Today we’d like to introduce you to Kian Kline-Chilton.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Kian. I’m a Sagittarius Sun, huge Diana Ross fan, and going on my 27th year of being a San Diego Native. If you had met about three years ago, I would have said San Diego is the best quaint little place to be…but that’s not so true anymore. The city is growing so rapidly and I feel lucky to have seen it all change. I grew up in North Park before relocating to La Mesa and now am in El Cajon.
I love San Diego. I can close my eyes and walk to any neighborhood here, tell you the best places to eat, shop and spend your time and then walk back home. I used to feel like I didn’t belong here but in the last ten years, I have explored and embraced all it has to offer and it is beautiful.
I’m a queer multi-hyphenate artist – which basically just means that I love to do a lot of things. I’m born and raised here in San Diego. I’m lucky to be the Artistic Associate & Casting Director for Cygnet Theatre, one of the best regional theatres here. I’m lucky to have one of the best jobs in the world because I get to be in a community of extraordinary people and uplift them, cherish them, and showcase them to a wide range of audiences.
I started off as a fan of Cygnet. I had a friend whose parents went pretty often and brought me along one day and I immediately fell in love with the theatre. I went any chance I could because it was the one theatre in town that provided affordable student tickets and I had just gotten my first job.
I always have liked the arts but as a Libra Moon, I often found myself being very indecisive about what parts I actually enjoyed doing. I started out as a Costume Assistant and then moved to Stage Management before trying out acting for quite some time and now I produce, write and direct.
In 2016, I was in my second year at Grossmont College and we had a guest director named Rob Lutfy, who was serving as Cygnet’s Artistic Associate Director. He was fresh to San Diego but in the few years that he had been here, he made quite a splash. It was some short time after we did that first show together, he opened another show at Cygnet where I would run into an old friend from Grossmont who told me about a new job opening at the theatre. I applied that following morning but found out someone had already been hired.
I planned to just continue my restaurant job when I finally got a call in November 2017 about an open position in the box office at Cygnet. I immediately said yes. From 2017-2019, I worked in the box office and would split my time between college classes to go sit in rehearsals, chat with the Artistic staff, assist in marketing and events, etc. In late 2018, I took over for the social media and helped Cygnet become more active in the community here, especially in the LGBTQIA+ community. I helped hold special events for students, Miss Trans USA, and more.
Jumping back a little though, in 2017, I was able to assist Rob Lutfy on the first world premiere they produced at Cygnet. It was then and there that I knew I wanted to be a director and there was no turning back. I would transfer to San Diego State in Fall of 2018 and met my mentor, Jesca Prudencio, who would continue to help me and inspire me as an artist.
In my last year at SDSU, I was directing my first show called “Stupid F***ing Bird” (a title I know, but it’s an incredible play). I had seen the explosive 2016 production at Cygnet and knew I had to do it. And then COVID hit. A day before the play was supposed to open, the world was shutting down. The school, very kindly, got to perform the play one time, and I would later find out it was the last play to be performed in San Diego.
As a response to COVID-19, I created Patchwork Theatre. A collective dedicated to championing its young and uprising community of artists and embracing new forms of theatre. It started as a 6-week festival providing and distributing opportunities for SDSU undergraduates and has been producing ever since. We have created a number of audio plays, new festivals, and more. Patchwork is committed to advocating for inclusion in the arts and creating during a time when conventional theatre isn’t being made. It’s a chance to dive into the new and imaginative. It’s a celebration of innovation. It’s a reminder and dedication of passion.
And now, I just love my life and get to share with some of the best people in the world.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been a beautiful road, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come without challenge. However, I really have gotten to a place in life where I let painful experiences become lessons.
Being an artist is not for everyone – it’s A LOT of rejection, it’s a lot of questioning, and having to be your own boss especially if you freelance. Everything we do is temporary because processes aren’t forever but you make magic with what you are given.
The weirdest struggle, for me at least, is how to understand what being an artists means. My family isn’t really into the arts, they like movies here and there but they don’t really go to the theatre. I have had to put a lot of trust in myself which no one tells you how. The theatre, while trying to change, is not the most accessible thing. You have to have a certain look, you have to have money, you have to be able to do a million things that separates you from the next person and sometimes, people do not have your best intentions. So, stepping into the theatre, I have had to realize that not everyone will like what I do and that’s fine; what I have had to learn is to focus on the people who are curios, excited, and eager to explore.
Microaggressions are the hardest part for sure…
I’m a weird extrovert/introvert hybrid and like any other person, I have really bad self-esteem issues. As a genderfluid person of color, I know that being my authentic self is political. I’m scary to some, too gay for others. But during the 2020 lockdown, I had a moment where I realized that the only way, I get ahead is to simply grieve all the time I spent worrying about what I haven’t done. It was a massive shift in my thinking that’s genuinely helped me to be more advocative of myself.
I also am EXTREMELY lucky that my chosen family has been some of the most uplifting, loving, and supporting people in my life. Community is so important to me – and I find it in so many places. In bars, in restaurants, in theatres, in coffee shops – I know that I can go anywhere in San Diego and there is someone there waiting for me with open arms. In the darkest times of my life, when I thought I actually couldn’t go on, they have picked me up and reminded me of all the magic I possess.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I recently just celebrated my fifth year at Cygnet Theatre. I currently serve as the Artistic Associate and Casting Director. In my time with the company, I have helped foster a new, courageous, and engaging group of young artists. I started out as a box office representative, and in my third year, was brought onto the Artistic team. I have dedicated my heart and time to this company and seen the growing impact we have had in the community.
As the Artistic Associate, I have assistant directed over six productions and brought in professional guest artists to collaborate. I’ve been fortunate to assist in producing new play workshops with playwrights like Kate Hamill, Keiko Green, Christopher Oscar Peña, and Aaron Posner… Through social media, I have found ways to create community engagement through virtual plays and seminars celebrating some of the most diverse members of San Diego -leading to our social media gaining over 2,200 followers.
In my first year of Casting, I restructured our process to create accessibility to our diversity and assist actors in getting them professional audition experience. Our numbers have increased from 150 to almost 500 in the past seasons.
During my time in San Diego, I have assisted for a number of regional theaters, three of which were world premieres. Most recently, I assisted Shana Cooper in bringing her hit production of Taming of the Shrew at The Old Globe. Furthermore, I directed a production of Joe Penhall’s Blue/Orange, for which I was awarded Best Director for BroadwayWorld’s San Diego Regional Awards.
I relish in reminding audiences to remember what makes us unique. When people work with me, I have one rule: the personal is universal, let that breathe into the playground of creation and process. I encourage a space of curiosity, a space of openness, a space of respect. To respect someone is to see them and to be respected is to be seen by another. I strive to echo that in all I create. I choose to see people for who they are.
I adore work that is unapologetically queer, ardently human, and rich in pop culture.
As a writer, I currently create for both screen and stage. I develops coming-of-age stories that explore the walks of life in the young LGBTQ and Black/POC community. Some of my works have been produced at the La Jolla Playhouse, Blindspot Collective and you can see more at https://newplayexchange.org/users/37821/kian-kline-chilton.
In my time as an Assistant Director, it’s been crucial to me to remain thoroughly engaged, extremely prepared, and very disciplined. Connecting with artists is an innate skill of mine. Throughout every process, it’s given me continuous chances to hone this skill. I like to think I am a company processing partner. I listen and uplift the director’s vision. I engage in curiosity and help directors create thoughtful and provoking rooms. I also know when to suggest a note to a director and when to simply be a processing partner for them. I was instrumental in training last-minute put-ins for shows. As an effective liaison between director, designer, actor, and stage manager, I hope to navigate smooth and consistent production value at Asolo Rep in this role.
The process can be sensitive from all sides but many members of my artistic community have shared that my talent, gifts, and commitment had an enormous impact on the success of every collaboration we have shared. My deep love for new work has allowed me to dissect play structure with clarity and intelligence. Through it all, my hope is I am someone that quickly becomes what the room needs, with patience and humor. I take care of the people around them. I listen. The process is only as good as those you share it with.
Passion and fear shape what I do. Growth has only occurred for me when I was terrified. San Diego has been my home for almost thirty years. I have spent endless years, birthdays, and lifelong memories in the theatre. From fostering new play programs, booking sold-out student shows, getting an entirely new generation of young and empowered artists to find their voices, meeting and becoming friends with playwrights, working with some of the best directors all because of a hello, the list goes on – it’s always been my passion for the arts and those who love it.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Isaí Luna: My best friend and my brother in life. He’s the Carrie to my Miranda, the Roxie Hart to my Velma Kelly. He’s an actor in town and someone who I’m lucky to also collaborate with. Isaí and I inspire each other which is really the best kind of friendship. He listens to me, and not just the kind of listening where he nods his head but really provides incredible advice, endless laughter, and true loyalty.
Rob Lutfy: Robby is also my best friend, another brother in this life, and a huge mentor of mine. I have assisted him on two world premieres at Cygnet Theatre, one in 2017 and one in 2022. Robby is an incredibly talented director and producer who has worked at so many theatres around the country from D.C. to San Francisco to New York. Robby is someone who brings joy into any space he enters but he also is ferocious in his dedication to his craft. When I think of great artists like Picasso or Spielberg, I think Robby joins those ranks. I cannot imagine my 20s without him – he has instilled trust in me, taught me how to have perseverance as a director, and continues to be one of my biggest cheerleaders. It’s because of Robby that I have met so many amazing artists who I once admired and now share friendships with. So much of my success, I owe to him.
Jesca Prudencio: My mentor. No one works the way Jesca does. No one thinks like Jesca does. I met her when I transferred to San Diego State in 2018 and she had just joined as an adjunct professor teaching Directing. On the first day of class, she asked us “what do you want to scream to the world as an artist – what are the stories you want to tell, the impact you want to have, how do you wish to shape the world with your art?” And in that moment, everything changed. Jesca isn’t afraid to challenge and call out, which for me was needed, because she opened my eyes to all the things, I was afraid of and I realized I didn’t need to be scared because they were my tools to succeed. I don’t know a more wise and thoughtful leader. She still mentors me today and I am so thankful for her.
Anna Lindmeier: When I attempted suicide in 2015, the last person I texted was Anna. I never have asked myself why until now. We met each other as freshman in high school and we have been friends ever since. I think out of everyone in my life, there is no one who brings me such peace, love, harmony, and joy the way that she does. She pushes me to find the beauty in every aspect of myself, we find the most random things funny but I always remember them when I am in a very dark place, she has to come to pretty much all of my shows that I have been a part of, and she has helped me in my gender journey. I texted her that night because even in that dark state, I knew I had to thank her because I truly believe she is the first person who saw the potential in me and continues to celebrate it. I feel tremendously lucky to have her.
There’s so many names that I am about to say and I know I am forgetting them but I have to say as many as I can also that’s only a fraction of the amount of people who have been absolute lights for me in this world. There are engineers, designers, carpenters, professors, innovators…these are the people I have grown up with, the people who I have some of the best memories of my life with…
To my Grossmont College friends: Our bond is unlike any other and we continue to be there in each other lives, even though some of us have moved away or changed fields…we still show up when we can. Their names… Xavier Daniels, Jill Jones, Kassandra Wailles, Amy Oliverio, Brian Rickel, Jenn Thomas, Meg DeBoard, Beth and Aaron Duggan, Alexis Popko, Craig Everett, Daniel Ramos, Vanessa Duron, Katie Banville, Delia Mejia, Steve Schmitz, Hannah Conway.
To my Helix High School lifelines…they are the reason I even began theatre in the first place. Paul Reams, Gregg and Jenn Osborn, Adrianna Lazarini, Cathy Singer, and Delaney McCowen.
Contact Info:
- Website: patchworktheatre.com
- Instagram: kian.k.c.
- Facebook: Kian Kline-Chilton
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kian-kline-chilton-9b428a133/
Image Credits
Karli Cadel
Rich Soublet
Jim Cox
Manny Fernandes
Maya Mayengie
Dillon Hoban
Chris Ruetten
