DIRECTOR
“I found their directorial choices to be inspired, with mountains of comedic blocking brilliance. They chiseled away any excess to go right to the jugular of the societal commentary.”
Francesca’s areas of expertise as a director include:
clown and buffon territories
ensemble devising
physical/dance theater
staging verbatim non-theatrical text
working with real-life artifacts and experiences
She especially loves guiding the creation of new work, with a penchant for the puzzle of dramatic structure.
She has worked with Donna Oblongata, Rough & Tumble Productions, Mural Arts, Kyle Dacuyan, SOAR + Trinity Repertory Company, and Antigravity Performance Project (where she also served as Co-Artistic Director).
Testimonial from Donna Oblongata
“I'm so tremendously glad that a friend recommended Francesca to me as a director. She's super sharp with an excellent eye for what the audience is experiencing at any given moment. She really brings a sense of curiosity and humor to the process… When we started working together, I was struggling to find the playfulness and joy in the piece I was working on. I also knew that I more or less had the elements I wanted, but they weren't adding up to much as a whole. The structure wasn't working and the play was landing much heavier than I wanted… Very quickly I saw that she was able to bring her own sensibilities and experience to the table while at the same time helping me to make the piece that I wanted to make. It really felt like we were working together toward the same goal. Whenever we got to a stuck-ish spot, she was always ready with a prompt, or a question, or an exercise that would invariably lead us to some new place, giving the piece more dimensionality. She has a fantastic sense for dramatic structure and a great ability to zoom out and look at the whole of a thing without getting stuck in the weeds. I would 100% recommend her as a collaborator, director, or general life-coach-for-your-play.”
The Van Gogh
Shogh
By Donna Oblongata
“...brimming with inspired lunacy...
Whatever guidance Lyons gave Oblongata it was the right thing.”
“Top notch clowning and a very enjoyable night at the theater.”
What would happen if Van Gogh, the "starving artist," walked into the Van Gogh Experience?
Part deranged sip ‘n paint, part desperate auction. Follow the show here.
Dear Diary LOL
“As audiences’ steady giggles and “awws” attest, Dear Diary LOL is as relatable as it is funny, inviting us to empathize with our younger selves as we laugh at their extremes. Beneath its hot-pink surface beats a tender heart and the universal queries of adolescence: Am I alone? Am I worthy? Does anyone understand?”
“Dear Diary LOL is the funniest show I have seen in ages. I was laughing like a hyena, snorting my fruit punch out of my nose and slapping my plus-one with the demented fervor of an overzealous evangelist.”
A theatrical diary of teenage proportions, Dear Diary, LOL takes as its charge staging the verbatim words from five 13 year old American girls’ diaries in the early 2000s. Dear Diary, LOL exposes the the often hilarious, always tumultuous, struggles of a small group of America’s soon-to-be women. Created and led by Francesca Montanile, with Antigravity Performance Project.
GOOD GRIEF
Performer-Creators: Lillian Ransijn + Dylan Smythe. Director-Creator: Francesca Montanile Lyons.
An up-close-and-(hyper)personal mobilization of the joy, companionship, pleasure, rage, and vulnerability in grief. A 60-minute, deeply heartfelt dance-clown-theater-burlesque performance lays bare how pain is so close to pleasure, loss so close to love, and grief an absurd mixed up process of clinging tight & letting go.
All 100 Fires
By Donna Oblongata
“Inventive, brimming with compassion, and monstrously funny.”
“Balances on the thrilling precipice of pleasure and danger...both hilarious, poking fun at its own absurdity, and deeply sincere, envisioning a better world.”
An evening-length solo performance that follows a commander in a guerrilla war as he evaluates and trains the new recruits (the audience) preparing them for battle. A dark comedy about guerrilla warfare, mass extinction, and what it means to die with dignity. Supported by the Puffin Foundation, Meow Wolf, and BSP Kingston.
Fourth Quarter
A devised performance with live, original music that confronts the mortality of our mothers and the earth as we know it, the piece criss-crosses between performance modes: first person storytelling in which Lilli, Caitlin and Johanna grapple with each of their mothers’ real-life diagnoses of cancer; Meryl’s comedic attempts as a sales agent pitching green energy; raucous dance numbers riding the line between burlesque and the grotesque; basketball drills, and live original music. The quartet of performers move in and out of reality, inviting the audience into a space of grief, celebration, and consideration of the changing climate.
Devised by Caitlin Antram, Johanna Kasimov, Lillian Ransijn, and Meryl Sands as Performer-Creators, and Francesca Montanile as Director-Creator.
Die, Dumping, Die! (D3)
A guerilla-style performance, or “creative disruption” made by members of Fairhill United for Livability and HACE CDC's Team NAS in collaboration with Mural Arts. This piece was used to directly engage neighbors of Kensington/Fairhill in cleaning their streets, and to advocate politically for systemic solutions to prevent dumping. It was performed at McPherson Park and at a press event for the Waste Free Philly campaign.
More information here.
Sometimes the rain, Sometimes the sea
by Julia Izumi
Dolan (who bears a striking resemblance to the famous, genius author Hans Christian Andersen) tells his brand new story The Little Rain Cloud, a story about a young rain cloud who falls to earth and falls in love with a human, but unexpected interruptions keep getting in the way! Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea tells a beautiful story that begs the question: What makes love a true love? Performed at the University of the Arts, Arts Bank, in 2022.
Performer Testimonials:
“This process and your direction mean so much to me. You’ve taught me how to be an artist again, how to be confident in my choices, & have freedom, curiosity, & fun!”
“I really enjoyed creating with you and finding what sparked as a collective.”
Legal Tender
A live assemblage of multi-media performance, video, and text material drawing across a year-long collaborative devising practice staging the poetry of Kyle Dacuyan.
Created by Kyle Dacuyan, Andalyn Young, Kate Liebman, Michael Costagliola, Francesca Montanile Lyons, and Michael T. Williams, with Antigravity Performance Project. Additional collaborators: Chelsea Murphy, Kate McGee, Emily Oliveira.
Behind Closed doors
An awareness play written and performed by the women of SOAR (Sisters Overcoming Abusive Relationships) from the RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Facilitated and Directed by Francesca Montanile Lyons and Michael T. Williams. Recipient of:
Victims' Rights Award (presented by the Rhode Island Attorney General)
Justice Award (presented by the Rhode Island State Department)
“It was the most compelling presentation regarding domestic violence I’ve ever seen. With real-life stories presented in a creative way... Everyone should view this play.”
-Peter Kilmartin, Rhode Island Attorney General
Work With Francesca
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Process Advisor
One or more sessions to support you in the creation of your performance based on your needs. Part-creative coach, part-logistical consultant, and part-thought partner.
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outside eye
Rehearsal visits and check-ins to support performance development. Ideal for artists creating new work who do not want or need to engage a director full-time, but desire help with structuring a process, brainstorming and creative prompts, and putting the pieces together into a cohesive whole.
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Director
Full-on support, presence, and collaboration as Director in the process of creating performance, from ideation through rehearsals, tech, and performances. Available for scripted or devised work.
Image credits: Garret Allen, Daniel Kontz, Danny Bristol.