Prior to joining Northwestern University as the Managing Director for The Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts, Jorge Silva was the Managing Director for the renowned experimental theater company, The Neo-Futurists, leading the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic utilizing revitalized infrastructure. Prior to working with The Neos, he was the Producing Coordinator for the Goodman Theatre serving as the producing liaison for community engagement projects and the curator for artistic programming. 

​

An alum of Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund and St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH, Silva earned a dual degree in Government and Theatre (Advanced Undergraduate Theatre Program) at Cornell University’s College of Arts & Sciences. During his undergraduate career, Silva worked with the Committee on US and Latin-American Relations and led the nation’s oldest student-run Latinx theatre company in the nation, Teatrotaller. He is currently a Neubauer Civic Scholar and MBA Candidate at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a 2024 Global Arts Management Fellow at the University of Maryland (DeVos Institute). Silva is also an alum of the inaugural WESTAF-Arts Midwest Leaders of Color Fellowship (2023). 

His artistic work eventually led him to joining Teatro Travieso (Wooster, OH) in Lima, Peru where he was a part of a devised piece - Encuentro: Peru!! -  that performed there and at UNESCO’s World Festival of Theatre School in Bucharest, Romania. He continues to serve as an artistic affiliate for Teatro Travieso. 

​

While based in Washington, DC, Silva served as an performing artist and administrator for the Smithsonian Institution’s Discovery Theater and was one of the founding teaching artists for their DCPS in-school arts education program, ‘Tools of Discovery.’ Silva was also a deviser with the interactive theatre company dog & pony DC. Upon returning to Chicago, Silva’s focus was primarily freelance solo performance work – his works have been featured in the online magazine Scout & Birdie, Junior Varsity, Pivot Arts: Voting Rights, Salonathon,  Hot Kitchen Collective, National Cool Shorts, The LIVINGroom, and Prop Theatre’s 2 Unfortunate 2 Travel. 

​

Much of Silva’s work, however, is identified with The Neo-Futurists beginning as a 2016 recipient of the Artists of Color Scholarship. From there, he joined the experimental essay show THE ARROW (Kurt Chiang, Lily Mooney) and was the lighting designer for REMEMBER THE ALAMO (Nick Hart). 

​

Outside of theatre, Silva has worked with the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund and The Posse Foundation: Chicago in their respective student mentoring programs.  He was also a Lecturer and graduate projects advisor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Writing Program. Notably, Silva was a featured speaker at Latinos Progresando’s flagship community event, MEX talks [2018] and remains a member of the event’s Host Committee.