The Board of Directors

Nambi E. Kelley is an award-winning actor, playwright, and television writer-producer whose work bridges history, politics, and intimate human storytelling. As an actor, she has performed regionally, internationally, and on television, including productions playing opposite greats such as Phylicia Rashad and Alfre Woodard, multiple productions at Goodman Theatre and Steppenwolf Theatre Company, with select television appearances on Chicago Med, Elementary, Person of Interest, Madam Secretary, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Justice. Recent stage credits include Goodman Theatre's critically acclaimed Joe Turner's Come & Gone, MacArthur Genius Dominique Morisseau’s Pipeline, and off-Broadway in Jeff Sweet’s Kunstler. Nambi has been nominated for multiple acting awards, including Chicago's prestigious Jeff Award and multiple Broadway World Awards, winning a Black Theatre Alliance Award for Best Lead Actor for her role in Coffee Will Make You Black (City Lit Theatre).  As a writer, Kelley has written and produced for television on shows such as Peacock's Bel-Air and Apple's Lady in the Lake, earning a Black Reel Award nomination for her work on the latter. She also served as a writer on Lena Waithe's The Chi and Fox's Our Kind of People. Her acclaimed stage adaptation of Native Son received productions nationwide, including at Yale Repertory Theatre and in New York with The Acting Company, earning an AUDELCO Award for Best Production and a Drama League nomination for Best Revival. Personally selected by Toni Morrison to adapt Jazz, Kelley continues to develop bold new theatrical work, including Broadway-aimed projects with Tony Award winners Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Ken Davenport, and Grammy Award-winning DJ duo Future Cut with Emily Phillips. Most recently, Kelley developed a television project with political icon Stacey Abrams and is currently developing a project with Grammy Award-winning rapper Nas and Oscar and MacArthur Genius Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney for Lionsgate and Disney Entertainment Television’s Onyx Collective/Hulu (TBA). As a producer, in addition to television work, Kelley founded First Woman LLC, a family-centered production company creating work across film, television, and theatre. First Woman produced the internationally award-winning film adaptation of Jabari Dreams of Freedom, which also toured nationally as a play after premiering at New Victory Theater in New York City. The company has produced 4 national tours and is currently in pre-production for its upcoming 2026–27 touring season, including a run at the world-famous Apollo Theatre in New York (TBA). Kelley holds a B.F.A. from The Theatre School at DePaul University and an M.F.A. in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College.Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Copeland Woodruff is currently the Mary and Michael Jaharis Director of Opera Studies at Lawrence University, Conservatory of Music. He has been on the directing and production staffs of the New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Yale Opera, Atlantic Coast Opera Festival (NJ), and Opera North (Philadelphia and New Hampshire). He has been on the faculties of the Juilliard School, Oberlin Conservatory, Academy of Vocal Arts, Temple University, University of Memphis, Universität Bamberg, the Harrower Opera Workshop, Red River Lyric Opera, La musica lirica (Italy), and Festival of International Opera of the Americas (Brazil).Copeland is highly sought after as a teacher of the singing actor and has directed 100+ productions, including the 2013 world premiere of the musical Raise the Red Lantern at the Tianqiao Theatre in Beijing, China. Since 2006, his productions have earned seventeen National Opera Association Best Opera Production Awards (including nine first-place awards) and nine awards in The American Prize (including two first-place awards), among other recognition and citations. He is the first recipient of the Charles Nelson Reilly Prize in Directing from The American Prize (2018). He was recently recognized as an Honored Artist of the American Prize (2023), which is awarded to those who have proven themselves to be of "sustained excellence" over a number of seasons as laureates of The American Prize competitions.He has enjoyed an extended relationship with Boston Conservatory’s Ensemble-in-Residence, Guerilla Opera. In addition to having served on their advisory board, he has directed three productions for the company, one of which (Rojahn’s Heart of a Dog) earned Second Prize in the American Prize for Opera Performance competition, professional division. Heart of a Dog was a favorite at the Opera America convention in May 2011 and its sold-out, two-week run in Boston garnered such reviews as: “…a brilliant stroke of staging” and “…stunning” (Boston Musical Intelligencer); “brilliantly physicalized in this extraordinarily well-acted production” and “a prime and rare example of opera properly compounded with theater” (Boston Lowbrow).Copeland is a proud member of the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA). He has a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Vocal Performance (USC); M.F.A. studies in Theatrical Design (Lighting; USC); and a Master's in Stage Direction in Opera (Indiana University). He has also been lucky enough to assist Anne Bogart and the SITI Company, as well as train with them.https://www.lawrence.edu/people/copeland-woodruff-mary-and-michael-jaharis-director-of-opera-studies-and-associate-professor-of-musicConnect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Natalie Hennedige is the founder and artistic director of CAKE, a Singapore-based performance company creating interdisciplinary works across diverse spaces. At the core of CAKE’s methodology is a commitment to interdisciplinarity and collaboration. The company works across theatre, dance, music, visual arts, film, and multimedia to generate hybrid forms that resist categorisation. This is embodied in long-running platforms such as Jamming Space and Running with Strippers, which function as exploratory frameworks for artistic exchange, experimentation, and the development of new performance vocabularies.A director and writer, Natalie works with performers and artists across disciplines and cultural contexts, shaping highly constructed, heightened worlds that interrogate complex states. She is the recipient of the National Arts Council Young Artist Award and the JCCI Singapore Foundation Culture Award. Most recently, she served as Festival Director of the Singapore International Festival of Arts (2022–2025). https://www.caketheatre.co/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Simón Adinia Hanukai is a theater maker, director, and educator. Originally from Baku, Azerbaijan, he spent the early years of his career in Oakland, California, where he was a founding member of headRush Crew and the Co-Artistic Director of the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company. Working with both companies for six years, he was instrumental in creating original full-length dance theater pieces, which toured nationally and were seen by over 25,000 people per year. Highlights include sharing the stage with Desmond Tutu, Angela Davis, Alice Walker, Neil Young, Alfre Woodard, and Martin Sheen.Since leaving the Bay Area, Simón has created work and taught throughout the U.S., the Middle East, Europe, and India.  His directing credits include JUPITER (a play about power) (La MaMa E.T.C., NY), SPACES: Oakland (Oakland City Hall), DATAPRINT Multimedia Installation & Performance (The Tech Museum of Innovation, San Jose, CA & Cubbon Park Metro Station, Bangalore, India), SPACES: Saint-Denis (Market Hall and Cathedral of Saint-Denis), The Shared Prince (Cabaret Sauvage, Paris), Rest Upon The Wind (Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, NY), The Golden Drum Year (University Settlement, NY), Les Alibis (Junevents Festival, Atelier De Paris – Carolyn Carlson, France), Decline & Fall or; A Guide to How the End Begins for Those Too Big To Fail (Tricklock Performance Lab, New Mexico), The Fall (Flamboyán, NY), Flying Ace and The Storm of the Century (Odin Teatret, Denmark), One Heart for Two (Winkel & Balktick, NY), Phaedra's Cabaret (Flux Industries, NY).Simón is an honored recipient of the Dean’s Fellowship from Columbia University and the Emerging Artists Fellowship from New York Theatre Workshop. Artist Residencies include: NACL Deep Space Residency; Odin Theater, Denmark; E|MERGE Interdisciplinary Artist Residency; Catwalk Art Residency; Sally and Don Lucas Arts Program at the Montalvo Arts Center; CHIMÈRES Interdisciplinary Residency, Ministry of Culture, France.Simón is a Theatre Professor at Sciences Po Paris. He holds a Master's degree in Education from the University of San Francisco’s Center for Teaching Excellence and Social Justice and an MFA in Theater Directing from Columbia University.https://www.kaimeraproductions.com/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Aya Ogawa is a multi-award-winning Brooklyn-based playwright, director, performer and translator whose work reflects an international viewpoint and utilizes the stage as a space for exploring cultural identity and the immigrant experience. Cumulatively, all aspects of their artistic practice synthesize their work as an artistic and cultural ambassador, building bridges across cultures to create meaningful exchange amongst artists, theaters and audiences both in the U.S. and in Asia.  They challenge traditional notions of the American aesthetic and identity by creating performances infused with a multiplicity of perspectives and languages, and by incorporating influences from outside the U.S. – of style, form, and content. As a theater-maker, they frequently uses a collaborative creative process with performers and designers and pushes the form with an eye not only on spoken text, but physicality, musicality, and interactivity. As playwright/director in New York City, Ogawa’s 2003 A GIRL OF 16 (Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center) was hailed by The New York Times for its “stunning visual sense.” Their 2008 OPH3LIA (HERE) was called “riotously alive…great theater” by The New York Times. Their ARTIFACT was featured in CUNY’s 2007 Prelude Festival and the 2009 Performance Mix Festival (Joyce Soho). They were commissioned by The Foundry Theatre to create a work in collaboration with Adhikaar, a human rights organization serving the US Nepali community. The resulting piece, JOURNEY TO THE OCEAN, was presented by The Rubin Museum in 2011.  Their play LUDIC PROXY commissioned by The Play Company, explored humankind’s relationship to technology (from nuclear power to VR and video games) through the events of Chernobyl, Fukushima, and into the future. Its 2015 premiere at WalkerSpace was described as “beautifully conceived” by the NYTimes.  They were a playwright in residence at The New Museum for X:ID a research-driven pop-up repertory theater designed to examine the shifting ethical boundaries surrounding intercultural cross-play on contemporary American stages. They wrote, directed and performed in the 6-person cast for their Obie Award-winning play THE NOSEBLEED (Under the Radar Festival 2019; Japan Society & Chocolate Factory Theatre 2021; Lincoln Center Theatre LCT3 2022; Woolly Mammoth Theater 2023). Their latest creation, MEAT SUIT premiered with Second Stage in February 2026. As a director they directed Haruna Lee’s Obie Award-winning play SUICIDE FOREST in its world premiere production at The Bushwick Starr in 2019 and its off-Broadway remount with Ma-Yi in 2020.  9000 Paper Balloons (co-created by Spencer Lott and Maiko Kikuchi) was released as a puppet performance film by HERE in November 2021 and ran at Japan Society in October 2022. In Decmeber 2024 they directed Dan Fishback’s Dan Fishback is Alive, Unwell and Living in His Apartment at Joe’s Pub. Upcoming work includes Jared Mezzocchi’s one-person play 73 Seconds, Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s historical epic The Unsinkable, and Haruna Lee’s 49 Days. As a translator they have been commissioned to translate numerous Japanese plays into English that have been produced in the U.S. and London, including over a dozen plays by Toshiki Okada, writer/director of chelfitsch theater company. Time Out called their rendition of Okada’s ENJOY (Play Company at 59E59, 2010; published by Samuel French) an “effortless, idiomatic translation”; The Village Voice hailed their translation of Okada’s FIVE DAYS IN MARCH (Witness Relocation at LaMama, 2010) as “a miracle of transposed idiom.” Their translation of Okada’s ZERO COST HOUSE was presented at Philly Live Arts 2012, Under the Radar Festival 2013 and Yokohama, Japan. From 2014-2024 they served on the selection committee for the Japan Playwrights Association’s publication series  ENGEKI: Japanese Theatre in the New Millennium. Aya has performed nationally and internationally.  They originated and performed numerous roles with the International WOW Company including JR Oppenheimer in The Bomb and the title role in Alice’s Evidence. Time Out NY hailed their performance as Chomsky in The Loneliness of Noam Chomsky by the Butane Group. International credits include their role in the world premiere of the award-winning Emperor and Kiss with Rinko-Gun Company, Tokyo; they were selected as part of the artist team representing the U.S. at the International Theater Institute’s 2006 Congress in Manila and 2008 Congress in Madrid for which they co-created and performed in the resulting collaborative pieces; and the European premiere of Young Jean Lee’s Songs of the Dragon Flying to Heaven at the Vienna Festival. More recently they performed in the first season of Shaina Feinberg’s web series Dinette and in their own play The Nosebleed. They are the recipient of the 2025 Doris Duke Artist Award, 2023 Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting; 2023 OBIE Award for the conception, writing and direction of The Nosebleed; 2023 Grants to Artists from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts;  The 2023-24 Playwrights’ Center’s McKnight National Residency and Commission; MacDowell Fellow; The 2022-23 Cullman Award for Extraordinary Creativity at Lincoln Center Theater; MAP Fund grants; 2015 President’s Award for Performing Arts, WorkSpace grant and three Swing Space grants from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council; an Artistic Fellowship at New York Theater Workshop (where they are now a Usual Suspect); the Van Lier Fellowship and 2017-2026 Resident Playwright at New Dramatists; a HERE Artist Residency; Artist in Residence 2017-2019, 2017 Parent Artist Space Grantee and Space Grantee at Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX); support from NYSCA and the Urban Artist Initiative, and The Women's Film, TV and Theatre Fund by the City of New York Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME).  Aya served on the Obie Award committee for two seasons 2023-2025, and they’re glad to have their evenings back. They have been a guest artist/lecturer at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, UT Austin, Brown University, Mount Holyoke College, University of Maryland, University of Pittsburgh, New York University, University of Puget Sound, and Stony Brook University, as well as a mentor at The Orchard Project and Clubbed Thumb. https://www.ayaogawa.com/ Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

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_artistConnect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

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.https://irinakruzhilina.com/home/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

We invite you to this month’s International Directors’ Meet-Up, our monthly gathering of directors and theatre makers from around the world.It’s a space to share experiences, trade advice, and find support in what can often be a pretty isolating role. You can come and go as you need, drop in late, leave early, whatever fits your schedule.It’s simply a chance to set aside time each month to sit alongside others who understand the work.For dates, times, and details, head to boardofdirectors.worldand pull up a chair at the table. Join the Board.Connect with usSupport the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

We invite you to this month’s International Directors’ Meet-Up, our monthly gathering of directors and theatre makers from around the world.It’s a space to share experiences, trade advice, and find support in what can often be a pretty isolating role. You can come and go as you need, drop in late, leave early, whatever fits your schedule.It’s simply a chance to set aside time each month to sit alongside others who understand the work.For dates, times, and details, head to boardofdirectors.worldand pull up a chair at the table. Join the Board.Connect with usSupport the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Bill Rauch is the inaugural artistic director of the Perelman Performing Arts Center. His work as a theater director has been seen nationwide, from low-income community centers to Broadway, including the Tony Award-winning production of Robert Schenkkan’s All The Way and its sequel, The Great Society. His New York credits also include the world premiere of Naomi Wallace’s Night Is A Room at Signature Theatre, the New York premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House at Lincoln Center Theater, and the site-specific Occasional Grace for En Garde Arts.From 2007 to 2019, Bill served as artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the country’s oldest and largest rotating repertory theater. There, he directed seven world premieres and more than 20 productions, including Shakespeare, classic musicals, and a queer reimagining of Oklahoma!. Among his signature initiatives was commissioning 37 new plays exploring moments of change in American history through “American Revolutions: the United States History Cycle.” The project produced landmark works, including Lynn Nottage’s Sweat, Paula Vogel’s Indecent, Lisa Loomer’s Roe, Universes’ Party People, Culture Clash’s American Night, and Robert Schenkkan’s LBJ plays.Bill is also co-founder of the Cornerstone Theater Company, where he served as artistic director from 1986 to 2006, directing more than 40 productions in collaboration with diverse rural and urban communities. He has directed world premieres at Portland Center Stage, Center Theatre Group, and South Coast Rep, and has worked with major theaters including American Repertory Theater, Yale Rep, Arena Stage, Seattle Rep, Berkeley Rep, and Pasadena Playhouse. His production of The Pirates of Penzance was staged with Portland Opera.His honors include the 2018 Ivy Bethune Award from Actors' Equity Association, a Ford Fellowship, the Fichandler Award, Theatre Communications Group’s Visionary Leadership Award, the Margo Jones Medal, and the United States Artists Prudential Award. He also received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for directing All The Way.Bill has taught at the University of California, Irvine, the University of Southern California, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He studied at Harvard College and lives in New York City with his husband, Christopher Liam Moore, and their two children.https://pacnyc.org/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Tze Chien is a core member of The Finger Players and an award-winning playwright and director. He is the recipient of the Singapore Dramatist Award and multiple The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards, with his play Oiwa: The Ghost of Yotsuya notably sweeping the awards, including Production of the Year and Best Director, in its year of presentation. His plays have been staged internationally, including in Singapore, the UK, Budapest, Taiwan, and Japan. His published collections with The Necessary Stage and Epigram Books feature critically acclaimed works such as Charged and PIE. In 2015, Charged was named by The Business Times as one of the top ten plays of all time in Singapore. Other notable works include Turn By Turn We Turn, Poop!, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, and The Book of Living and Dying. He has also written for films and television, with credits on Singapore networks such as Channel 5, OKTO/Arts Central, and Vasantham. In recognition of his contributions to the arts, he was awarded the Young Artist Award by the National Arts Council in 2006.On a national level, Tze Chien has held key creative leadership roles across major cultural events. He was the Creative Director of Singapore Pools’ float and performance at Chingay Parade in 2007 and 2008, Co-conceptualist and Writer for National Day Parade 2016, Creative Director of Island Adventures for the National Museum of Singapore’s Children’s Season 2012, Artistic Director of The Arts House’s 10th Anniversary in 2014, and Co-curator of The Studios: Fifty, a festival of 50 iconic Singapore plays presented by the Esplanade in 2015. He is currently the Festival Director of the Singapore International Festival of Arts. An established arts educator, Tze Chien has conducted workshops and masterclasses for tertiary institutions and schools since 2001. He serves on several Curriculum Development Advisory Committees at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and is an Adjunct Lecturer at Nanyang Technological University/National Institute of Education, as well as a Principal Tutor at the National University of Singapore. He has also taught at institutions including LASALLE College of the Arts and NTU/NIE. Beyond academia, he has contributed significantly to arts education nationally, serving as an adjudicator for the Singapore Youth Festival Arts Presentation (Drama) for seven years and as Creative Director of the SYF Concert 2019. He has also been commissioned by Singapore’s Ministry of Education to conduct devising workshops and develop educational scripts for the OPAL teaching and learning portal.In addition to his artistic and educational work, Tze Chien contributes to the broader arts ecosystem through governance and advisory roles. He is a Board Member of Trustees of the University of the Arts Singapore, and serves on the Industry Advisory Group for LASALLE College of the Arts.https://sifa.sg/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

We invite you to this month’s International Directors’ Meet-Up, our monthly gathering of directors and theatre makers from around the world.It’s a space to share experiences, trade advice, and find support in what can often be a pretty isolating role. You can come and go as you need, drop in late, leave early, whatever fits your schedule.It’s simply a chance to set aside time each month to sit alongside others who understand the work.For dates, times, and details, head to boardofdirectors.worldand pull up a chair at the table. Join the Board.Connect with usSupport the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

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.https://www.engardearts.org/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Bryan Doerries is a writer, director, and translator who currently serves as Artistic Director of Theater of War Productions, a company that presents charged performances of seminal texts, led by acclaimed actors, for audiences with something at stake to catalyze crucial dialogue about pressing, current issues. A self-described evangelist for ancient stories and their relevance to our lives today, Doerries uses age-old approaches to help individuals and communities heal from trauma and loss.During his tenure at Theater of War Productions, the company has presented diverse projects across the United States and the world, that regularly take place in homeless shelters and jails, military bases and hospitals, housing projects, churches, public parks, and rival gang territories, but also in cultural spaces, on the radio, and on Zoom. These free events are all designed to be authentic, community-driven exchanges that culminate in guided audience discussions about challenging, often divisive subjects, such as the visible and invisible wounds of war, end-of-life care, racism, incarceration, gun violence, domestic violence, the climate crisis, sexual assault, immigration, and addiction. Doerries’ books include The Theater of War: What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today, The Odyssey of Sergeant Jack Brennan, All That You’ve Seen Here is God, and Oedipus Trilogy. Among his awards, he has received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Kenyon College, was named Public Artist in Residence for the City of New York, was elected a Hastings Center Fellow, and is a 2025 recipient of the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize.  https://theaterofwar.com/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

We invite you to this month’s International Directors’ Meet-Up, our monthly gathering of directors and theatre makers from around the world.It’s a space to share experiences, trade advice, and find support in what can often be a pretty isolating role. You can come and go as you need, drop in late, leave early, whatever fits your schedule.It’s simply a chance to set aside time each month to sit alongside others who understand the work.For dates, times, and details, head to boardofdirectors.world and pull up a chair at the table. Join the Board.Connect with usSupport the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

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.https://www.mikhaeltaragarver.com/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

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.https://www.matttorney.com/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

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. https://imintothisplace.com/aboutConnect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Lizards Lying in the Sun/Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol is a collective of artists. They work in theater, create books, radio programs, videos, and educational projects.Since 2003, they have been developing projects to connect work and life, to erase and redefine boundaries. Their 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.They have presented their work in almost every state in Mexico; at festivals, independent venues, state theaters, and universities.Abroad, among many others, they 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.They 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, their 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.https://lagartijastiradasalsol.com/introduccion/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

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.Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Kareem Fahmy 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, and 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 Theatre 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.https://kareemfahmy.com/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

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.https://www.necessary.org/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Suman Mukhopadhyay’s films deal with the socio-political realities and engage in a 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 several documentaries, TV series, short films, and cine-plays.  He was conferred with an award from the 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 the International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2025. Suman Mukhopadhyay is one of India’s leading theatre directors and has 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, the 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 was a recipient of the Hubert Bals Development Fund 2025. https://www.sumanmukhopadhyay.com/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

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, serving as Associate Artistic Director and Director of Artistic Partnerships at the Playwrights’ Center. Previously, she served as the Producing Artistic Director at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and as 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.https://www.pirronne.com/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

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/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

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, and productions for New York’s Playwrights’ Horizons, as well as serving 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 worldwide. 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 the author of 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)http://www.joedeer.net/Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Mei Ann Teo (they/them) is a queer immigrant from Singapore, an artistic leader, theatre maker, and educator whose work bridges the intersections of the artistic, the civic, and the contemplative. As a director, deviser, and dramaturg, Teo creates across genres, from music theatre and reimagined classics to intermedial participatory projects and documentary theatre, always with a deep curiosity for how performance can reimagine our shared world.Teo has directed and developed an extraordinary range of productions across the U.S. and internationally. Their directing credits include Jillian Walker’s SKiNFoLK: An American Show at The Bushwick Starr; Ruth Tang’s Building A Character with Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai at Wild Rice’s Singapore Theatre Festival; and Madeline Sayet’s Where We Belong, which premiered at Shakespeare’s Globe before touring nationally to Woolly Mammoth, The Public, Seattle Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Philadelphia Theatre Company, The Goodman, Portland Center Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Folger Shakespeare Library. Teo also directed the North American premiere of Amy Berryman’s Walden at TheatreWorks Hartford, which swept the Connecticut Critics Circle Awards, including Best Production and Best Director.Internationally, Teo directed the world premiere of Dim Sum Warriors at Theatre Above in Shanghai, written by Colin Goh and Yen Yen Woo, composed by Pulitzer Prize–winner Du Yun, which went on to tour 25 cities across China. Their documentary and socially engaged work includes the acclaimed Lyrics from Lockdown by Bryonn Bain (touring Belgium’s Festival de Liège, Singapore’s M1 Festival, National Black Theatre, and U.S. prisons and universities) and Labyrinth for the Beijing International Festival, named one of the Top 8 Productions by Beijing News.A recipient of the League of Professional Theatre Women’s Josephine Abady Award and the inaugural Lily Fan Director Lilly Award, Teo has served as Artistic Director of Musical Theatre Factory, Associate Artistic Director and Director of New Work at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and now as Artistic Director of New Work at Ping Chong and Company, carrying forward the company’s legacy into a new era under the banner of “Pink Fang.”Across continents, disciplines, and communities, Mei Ann Teo’s work continues to challenge, heal, and expand our understanding of what theatre can be — a space where art and justice meet, and where the stories of the diaspora, the queer body, and the collective imagination are given bold and resonant life.Learn more at meiannteo.com.Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

In this episode, director and actor Shaun Patrick Tubbs joins us to talk about his journey through the worlds of theatre, opera, and new play development. This path has taken him from Wright State to Juilliard, from Miami to New York, from performing center stage to shaping stories from the director’s chair.Shaun’s directing work reflects a deep commitment to both craft and conscience. His productions include Ragtime (Union Avenue Opera), Defacing Michael Jackson (Miami New Drama), The Tempest and Life Is a Dream (Juilliard), Sweat (Wright State University), Black Dick (New York Theatre Workshop), Independence Eve (Signature Theatre DC), hop thA A (Ars Nova), Artney Jackson (The Lark/New Black Festival), and Disgraced (Asolo Repertory Theatre). Each work he approaches reveals a director attuned to rhythm, character, and the political heart of storytelling — a sensibility born from years of listening as an actor and creating as a collaborator.As a performer, Shaun has appeared in Terminus (New York Theatre Workshop), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged (Human Race Theatre), My Mañana Comes (Manhattan Theatre Club), and The Book of Grace (Zachary Scott Theatre). His range as an artist — from classical to contemporary, comedic to deeply human — reflects his belief that theatre at its best is an act of empathy and invitation.A recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, Shaun holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin and a BFA from Wright State University. He is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), and SAG-AFTRA.Shaun’s artistry is grounded in both rigorous training and radical openness. Whether directing a new work or reimagining a classic, he asks the same questions: What does this story demand of us now? How do we create space for transformation, not just performance? And what happens when artists bring their whole selves to the work, intellect, heart, humor, and history?In conversation, Shaun is as generous and thoughtful as his directing suggests, exploring how identity and experience shape artistic choices, how collaboration becomes a political act, and how storytelling can hold a mirror up to both beauty and discomfort. His career is a testament to a life lived in dialogue with the art form itself.Discover more about his work at shaunpatricktubbs.com.Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Director, Professor, and writer Anne Bogart has led the Directing concentration at Columbia University's School of the Arts' Theatre program for over 30 years—almost as long as the concentration has been in existence. While her reputation off-campus precedes her as the co-founder of the renowned SITI Theatre Company, which she founded with Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki in 1992, and the revolutionary Viewpoints acting method, on campus, she is known for her extraordinary dedication to her students and their success. She is the recipient of four Honorary Doctorates from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Skidmore College, Bard College, and Cornish College. She was a recipient of a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, the Richard B. Fisher Award, a USA Fellowship, a Rockefeller Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and received the 2016 Alfred Drake Award from Brooklyn College. Works with SITI include Radio Christmas Carol, Falling & Loving, The Bacchae, Chess Match, The Theater is a Blank Page, Steel Hammer, Persians, A Rite, Café Variations, Trojan Women, American Document, Antigone, Freshwater, Under Construction, Who Do You Think You Are, Radio Macbeth, Hotel Cassiopeia; Death and the Ploughman, La Dispute, Score, bobrauschenbergamerica, Room, War of the Worlds, Cabin Pressure, The Radio Play, Alice’s Adventures, Culture of Desire, Bob, Going, Going, Gone, Small Lives/Big Dreams, The Medium, Hay Fever, Private Lives, Miss Julie, and Orestes. Operas include Tristan and Isolde, The Handmaid’s Tale, Alcina, Macbeth, Norma, Carmen, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Nicholas and Alexandra, Marina: A Captive Spirit, Lilith, and Seven Deadly Sins. Bogart is the author of six books: A Director Prepares, The Viewpoints Book, And Then, You Act, Conversations with Anne, What’s the Story, and, most recently, The Art of Resonance.Connect with usThis 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. 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. Support the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home

Here’s something that most people don’t know: my whole career as a podcaster is actually an accident.It all started in 2020, during the pandemic, with The Theatre of Others Podcast. At first, it was just a way to stay connected, to share ideas, and to bring a little spark of creativity at a time when we all felt isolated. What began as a small experiment suddenly took off, and it opened doors I never expected.Now I find myself on a new path—with The Board of Directors. And this wasn’t supposed to be a thing either. But the truth is, directors rarely get the chance to see each other’s work. We don’t sit in on each other’s rehearsals. We don’t often get to share how we live inside this strange, demanding, exhilarating role of being a director.So this podcast is not about how to direct—it’s not a handbook of tips and tricks. It’s about how to BE a director. What it feels like. What it means. The doubts, the breakthroughs, the ways we navigate making work with others.And because I can do whatever I want, I’m choosing to talk with directors I admire, directors you may know, and directors you may never have heard of—but each one has something worth sharing. Something I believe will challenge us, move us, and maybe even change the way we see our own practice.I am as much a student of these conversations as you are. I come with my curiosity, my questions, my desire to learn. Sometimes we’ll agree, sometimes we won’t. And that’s all part of it.So, if you’re looking for insight, companionship, and a glimpse into the often unseen world of the director’s craft, join me here, on The Board of Directors. Let’s learn what it means to be a director—together.Music: Purple Planet MusicConnect with usSupport the showTo submit a question:Voice- https://www.speakpipe.com/TheBoardofDirectorsEmail- [email protected] CreditsHost: Adam MarpleMusic: https://www.purple-planet.com/home