BIO

Jason Bruffy is the Managing Director of the Cultural Arts Center at Montgomery College, where he has quickly redefined the Center's mission with a focus on radical inclusion. With over 20 years of professional experience as a director, producer, and presenter, Bruffy is an industry expert known for his commitment to telling America's pluralistic story. His efforts have often met with both great success and notable resistance, but he continues to push the boundaries to create more inclusive and equitable spaces in the arts.

Before joining Montgomery College, Bruffy was the Operations & Production Director at Freeman Stage. He also served as the Producing Director of Greenway Court Theatre in West Hollywood, Los Angeles. Most notably, he was the founding producer of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, which has become a landmark event now in its 21st year, and he served as the Artistic Director of the Know Theatre of Cincinnati, a theater dedicated to new works and diversity, which is now in its 25th season.

Bruffy's career has taken him from coast to coast, where he has directed and produced in a variety of contexts, including at two Off-Broadway companies: SOHO Rep in New York City, where he produced the Obie Award-winning play "Born Bad" by Debbie Tucker Green, and Ensemble Studio Theatre, where he was an Associate Producer and Resident Director. His other notable engagements include InterAct Theatre in Philadelphia, Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota, Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, and Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.

Throughout his career, Bruffy has collaborated with some of the most significant voices in American theater. He has worked with Mark Hollmann ("Urinetown") on a new musical workshop, Mark Brown on a new adaptation of "Don Quixote," and premiered works by Sean Christopher Lewis ("Militant Language") and Steven Yockey ("Pluto"). He has also ventured into multi-media projects, such as "Hamlet" and "Pillowman" with Know Theatre of Cincinnati, and has collaborated with opera and dance companies, including Exhale Dance Tribe on an original adaptation, "Xmas Yet to Come."

Bruffy holds an MFA in Theatre with a focus on Directing and Management, a BA in Organization and Nonprofit Management, and he studied Theatre and Dance at Radford University. He is a member of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), the Event Safety Alliance (ESA), and the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM). Above all, Bruffy's artistic mission centers on inclusion, equity, and access—principles that inform everything he presents, produces, and creates.