Brian Eckert is a director of plays and musicals invested in understanding systems, the how and why we relate to each other. Most recently in Los Angeles, he directed and produced the world premiere of Mikvah Girls by Emmy Weissman (Best Drama, Hollywood Fringe; Finalist, International Fringe Encore Series at SoHo Playhouse), Jackie by Elfriede Jelinek, and Lucas Hnath’s play A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney. His work has been shown at the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute in New York and Two River Theater.

Brian is the Founding Producing Artistic Director of This Is A Front, a new LA-based company staging connection through theatre and social moments; we envision a vibrant creative community that reshapes how we understand our role in each other’s lives. In addition to productions and readings, the company produces community events and encourages advocacy that engages politics head-on. Proud examples of these include Artists for Gaza: In Response, a program of MENA and Jewish artists responding to recent and historic atrocities, followed by a panel of activists discussing the work, and Artists in Response, a teach-in and community gathering following the 2024 presidential election.

Brian was a frequent associate to director Sarna Lapine and others, including Jessica Stone, Young Jean Lee, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and the legendary Graciela Daniele. He has worked Off-Broadway and regionally at Ars Nova, Atlantic Theater Company, Classic Stage Company, New York City Center, New York Stage and Film, and Pasadena Playhouse. He is an alum of Directors Lab West and participated in the FIND plus workshop program at the prestigious Schaubühne theater in Berlin, run by Artistic Director Thomas Ostermeier.

Currently in development: a new musical about the 2000 ILOVEYOU computer worm that infected millions with the promise of love and fulfillment; a radical re-writing of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town set in Brian’s impoverished hometown along the Jersey Shore; a comedy about codependent queer relationships by Jay Stalder; and a new play by Jessica Marie Fisher about control and consent set in a live podcast studio.

BFA: NYU, Playwrights Horizons Theater School.