Fiasco Theater
Board Members
Robert Macdonald
Bob joined the Fiasco board in 2014 recognizing that his otherwise circumspect and orderly life needed an infusion of the exuberance, joy and embrace of the uncertain that defines Fiasco’s approach to making theatre.
Hope Goldstein
Hope Goldstein joined the Fiasco Board in 2014. She participated in her high school’s production of Grease, which led her to quickly realize her talents were better utilized behind the scenes! Hope practices labor and employment law in the entertainment and live events industry and is thrilled to be working with Fiasco.
Derek McLane
Derek McLane joined the Fiasco board in 2014, after designing the sets for several Fiasco productions and falling in love with the company. His most recent work includes the designs for ‘Moulin Rouge!’ and ‘A Soldier’s Play’ on Broadway.
Joanna Cole
Joanna Cole became a Fiasco groupie in 2009 when she saw their brilliant production of Cymbeline in a fifth-floor walk-up loft on White Street, and joined the board in 2019. Before then she had been a literary agent for children's book authors and a Lecturer in English Literature at Barnard College.
Robert Barry Fleming
Robert Barry Fleming (they/them) is the Executive Artistic Director of Actors Theatre of Louisville, KY. They have a varied portfolio and a wealth of experience as an artistic leader/administrator, producer, director, choreographer, performing artist, teacher and coach. Their directing/choreography credits include Laura Kaminsky’s transgender journey contemporary opera As One (KY Opera); the world premiere of Jonathan Norton’s I Am Delivered’t (Dallas Theatre Center/Actors Theatre of Louisville co-production); the world premiere of Grace, a new musical by Nolan Williams, Jr., and Pulitzer Prize nominee Nikkole Salter (Ford’s Theatre) which was honored as a Broadway World Winner for Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography of a Play or Musical; the Humana Festival of New American Plays Professional Training Company’s production of Vivian Barnes, Jonathan Norton and Gab Reisman’s Are You There? Robert’s original ballet suite Hydra for Program 4 mixed repertory (Louisville Ballet); The world premiere of Idris Goodwin’s Ali Summit (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Once On This Island (Actors/Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park co-production), Native Gardens (Cleveland Play House), NEXT TO NORMAL (Tantrum Theater), The Royale (CPH), Destiny of Desire (OSF), Caroline Or Change (Tantrum Theater), and Between Riverside And Crazy (CPH).
Robert formerly served as Director of Artistic Programming at Arena Stage and Associate Artistic Director at Cleveland Play House. Arena Stage world-premieres commissioned, developed and/or championed under their watch include the 2017 Best Musical Tony-winner, Dear Evan Hansen, Mary Kathryn Nagle’s Sovereignty, John Strand’s The Originalist, Katori Hall’s Blood Quilt, Karen Zacarías’ Destiny of Desire and the 2017 Pulitzer Prize winner, Sweat by Lynn Nottage. Robert was an Associate Producer for the Off-Broadway premiere of The Two Character Play by Tennessee Williams, starring Amanda Plummer and Brad Dourif. Robert is a proud member of the Professional Non-Profit Theatre Coalition (PNTC) planning committee endeavoring to evolve our relationship with governmental support for the arts as well as, our SDC, AEA, and TCG collectives working in solidarity for an equitable and sustainable praxis for our arts ecosystem.
Vanessa Wise
Vanessa is a proud new member of the Fiasco board as of 2024, but has had the pleasure of knowing the "crew" as fellow Brown theater alumni. She looks forward to being in service of Fiasco's future, hopefully leveraging many years of experience in arts and culture fundraising and strategic planning. Still singing in between juggling a career and three boys, she is so happy to feel connected to her theater roots and support this magical and brilliant group of artists.
Marcos Santiago
Marcos Santiago, joined the board of Fiasco in early 2024. He currently serves as Chief Advancement Officer of the YMCA of Greater San Francisco (YGSF) where he leads public and private fundraising strategy for over $60 million dollars of this $110M+ Bay Area organization. A member of the senior leadership team and executive sponsor or the LatinX employee resource group, Marcos is passionate about upholding values of servant leadership and commitment to equity and inclusivity both within the organization as well as externally with the community served by the Y and beyond.
Prior to joining YGSF, Marcos spent eight years with CCS Fundraising, most recently as Senior Vice President, where he led a range of engagements including capital campaign planning and management, board development, strategic planning and resource allocation assessments, and interim advancement team leadership. Clients included private liberal arts colleges, health care institutions, and cultural and social services organizations. Campaigns ranged in size from $4 million to $1 billion in size. He served as interim Chief Advancement Officer at the National Sierra Club, leading a team of nearly 80 advancement and membership professionals responsible for bringing in $175 million in 2020-21.
Prior to CCS Marcos led regional and national fundraising and external affairs departments at nonprofit organizations focused on improving education and health outcomes in public school systems in major urban areas across the United States – a personally significant cause given that he is the first in his family to attend college. At the start of his career, Marcos worked as a Business Analyst and Associate within the CEO and Board of Directors practice at Heidrick & Struggles in NYC. Marcos holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Brown University.
Hobbies include scuba diving in warm tropical waters, singing karaoke with friends, and supporting live theater and other performing arts/artists. He was spotted on stage earlier in life, but due to self-assessed mediocrity in this area, he leaves stage performance to the professionals these days.
Fiasco Theater
Staff Members
Jessie Austrian, Co-Artistic Director, jessie@fiascotheater.com
Noah Brody, Co-Artistic Director, noah@fiascotheater.com
Ben Steinfeld, Co-Artistic Director, ben@fiascotheater.com
B.J. Evans, Managing Producer, bj@fiascotheater.com
Kelly Letourneau, Development & Communications Associate, kelly@fiascotheater.com
Sarah A. McLellan (A.D. Hamingson & Associates), Development Consultant
Ashley Thaxton-Stevenson, Community Engagement Coordinator, ashley@fiascotheater.com
Fiasco Theater logo and branding design by Jules Talbot.