Dane Eissler

Dane Eissler (he/they) is a theater director/designer and visual artist creating provocative, physical, and visually striking work focused on the nuanced ridiculousness of contemporary American life and culture. The resulting works investigate how we navigate our established patterns and rituals while aiming to embolden audiences towards a deeper a... uthenticity in themselves and compassion with others. He is the Founding Artistic Director of A Dead Whale Productions, a multidisciplinary theater collective, and currently serves as Associate Producer at EgoPo Classic Theater. In Chicago, Dane produced, wrote, designed, directed, and performed in a number of original productions at A Dead Whale Productions, including Forever Fetal, Apocalypse Twins, Hog'sBelly: A Fable Noir, I Love You, Jane Doe, and The Slather & Gibbs Show: LIVE, which toured to Mt. Carmel, IL and had a primetime run at The Annoyance Theatre. He also worked with The Whiskey Rebellion Theatre, Gorilla Tango Theatre, Living Room Vauntgardia, Rough House Theater, Windy City Performs, Women of the Now, and Megan Stalters Freakfest. In Philadelphia, Dane has worked with B.R.A.T. Productions, Azuka Theatre, and EgoPo Classic Theater. At EgoPo, he co-directed Williams' Stairs to the Roof, adapted/directed Gogol's The Nose, acted in the Barrymore-winning The Seagull, associate directed and acted in the world premiere of John Guare's full Lydie Breeze Trilogy, production designed Williams' And Tell Sad Stories of the Deaths of Queens... (toured to the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival), directed Shepard's Buried Child, co-created/directed UND3RGR0UND (a virtual adaptation of Dostoyevsky), production designed a window walk-up production of Beckett's Rockaby, and most recently adapted/directed Alice: not your child's wonderland. Dane's visual art has been publicly displayed throughout Chicago, and was also created live in his pandemic art show "Gettin Sketchy w/ Dane." (c) 2021. All rights reserved by Dane Eissler.Read More