction of a New Music concert]  Los Angeles 2004 Joe Playa: A Black Rock Opera (Oberthaler & Fülling) Burning Man and California tour 2004 Lutheran Ascension Vespers (Prætorius, Schütz, Scheidt, Schein) Sophienkirche, Berlin 2004 Polish Easter Vespers (Pacelli, Zielenski, Hakenberger) Zwickau, Waldheim, Berlin 2004 Polish Quadragesima Vespers (Pacelli, Zielenski, Marenzio) Maria Laach, Utrecht 2003 Liturgy of Atlantis: (Schouten, Smiley, Fülling) Amsterdam & Berlin 2003 Jacobusvespers (Codex Calixtinus) w/Schola Cantorum Amsterdam. Nicolaaskerk, Amsterdam 2002 Ark of the Nereids: (Oberthaler, Hurwitz) w/One People Voice, Burning Man 2000 Thartaurs of Atlan. (Oberthaler, Louden) w/Marimba Pacifica Burning Man 1999 Le Mystére de Papa Loko, (Oberthaler, Louden, Haitian traditional, Mediæval) Burning Man 1999 Christopher Fülling und die Großkatzen (Britten, Beethoven, Jünker) KuLe & K77 Kino, Berlin.

1998 The Temple of Rudra (Hamill, Indian classical) w/Wovoka, Burning Man 1998 LA Indian Queen (Purcell & Dryden/Gomez-Peña) Long Beach Opera   AD for David Schweizer 1997 Le Ballet Comique de la Reine (Beaujoyeaulx), Amherst EM Festival, MA   AD for Grant Herreid 1997 From the House of the Dead (Janacek), Long Beach Opera     AD for Julian Webber 1997 Fefe:  An African Opera (Ladzepko).  CalArts African Ensemble, LA    AD for Alfred Ladzepko 1996 Return of Ulysses (Monteverdi) Los Angeles Opera (orig. Nederlands Opera)            intern for Pierre Audi 1996 L’Incoronazione di Poppæa (Monteverdi) CalArts Opera, Los Angeles 1995 JFK: The Musical  (Holt & Sawyer) Robbins Productions, Norman, OK   AD for Craig Belknap 

EDUCATION:

1986-90 BA in anthropology (minors in music and art history) at Princeton University, Princeton, NJ. 1991-93 MA in interdisciplinary arts (incl. directing for film, theatre, TV) Ball State University, Muncie, IN. 1993-97 MFA in opera directing & voice performance at California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles, CA

TRAINING:

Studied Biomechanics with Gennadi Bogdanov, physical theatre with Irina Andreeva and Ursula Maria Berzborn, “The Style“ with Don Luce, and ritual theatre with Mady Schutzman

Masterclasses in ritual theatre with Augusto Boal and Richard Schechner, in physical theatre with Anton Adasinsky, and in choreography with Alwin Nikolais

TEACHES:

Physical theatre and “Biomechanics for Musicians”