Wright State theatre alumnus Dayron Miles named associate artistic director of Harvard’s American Repertory Theater

Dayron J. Miles, a Wright State theatre graduate, was named associate artistic director of Harvard’s American Repertory Theater. (Photo by Sam Johnson)

Wright State University alumnus Dayron J. Miles has been named associate artistic director of Harvard University’s American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.).

Miles, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies from Wright State in 2008, credits the theatre program with helping him to build the skills and confidence to pursue his goals.

“It’s an enormous achievement and one that points back to the individual attention and mentorship we provide our students,” said Joe Deer, distinguished professor of musical theatre and artistic director of Wright State Theatre in the School of Fine and Performing Arts at Wright State.

As associate artistic director, Miles will work with Diane Paulus, the Terrie and Bradley Bloom artistic director, and Kelvin Dinkins Jr., the executive director, to lead the integration of the education and engagement teams into the artistic department, to shape initiatives that center audience and community in all aspects of the theater. As part of a new staffing structure, he will work in collaboration with Paulus, the artistic producer and the director of artistic programs and dramaturg to co-curate artistic programming.

“In 2019 I invited Dayron to join the A.R.T. to co-vision our new building, and catalyze new ways to center community and civic engagement,” said Paulus. “Our relationship has evolved organically into a robust artistic collaboration that brings our engagement activities into the heart of our theater and our programming. I’m so grateful to Dayron for his service to the A.R.T., and I’m thrilled to be partnering with him on the next chapter of the A.R.T.”

Before joining the A.R.T., Miles served as the founding director of Public Works Dallas, where he led community partnerships and strategic planning and served as executive producer of its annual productions. He has also served as chair of Grow South Arts, a civic engagement initiative by Mayor Mike Rawlings, focused in southern Dallas.

Miles previously worked in community engagement at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, where he launched the “Play After Work” series and was a 2008–2009 Kenny Leon Artistic Fellow.

Miles was the recipient of the 2018 Blake Anderson Servant Leader Award, presented by Adam McGough, a member of the Dallas city council.

“I’m absolutely honored to expand my artistic partnership with Diane at the A.R.T. and continue the momentum toward our new building and the next chapter of this great institution,” said Miles. “Our new home in Allston is an exciting opportunity to center community, not only in our organizational structure and artistic practice, but also in our physical space. In the coming years, A.R.T. will continue to expand the boundaries of theater as an artform and practice, and also as an event and destination. I’m so thrilled to continue partnering with Diane and collaborating with Kelvin on achieving their shared vision of what A.R.T. can and should be.”