The Board of Directors
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The Board of Directors •
Board of Directors Episode 17: Anne Hamburger
Anne Hamburger is the Founding Artistic Director of En Garde Arts, which she established in 1986. Widely credited with pioneering the site-specific theatre movement in the United States, Hamburger has spent four decades redefining how and where performance happens, transforming city streets, historic landmarks, and public spaces into stages for ambitious, large-scale work.
Under her leadership, En Garde Arts has developed and produced groundbreaking projects with artists who have gone on to shape the field, including Anne Bogart, Charles L. Mee, Jonathan Larson, and Reza Abdoh, while continuing to champion a new generation of changemakers such as Jared Mezzocchi, Aya Ogawa, Hansol Jung, and The Pack.
Her work defines a model of performance that expands beyond traditional venues, engaging directly with the physical fabric of New York City. It has been recognized with six Obie Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, and an Outer Critics Circle Award.
Anne holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama and is the proud mother of two children, Hannah and Owen."
Board of Directors Episode 16: Irina Kruzhilina
Irina is an award-winning multi-hyphenate theater maker whose various hats include director, scenographer, experience designer, professor, playwright, and artistic director.
Raised in Moscow in an intercultural household with a Ukrainian mother and Georgian father, Irina creates work that grapples with social issues, exploring identity, displacement, and belonging. Since 2000, Irina has created over two dozen performances spanning interdisciplinary downtown theatre, large-scale parades, opera, and site-responsive installations. Her work has been shown at Times Square, Tokyo Disney, BAM, Prague National Theatre, the NY Philharmonic, the XXI Commonwealth Games, and Barbican Center.
Currently, her work centers on two primary forms: site-specific performances and socially engaged projects with community members to address issues like immigration, polarization, conflict, and peacebuilding.
Relentless in her ambition and risk-taking, Irina pushes the boundaries of theatre to create work that is both artistically daring and socially urgent. Irina launched SpaceBridge, a theatre workshop and devised performance uniting 19 refugee and American children, most of whom had never been on stage. Leading a team of 60 collaborators, Irina transformed their stories into a fully realized Off-Broadway production. After being named a critics’ pick at the 2025 Under The Radar Festival, she is expanding her workshop curriculum to develop new SpaceBridge performances with local and refugee youth in the U.S. and globally.
Irina is the founder of Visual Echo, a New York-based performance organization fostering generative dialogues among people from diverse backgrounds who rarely intersect.
Irina is an associate professor at the New School of Drama, where she co-developed a new MFA program in Contemporary Theatre and Performance. She is a La MaMa resident artist and recipient of the 2024 Joan D. Firestone Fund Award and the 2024 Elliot Norton Award.
Board of Directors April Meet-up
Join Us The Third Weekend of Each Month for The Board of Directors Monthly Meet-up
The Board of Directors is a community of Theatre Makers who come together to share stories, provide mentorship, and be generally available for each other, taking place on Zoom, the third weekend of each month. For more details about times, please see below.
What is it? This monthly gathering invites directors and other theatre makers to come together, share experiences, and seek advice in a supportive community. There is often an isolating nature to directing, and this new space aims to foster connection and collaboration. Participants can come and go as they please. If you cannot attend the entire session, you are welcome to arrive late or leave early. The Board of Directors is an opportunity to set aside time each month to be alongside members of the Directing community worldwide.
Board of Directors Founder and Host Adam Marple will moderate the discussion. All questions about the craft of Directing and Making Theatre are welcome and can be asked of Adam or put to the group as a whole.
All Times for the Saturday 18/Sunday 19 Session (1 hour 30 min)
San Francisco, USA Sat, Apr 18, 2026 at 7:00 am PDT
Mexico City, Mexico Sat, Apr 18, 2026 at 8:00 am CST
New York, USA Sat, Apr 18, 2026 at 10:00 am EDT
London, UK. Sat, Apr 18, 2026 at 3:00 pm BST
Cairo, Egypt Sat, Apr 18, 2026 at 4:00 pm EET
Mumbai, India Sat, Apr 18, 2026 at 7:30 pm IST
Singapore, Singapore Sat, Apr 18, 2026 at 10:00 pm SGT
Sydney, Australia Sun, Apr 19, 2026 at 12:00 midn AEST
Board of Directors Episode 15: Robby Lutfy
Robby Lutfy (he/him) Sometimes an actor. Sometimes a producer. Mostly a director. Always an artist. He directs theatre at places like Cygnet Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, The John F Kennedy Center, and Burning Coal, etc. He was awarded the 2019 Craig Noel Award for Director of the Year. He was the 2012-2013 William R. Kenan, Jr. Directing Fellow at The John F. Kennedy Center as well as the 2014-2015 National New Play Network Producer-in-Residence at Marin Theatre.
He directed 20 shows and produced 39 others at Cygnet Theatre, where he was the Associate Artistic Director for seven seasons. At Cygnet, he was the head of new play development, where he commissioned 20 plays by writers including Miranda Rose Hall, Herbert Siguenza, Nathan Alan Davis, and Leah Nanako Winkler. This past year, he directed Dunsinane by David Greig at Marin Theatre Company, Witch by Jen Silverman at Charlotte Conservatory Theatre, God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza at Backyard Renaissance, and the world premieres of Sharon by Keiko Green and The Little Fellow by Kate Hamill at Cygnet. He acted in August: Osage County with Backyard Renaissance.
He has taught classes at San Diego State University, Grossmont College, UNCSA, and UCSD. Robby is a graduate of the directing program under Gerald Freedman at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. His work, Jean F: ritualizing a stranger, was exhibited at Goodyear Arts this summer, where he was an artist in residence. Up next: a residency with Arts on Site and The Rensing Center. Currently producing the 25th National Showcase of New Plays with NNPN @robby_the_artist
Board of Directors Episode 14: Mikhael Tara Garver
Mikhael Tara Garver is a pioneering force in immersive storytelling and fandom-driven experience design, shaping how audiences gather, participate, and imagine together at the intersection of live experience, technology, and culture. For over two decades, her work has brought thousands into transformative worlds inside rock clubs and national parks, international theme parks and stadiums, and even a galaxy far, far away.
Mikhael’s work centers on immersive experiences as engines for connection, empathy, and collective possibility. Her career places her at the heart of many of immersive storytelling’s defining moments, including serving as a director on the American Repertory Theater’s initial production of Sleep No More and as Creative Director for the band Great Caesar, where she designed an 18-show immersive journey unfolding over eight days at SXSW. Most recently, Mikhael served as Director of Immersive Experience for the THEA Award–winning Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser, realizing her long-held vision of a two-day, three-night live immersive journey that gently draws participants into epic narrative agency. Though not a Star Wars fan at the outset, she has always believed in immersive storytelling’s power to foster transformation and remains deeply grateful to the fandom whose passion continues to carry that force forward.
Her award-winning body of work spans projects for AMC Television, Amazon, the National Park Service, Bloomberg, BBDO, Hormel, Tentrr, Viacom, Warner Bros., The La River, Smirnoff, IDEO, Facebook, and Virgin. She has delivered keynotes and advisory leadership across the experiential landscape, including at the World Experience Summit, and has served as a Lead Creative Consultant for Walt Disney Imagineering.
A recognized leader in the field, Mikhael is a founding board member of the Immersive Experience Institute, a recipient of the first-ever immersive commissions from The Kennedy Center, Goodman Theatre, the Public Theater, and the National Theatre of Scotland, a multi-year grantee of the Pop Culture Collaborative where she was named a Pop Culture Leader driving culture change, and an International Sacatar Fellow in Bahia, Brazil, where she began writing her book on immersive practice.
She is currently the Founder and CEO of Culture House Immersive, a creative studio dedicated to shaping the future of experiential entertainment where technology, story, and human connection meet.
Board of Directors March Meet-up
Join Us The Third Weekend of Each Month for The Board of Directors Monthly Meet-up
The Board of Directors is a community of Theatre Makers who come together to share stories, provide mentorship, and be generally available for each other, taking place on Zoom, the third weekend of each month. For more details about times, please see below.
What is it? This monthly gathering invites directors and other theatre makers to come together, share experiences, and seek advice in a supportive community. There is often an isolating nature to directing, and this new space aims to foster connection and collaboration. Participants can come and go as they please. If you cannot attend the entire session, you are welcome to arrive late or leave early. The Board of Directors is an opportunity to set aside time each month to be alongside members of the Directing community worldwide.
Board of Directors Founder and Host Adam Marple will moderate the discussion. All questions about the craft of Directing and Making Theatre are welcome and can be asked of Adam or put to the group as a whole.
All Times for the Saturday 21/Sunday 22 Session (1 hour 30 min)
San Francisco, USA Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 7:00 am PDT
Mexico City, Mexico Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 8:00 am CST
New York, USA Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 10:00 am EDT
London, United Kingdom Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 2:00 pm GMT
Cairo, Egypt Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 4:00 pm EET
Mumbai, India Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 7:30 pm IST
Singapore, Singapore Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 10:00 pm SGT
Sydney, Australia Sun, Mar 22, 2026 at 1:00 am AEDT
Board of Directors Episode 13: Matt Torney
Matt Torney is an Irish-born theatre director and the Artistic Director of Theatrical Outfit in Atlanta, where he leads one of the Southeast’s most respected regional theatre companies, Theatrical Outfit. Originally from Belfast, Torney began his career as a freelance director in Ireland before moving to the United States in 2006 to complete an MFA in Directing at Columbia University.
He has directed extensively across the U.S. and internationally, working on both new plays and bold reimaginings of classical texts, with a practice grounded in rigorous collaboration with actors and a strong visual partnership with designers. His productions have received numerous award nominations, including multiple Suzi Bass and Helen Hayes Award nominations.
Recent and notable work includes The Honey Trap at the Irish Repertory Theatre (New York Times Critic’s Pick), The Lehman Trilogy by Stefano Massini, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, and upcoming productions of The Glass Menagerie and The Price at Theatrical Outfit. His forthcoming projects also include The Lehman Trilogy at Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
Before joining Theatrical Outfit, Torney served as Associate Artistic Director of Studio Theatre in Washington, DC, and as Director of Programming for Origin Theatre Company in New York. He was also an Associate Director at Rough Magic in Dublin for eight years.
Torney’s work is driven by a belief that live theatre is an essential counterbalance to an increasingly digital world, capable of bringing communities together to wrestle with complexity, celebrate joy, and sit honestly with uncertainty. As an artistic leader, he is deeply committed to new work, regional artists, and theatre that speaks directly to the moment in which it is made.
Board of Directors Episode 12: Adriana Baer
Adriana Baer has been an arts professional for over 20 years. She has held leadership roles at Profile Theatre (Executive Artistic Director) and Cutting Ball Theater (Associate Artistic Director), and has worked with companies including Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and Theatre Communications Group, the national service organization that works for a just and thriving theater ecology.
Adriana has directed at theaters including Houston’s Alley Theatre, Portland Center Stage, and Artists Repertory Theatre. She has taught courses and lectured as a guest speaker at numerous colleges and universities nationwide. She holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and an MFA in Directing from Columbia University.
As part of her mission to support the arts sector as a whole, she worked as the Arts Program Officer for a private family foundation during the pandemic, ensuring that crucial funding for arts organizations was made into multi-year commitments and distributed quickly.
As a professional podcaster, Adriana founded, produced, and cohosted From Your Center, successfully publishing over 60 weekly episodes. She has been a guest on dozens of podcasts and teaches the art of podcasting and public speaking through online courses and 1:1 coaching.
Adriana is dedicated to community building in the arts sector and believes in the power of creativity to enhance the local economy, cultural identity, and civic life. She is the proud founder and CEO of I’m Into This Place, a media brand focused on highlighting the vibrant arts and culture scene of Clark County.
Board of Directors February Meet-up
Join Us The Third Weekend of Each Month for The Board of Directors Monthly Meet-up
The Board of Directors is a community of Theatre Makers who come together to share stories, provide mentorship, and be generally available for each other, taking place on Zoom, the third weekend of each month. For more details about times, please see below.
What is it? This monthly gathering invites directors and other theatre makers to come together, share experiences, and seek advice in a supportive community. There is often an isolating nature to directing, and this new space aims to foster connection and collaboration. Participants can come and go as they please. If you cannot attend the entire session, you are welcome to arrive late or leave early. The Board of Directors is an opportunity to set aside time each month to be alongside members of the Directing community worldwide.
Board of Directors Founder and Host Adam Marple will moderate the discussion. All questions about the craft of Directing and Making Theatre are welcome and can be asked of Adam or put to the group as a whole.
All Times for the February 21/22 Session (1 hour 30 min)
San Francisco, USA Sat, Feb 21, 2026 at 6:00 am PST
Mexico City, Mexico Sat, Feb 21, 2026 at 8:00 am CST
New York, USA Sat, Feb 21, 2026 at 9:00 am EST
London, UK. Sat, Feb 21, 2026 at 2:00 pm GMT
Cairo, Egypt Sat, Feb 21, 2026 at 4:00 pm EET
Mumbai, India Sat, Feb 21, 2026 at 7:30 pm IST
Singapore Sat, Feb 21, 2026 at 10:00 pm SGT
Melbourne, Australia Sun, Feb 22, 2026 at 1:00 am AEDT
Board of Directors Episode 11: Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol
Lizards Lying in the Sun
Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol is a collective of artists. We work in theater, create books, radio programs, videos, and educational projects.
Since 2003, we have been developing projects to connect work and life, to erase and redefine boundaries. Our work seeks to create narratives from real-life events. It has nothing to do with entertainment; it is a space to think, articulate, displace, and unravel what daily life merges, overlooks, and presents to us as given.
Things are what they are, but they can also be different.
We have presented our work in almost every state in Mexico; at festivals, independent venues, state theaters, and universities.
Abroad, among many others, we have worked at the Reina Sofía Museum (Madrid), Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), Schaubühne (Berlin), FIBA (Buenos Aires), Wiener Festwochen (Vienna), Festival de Otoño (Paris), Theater Spektakel (Zurich), FTA (Montreal), HAU (Berlin), Kammerspiele (Munich), Santiago a Mil (Santiago), Bienal de Teatro (São Paulo), DeSingel (Antwerp), BITEF (Belgrade), Festival Internacional (Caracas), FAEL (Lima), Belluard International (Freiburg), Cena Contemporânea (Brasilia), TBA (Portland), FIAC (Salvador de Bahia), Festival de Otoño (Madrid), RADAR (Los Angeles), Temporada Alta (Girona), Dialog Festival (Wroclaw), Centro Cultural España (Guatemala), BAD (Bilbao), Inteatro (Ancona), TNT (Terrassa), MESS (Sarajevo), Fusebox (Austin), Norderzon (Groningen), among many others.
We have received numerous awards and recognitions, including the ZKB Patronage Prize at Zürcher Theater Spektakel and the Audience Award at the Impatience Festival (Odeon Theatre and Centquatre Theatre) in Paris. Since 2023, our work has been part of The Hemispheric Institute Digital Video Library in New York.
Luisa Pardo (Xalapa) is a stage artist, aspiring farmer, and teacher; she is the founder and co-director of the Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol collective, which has produced over 20 artistic projects and performed in 23 countries at various forums and festivals. She has collaborated on theater projects with Hugo Arrevillaga, Juliana Faesler, Marco Canale, and others, and on film projects with Yulene Olaizola, Marise Sistach, and Nicolás Pereda, among others. She worked closely with the Cine Too Lab project and the CAI in Oaxaca. Currently, she is developing and coordinating the YIVI artistic-educational project in the Mixteca Alta region.
Lázaro Gabino Rodriguez (Durango) Actor. Master of Arts in Theatre from the Amsterdam University of the Arts (AHK). Since 2003, he has been a member of the Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol collective, where he has developed his theatre work. He writes various texts and has been part of the Cascajo audiobook publishing house since 2016. As an actor, he has appeared in more than 30 feature films with directors such as Nicolás Pereda, Raya Martin, Gust Van der Berghe, and Yulene Olaizola. He has received numerous awards and has been the subject of retrospectives at the Toulouse, Paris Cinema, Geneva, and Cali Film Festivals.
Board of Directors Episode 10: Brian Kulick
Brian Kulick is a director, writer, producer, educator, and current Chair of the Graduate Theatre Program at Columbia University. He has been the Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company, where he directed Galileo with F. Murray Abraham, The Tempest with Mandy Patinkin, and The Forest with Dianne Wiest. He commissioned and co-directed poet Anne Carson's award-winning An Oresteia, collaborated with composer Duncan Sheik on productions of Brecht’s Caucasian Chalk Circle, Man’s A Man, and Mother Courage, and produced CSC's much lauded Chekhov Cycle (Ivanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard) with Alan Cumming, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ethan Hawke, Joley Richardson, Peter Sarsgaard, John Turturro and Dianne Weist. He initiated CSC’s Music Theatre Initiative and produced revivals of Stephen Sondheim’s Passion and Pacific Overtures. He also made CSC the home for playwright David Ives, whose Venus in Fur transferred to Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award for best play.
Before this, he was an Artistic Associate and then Associate Producer for the Public Theatre, where he directed the New York premiere of Tony Kushner’s adaptation of A Dybbuk, as well as acclaimed productions of Twelfth Night, Winter’s Tale, and Timon of Athens at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Other notable works include: The premieres of Tony Kushner’s The Illusion (New York Theatre Workshop), Kathleen Tolan’s The Wax (Playwrights’ Horizon), and Nilo Cruz’s Two Sisters and a Piano (The McCarter Theatre). His work has also been seen at The Mark Taper Forum, San Diego's Old Globe, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, ACT Theatre, The Magic Theatre, and Trinity Repertory Theatre, where he served as Associate Artistic Director. His work in opera and music theatre includes productions of Carmen, Pelleas and Melisandre, A Soldier’s Tale, The Anatole Cycle, and The Guilty Mother (all for Long Beach Opera), and a remounting of Gordon Davidson’s production of Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Los Angeles Opera).
He is the author of Staging Shakespeare (Methuen), How Greek Theatre Works, The Elements of Theatrical Expression, and The Secret Life of Theatre (all for Routledge). His most recent book, Staging the End of the World: Theatre in a Time of Climate Crisis, has just been released by Methuen.
Board of Directors Episode 9: Kareem Fahmy
Kareem has directed and developed plays at theatres including MCC, The Atlantic, The New Group, Ensemble Studio Theatre, New Dramatists, The Civilians, Writers Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Geva Theatre, Pioneer Theatre, The Magic, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Berkeley Rep, and more. He is a New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect.
His plays, which include Fountains of Youth, Dodi & Diana, American Fast, A Distinct Society, The Triumphant, Pareidolia, The In-Between, and an adaptation of the novel The Yacoubian Building, have been produced at Colt Coeur, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Pioneer Theatre, Writers Theatre, City Theatre, Artists Repertory Theatre, InterAct Theatre, Capital Stage, Constellation Stage, Noor Theatre, Target Margin Theatre, the Human Race Theatre Company, and Theater Alliance.
Kareem has received fellowships from MacDowell, Yaddo, Sundance Theatre Lab, the Stratford Festival of Canada, New Harmony Project, Hermitage Artists Retreat, Banff Playwrights Lab, Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Phil Killian Directing Fellow), The Old Globe (Classical Directing Fellow), Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center (National Directors Fellow), Second Stage (Van Lier Directing Fellow), Soho Rep (Writer/Director Lab), Lincoln Center (Directors Lab), The New Museum (Artist-in-Residence), and New York Theater Workshop (Emerging Artist Fellow). He is a NYSCA/NYFA Playwriting Fellow.
He's been a finalist for the Princess Grace Award, the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, the National Showcase of New Plays, is a two-time winner of the Capital Rep New Play Award, and received the Joanne Woodward/Paul Newman Playwriting Award for American Fast. His work has been developed at Atlantic Theater Company, New York Stage & Film, Denver Center, Northlight Theatre, Citadel Theatre, and many more.
As a screenwriter, he was in the inaugural cohort of Warner Media's Access Writers Program. His TV pilots have been finalists for the episodic labs at Sundance, Orchard Project, and Austin Film Festival.
MFA, Theatre Directing from Columbia University.
Kareem lives in New York City with his husband, acclaimed fiction writer John McManus, and their dog Kip.
Board of Directors January Meet-up
Join Us The Third Weekend of Each Month for The Board of Directors Monthly Meet-up
The Board of Directors is a community of Theatre Makers that come together to share stories, provide mentorship, and be generally available for each other, which will take place on Zoom, the third weekend of each month. For more details about times, please see below.
What is it? This monthly gathering invites directors and other theatre makers to come together, share experiences, and seek advice in a supportive community. There is often an isolating nature to directing, and this new space aims to foster connection and collaboration. Participants can come and go as they please. If you cannot attend the entire session, you are welcome to arrive late or leave early. The Board of Directors is an opportunity to set aside time each month to be alongside members of the Directing community all over the world.
Board of Directors Founder and Host Adam Marple will moderate the discussion. All questions about the craft of Directing and Making Theatre are welcome and can be asked of Adam or put to the group as a whole.
All Times for the January 17/18 Session (1 hour 30 min)
San Francisco, USA Sat, Jan 17, 2026 at 6:00 am PST
Mexico City, Mexico Sat, Jan 17, 2026 at 8:00 am CST
New York, USA Sat, Jan 17, 2026 at 9:00 am EST
London, UK Sat, Jan 17, 2026 at 2:00 pm GMT
Cairo, Egypt Sat, Jan 17, 2026 at 4:00 pm EET
Mumbai, India Sat, Jan 17, 2026 at 7:30 pm IST
Singapore. Sat, Jan 17, 2026 at 10:00 pm SGT
Melbourne, Australia Sun, Jan 18, 2026 at 1:00 am AEDT
Board of Directors Episode 8: Alvin Tan
Alvin Tan is the founder and artistic director of The Necessary Stage, one of Singapore’s most respected theatre companies, and the co–artistic director of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. A central figure in the evolution of devising in Singapore, he has directed more than one hundred productions presented across Asia, Europe and Australia, including cities such as Glasgow, Cairo, Busan, Melbourne, Birmingham, London, Dublin, New Delhi, Budapest and Bucharest.
His practice is distinguished by a social anthropological approach to character and an unflinching engagement with humanitarian and social issues. This is exemplified in his long-running collaboration with playwright Haresh Sharma. Tan’s stagings of Off Centre focused national attention on mental health, while Fundamentally Happy confronted the emotional and legal complexities surrounding paedophilia. Through these and many other works, he has consistently foregrounded contemporary Singaporean life and identity.
Since founding The Necessary Stage in 1987, Tan has championed a collaborative, research-driven methodology. The company’s signature play-building process blends rigorous investigation, extensive improvisation and collective authorship. Under his leadership, TNS has become one of Singapore’s most influential theatre groups.
Tan’s commitment to theatre as social engagement extends far beyond the rehearsal room. His advocacy helped catalyse the rise of community theatre in Singapore and brought performance into the heartlands through projects such as the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, Theatre for Youth Branch, the Marine Parade Theatre Festival and Theatre for Seniors. These platforms have enabled diverse communities to explore their stories and cultural identities on stage. He also initiated publications such as 9 Lives: 10 Years of Singapore Theatre to encourage exchange between artists, thinkers and civil society.
His international work includes representing Singapore at conferences and cultural forums around the world, including the World Culture Forum Alliance in São Paulo and the Conference of Asian Foundations and Organisations in Barcelona. He was a Fulbright Scholar at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and holds degrees from the National University of Singapore, the Institute of Education and the University of Birmingham. His contributions have been widely recognised, including the Young Artist Award, the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and the Cultural Medallion.
A dedicated mentor, Tan has played a formative role in the development of artists, including Chong Tze Chien of The Finger Players and Natalie Hennedige of Cake Theatrical Productions.
Board of Directors Episode 7: Suman Mukhopadhyay
Suman Mukhopadhyay’s films deal with the socio-political realities and engage in critical assessment of the contemporary. His explorations into the subaltern lives and histories have lent a distinction to his filmmaking and theatre productions.
Suman has directed nine full-length feature films including Putulnacher Itikatha(2023); Nazarband (2020); Asamapta (2017) , and Herbert (2005), which won the National Award for Best Regional Film that year. He participated and won awards in various national and international theatre and film festivals including Busan, Montreal, Dubai, Munich, San Francisco, Seattle, and Kerala etc. Suman has also made a number of documentaries, TV series, short films and cine-plays. He was conferred with an award from Motion Picture Association and Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Brisbane in 2017. His latest film Putulnacher Itikatha (The Puppet’s Tale) had its world premiere at International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2025. Suman Mukhopadhyay is one of India’s leading theatre directors and done productions ranging from European drama to major adaptations of Bengali masterpieces and Indian plays. His major plays are Teesta Paarer Brittanto, Mephisto, Bisarjan and King Lear. Suman taught and directed plays at UC Berkeley, University of Toledo, Kalamazoo College and Barnard College in the USA. He was on a Fulbright fellowship (2022) at Columbia University, New York, and was a George A. Miller Visiting Artist, UIUC (2023). Very recently, he is recipient Hubert Bals Development Fund 2025.
https://www.sumanmukhopadhyay.com/
Board of Directors December Meet-up
Join Us The Third Weekend of Each Month for The Board of Directors Monthly Meet-up
The Board of Directors is a community of Theatre Makers that come together to share stories, provide mentorship, and be generally available for each other, which will take place on Zoom, the third weekend of each month. For more details about times, please see below.
What is it? This monthly gathering invites directors and other theatre makers to come together, share experiences, and seek advice in a supportive community. There is often an isolating nature to directing, and this new space aims to foster connection and collaboration. Participants can come and go as they please. If you cannot attend the entire session, you are welcome to arrive late or leave early. The Board of Directors is an opportunity to set aside time each month to be alongside members of the Directing community all over the world.
Board of Directors Founder and Host Adam Marple will moderate the discussion. All questions about the craft of Directing and Making Theatre are welcome and can be asked of Adam or put to the group as a whole.
All Times for the December 20/21 Session (1 hour 30 min)
San Francisco, USA Sat, Dec 20, 2025 at 6:00 pm PST
Mexico City, Mexico Sat, Dec 20, 2025 at 8:00 pm CST
New York, USA Sat, Dec 20, 2025 at 9:00 pm EST
London, UK Sun, Dec 21, 2025 at 2:00 am GMT
Cairo, Egypt Sun, Dec 21, 2025 at 4:00 am EET
Singapore Sun, Dec 21, 2025 at 10:00 am SGT
Melbourne, Australia Sun, Dec 21, 2025 at 1:00 pm AEDT
Board of Directors Episode 6: Pirronne Yousefzadeh
Pirronne Yousefzadeh (She/Her/Hers) directs theatre that speaks to the moment and uplifts Global Majority communities with buoyancy, joy, and theatrical magic. She is a director, writer, and educator and serves as Associate Artistic Director and Director of Artistic Partnerships at Playwrights’ Center. Prior to this, she served as the Producing Artistic Director at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and the Associate Artistic Director and Director of Engagement at Geva Theatre. Additionally, Pirronne is a founding member of Maia Directors, a consulting group for artists and organizations engaging with stories from the Middle East and beyond.
Recent projects include King Lear (Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival), The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington by James Ijames (Mixed Blood; Star Tribune’s Best of 2024 list), the world premiere of The Ants by Ramiz Monsef (Geffen), the world premiere of It’s Christmas, Carol! by Mark Bedard, Brent Hinkley, and John Tufts (Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Vietgone by Qui Nguyen (Geva Theatre Center), Heartland by Gabriel Jason Dean (59E59), Yoga Play by Dipika Guha (Playmakers Repertory Company, and the world premiere of Kid Prince & Pablo by Brian Quijada (The Kennedy Center).
She has directed and developed work at The Public/Joe's Pub, Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Ars Nova, Soho Rep, Atlantic Theater Company, Ma-Yi Theater Company, Rising Circle Theater Collective, The Woodshed Collective (The Tenant: Best of 2011, The L Magazine), Partial Comfort Productions, Noor Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Wild Project, Dixon Place, The Living Theatre, The Lark Play Development Center, New Dramatists, The Kennedy Center, Geffen Playhouse, Williamstown Theatre Festival, American Conservatory Theater, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Cleveland Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, Geva Theatre, Pioneer Theatre Company, Huntington Theatre Company, Two River Theater Company, Milwaukee Rep, Kitchen Theatre Company, Dorset Theatre Festival, InterAct Theatre Company, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, On The Boards, Perseverance Theatre, and Hangar Theatre, where she was a 2006 Drama League Directing Fellow.
Pirronne is a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop, New Georges Affiliated Artist, member of Ensemble Studio Theatre and Wingspace, and an alumna of the 2050 Fellowship at NYTW, Sagal Fellowship at Williamstown Theatre Festival, SDC Denham Fellowship, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, Ensemble Studio Theatre's Resident Director Program, New Georges Jam, and Drama League Directors Project. She has served on the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin, Rutgers University, and Bard High School Early College, and as a guest director and instructor at Yale School of Drama, Juilliard, Fordham University, and University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, among others.
Pirronne received her M.F.A. in Directing from Columbia University, where she was a Shubert Presidential Fellow and Matthews Fellowship recipient. She studied with Anne Bogart, Robert Woodruff, and Brian Kulick, and directed Big Love by Charles L. Mee, Fool for Love by Sam Shepard, and several devised pieces. She was also among five directors chosen to take part in a course in collaboration at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, taught by Oskar Eustis and Rinne Groff. She completed additional training at Shakespeare's Globe in London, and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Theatre and English Literature from Washington University.
She is a proud member of SDC and is represented by Ben Izzo at Michael Moore Agency. Upcoming projects include workshops with Jayne Deely, Katie Bender, Andrew Rosendorf, and Alejandro Rodriguez, and the world premiere of Vichet Chum’s Kween at Merrimack Repertory Theatre.
https://www.pirronne.com/
Board of Directors Episode 5: Acadia Barrengos
Acadia Barrengos (she/her) is a New York-based director whose work excavates lost histories and engages audiences viscerally. In addition to NYC, she has worked in Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and New Jersey.
Inspired by the study of epigenetics, Acadia is driven by stories that wrestle with inheritance. Her work prioritizes surprise, ensemble, and rhythm. Acadia’s work walks the line of hope and doubt, and investigates the space between the pedestrian and spectral, the bloody and the magical.
B.F.A in Directing from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Minor in Arts Entrepreneurship.
https://www.acadiabarrengos.com/
Board of Directors November Meet-up
Join Us The Third Weekend of Each Month for The Board of Directors Monthly Meet-up
The Board of Directors is a community of Theatre Makers that come together to share stories, provide mentorship, and be generally available for each other, which will take place on Zoom, the third weekend of each month. For more details about times, please see below.
What is it? This monthly gathering invites directors and other theatre makers to come together, share experiences, and seek advice in a supportive community. There is often an isolating nature to directing, and this new space aims to foster connection and collaboration. Participants can come and go as they please. If you cannot attend the entire session, you are welcome to arrive late or leave early. The Board of Directors is an opportunity to set aside time each month to be alongside members of the Directing community all over the world.
Board of Directors Founder and Host Adam Marple will moderate the discussion. All questions about the craft of Directing and Making Theatre are welcome and can be asked of Adam or put to the group as a whole.
All Times for the November 22/23 Session (1 hour 30 min)
San Francisco, USA Sat, Nov 22, 2025 at 7:00 am PST
Mexico City, Mexico Sat, Nov 22, 2025 at 9:00 am CST
New York, USA Sat, Nov 22, 2025 at 10:00 am EST
London, UK Sat, Nov 22, 2025 at 3:00 pm GMT
Cairo, Egypt Sat, Nov 22, 2025 at 5:00 pm EET
Singapore. Sat, Nov 22, 2025 at 11:00 pm SGT
Melbourne, Australia Sun, Nov 23, 2025 at 2:00 am AEDT
Board of Directors Episode 4: Joe Deer
Joe Deer is the award-winning director and choreographer of over 200 productions - from Off-Broadway to London, regional to summer stock, international, and university stages. His projects vary from new works in Matera, Italy, to operas, classic plays, and musicals at some of the world's finest theaters and training centers. Joe is a former Chair and Artistic Director of the Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures at Wright State University (Dayton, OH), where he is the Distinguished Professor of Musical Theatre (emeritus). Joe was Director of The Musical Theatre Initiative at Wright State, an international center founded to celebrate and explore the history, culture, and craft of this art form. For 20 years, he was Founding Head of Wright State's Musical Theatre Program. His students populate Broadway, national tour, regional, and international stages and have won numerous Tony and Olivier Awards.
Joe began his career as a street busker in New York’s Shubert Alley and eventually appeared in the Broadway and touring productions of Anything Goes, The American Dancemachine, Singin' In The Rain, NYC Opera’s acclaimed productions of Brigadoon and The Music Man. Off-Broadway shows include Rainbow, Subway Series (with NYC Tapworks), and Music, Rhythm and Tap (at Brooklyn Academy of Music). He also appeared at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center Honors. Joe’s stage managing credits include the Broadway revival of Guys and Dolls, regional productions of Lend Me A Tenor, productions for New York’s Playwrights’ Horizons, and as a production assistant on the first workshop of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins.
Joe received the Ohio Governor’s Award for the Arts in Arts Education (2016), Wright State University’s Trustees’ Award for Faculty Excellence, and the College of Liberal Arts Award for Faculty Excellence (2014), more than three dozen regional awards for best production or direction, and was inducted into the Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame. He was the founding President of the Musical Theatre Educators Alliance, from whom he received a Career Achievement Award for his ongoing commitment to Musical Theatre education. Joe is a frequent guest artist and master teacher at the world's finest institutions, including the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (London, England), Danish Academy of Musical Theatre, Stage School (Hamburg, GE), Royal Welsh School of Music and Drama (Wales), Sheridan College (Canada), Scuola del Teatro Musicale (Milan, Italy) and many of the top training programs in the US (Carnegie Mellon University, North Carolina School of the Arts, University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music and many others). He has presented workshops for thousands of students and teachers across the globe. In the Dayton (Ohio) region, he proudly affiliates with The Muse Machine, where he has been a frequent director and teacher, and The Human Race Theatre Company, where he's a Resident Artist. He holds an MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University.
Joe is author of dozens of articles on theatre and education, the book, Directing In Musical Theatre: An Essential Guide (revised and expanded second edition coming in early 2026), and the definitive textbook on its subject, Acting In Musical Theatre: A Comprehensive Course (with Rocco Dal Vera), which has been translated into Portuguese, Korean, Italian, Spanish and upcoming and Chinese editions, with a revised fourth English edition in process.
http://www.joedeer.net/