The DIRECTOR’S FORUM
A Revolving Roundtable Discussion of Theory + Practice
APPLICATIONS FOR FALL 2026 SESSION OPEN JULY 22
DECISIONS ANNOUNCED THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 21
MEETINGS START OCTOBER 5
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ABOUT
THE Director’s Forum
Now entering the third year, The Director's Forum is a program offered by the Brown Arts Institute in collaboration with the Wilbury Theatre Group. The partnership connects two of Providence's most active performance arts organizations — BAI, which presents performance work from artists around the world, and the Wilbury Group, a nationally recognized experimental theater company that has called Providence home for sixteen seasons — to create something neither does alone: a sustained, open conversation about the how and the why of the work being made here.
Led by Wilbury Founder and Artistic Director Josh Short, participants meet weekly on Monday nights to engage with the productions, questions, and ideas animating Providence's performance community. Sessions draw on work from BAI, Wilbury, and local artists and arts organizations, and regularly include direct conversation with directors, designers, and creative teams.
Participants come away with a clearer sense of how performance work gets made, what choices are behind it, and how to talk about it with artists and with each other. Complimentary tickets to some performances are provided for registered participants actively engaged in the weekly sessions.
Programming is free and open to Providence-area community members, Brown students and faculty, and anyone with a serious interest in live performance.
The Director's Forum meets Monday nights, 6:00–8:00 p.m., at Brown University's Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, 154 Angell Street. Sessions run October 5 through November 30, pause for winter break, and resume February 1 through April 26. Accepted participants commit to the fall session, with the option to continue in the spring.
APPLICATIONS OPEN JULY 2026
DECISIONS ANNOUNCED SEPTEMBER 28, MEETINGS START OCTOBER 5.
SESSIONS MEETS MONDAY EVENINGS from 6:00pm - 7:30pm
OCTOBER 5 - NOVEMBER 30 (Fall Semester)
FEBRUARY 1 - APRIL 26 (Spring Semester)
Space will be limited and offered based on application. This is a competitive application process. Acceptance decisions are made with an eye toward building a strong group representing a range of backgrounds and perspectives, not simply the most credentialed applicants.
About Wilbury Theatre Group
About Wilbury Theatre Group
Wilbury Theatre Group, founded in 2010, is a celebrated nonprofit theater company recognized for its dedication to innovative and thought-provoking performances and commitment to theater access for all. Winner of the 2018 National Theater Company Award from the American Theatre Wing, presenters of the Tony Awards, Wilbury Theatre Group showcases both new works and reimagined classics, fostering adventurous storytelling and dialogue within the community, in addition to producing the annual FRINGEPVD: The Providence Fringe Festival, New England’s largest Fringe Festival.
ABOUT Brown ARTS Institute
ABOUT Brown ARTS Institute
Established in 2021, Brown Arts Institute (BAI) is a university-wide research enterprise and catalyst for the arts at Brown that creates new work and supports, amplifies, and adds new dimensions to the creative practices of Brown’s arts departments, faculty, students, and community. Through year-round programming, research-focused courses, initiatives, collaborations, and partnerships, along with rigorous artistic and academic programs, BAI commissions and presents new work on campus, across Providence, Rhode Island, and beyond, from students, faculty, and on-campus arts groups, as well as in collaboration with forward-focused visiting artists and other performing arts organizations.
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