From his formative years at Cornell as a dual Government/PMA Theatre major to his time at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business with many pursuits in between, Jorge Silva ’12 reflects on his dynamic career trajectory and the professional roles that have shaped his journey.
Silva's passion for the performing arts evolved during his time at PMA, years before he considered business school. “I felt like I spent so much of my life at the Schwartz Center – beyond classes and performing in shows,” he said. “Each role influenced the other! Being a technician made me a more empathetic actor, design processes altered my research approach, theoretical exercises became practical exercises.”
Silva also had the opportunity to serve on PMA’s Schwartz Center governing board while an undergrad, offering him a new look at collaborative styles of arts management. “It was a unique experience putting me in proximity to my teachers, preparing me to be a future colleague,” he said. “That model of participatory justice has made its way into my own work when serving multiple constituencies with competing interests.”
In the intervening years between Cornell and Booth, Silva worked in a variety of performing arts organizations, including serving as a performing artist and administrator for the Smithsonian Institution’s Discovery Theater in Washington DC. He also worked as Managing Director of the Neo-Futurists, an experimental theatre company, leading them through the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, Silva contemplated how a degree in business could further his work.
“It was a daring idea to even consider business school given my background as an experimental artist did not lend itself well to discussions of venture capitalism, supply chain management, product development, or monetary policy. However, I had spent several years working as a theatrical producer and after taking on an executive role at my artistic home, The Neo-Futurists, I realized how much technical knowledge there was to be gained.”
Silva found the Booth School of Business curriculum exciting if daunting. “The coursework was incredibly challenging – most of my peers were economics majors, so while they were familiar with data analytics, I had more experience with Chekhovian dialogue.... By the end of my tenure at Booth, I had managed to complete concentrations in general management, behavioral sciences, and economics.”
Equipped with a new blend of artistic and business knowledge, Silva went on to hold several expansive roles at once, bridging performing arts, management, and business. He is currently the Executive Artistic Director for Pivot Arts, an organization that develops, creates and presents unique performance events. He is the Director of Business Operations and Managing Director for Northwestern University’s Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts, a venue that mounts more than 40 productions in theatre, music theatre, and dance annually. And he has taken on a faculty appointment in Northwestern University's Master of Science in Leadership for Creative Enterprises program. “Now in an academic setting myself, I often ponder the role I want to play for students and attempt to embody the selflessness of [PMA] staff and faculty that were so supportive in what was a challenging journey. Their compassionate allowance to try and fail gave way to that multi-faceted artistry and skill set of which has served me as a producer, as an artist, but most of all as a leader.”
Silva has also completed the Creative West National Leaders of Color fellowship and the Global Arts Management fellowship at the DeVos Institute at University of Maryland. “[All] those experiences, but Booth most of all, geared my focus on creating sustainability for the arts institution that include methods for creating effective community aid and equity-based labor structures.”
“If it is a lesson I can give arts organizations at the moment: size does not equal impact. We do not have to chase funding opportunities for the programs we can't already afford; there is value in niche efforts, including sustainability. Lessons for the artist: define the 'how', not just the 'why'. I work with a lot of artist collectives that are made up of activists, but the movements created by these artist activists tend to start and stop at the end goal with little vision given to implementation. If we value process over product, then that philosophy can apply to more aspects than just the rehearsal room.”
Read more about Silva’s work.
