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We’ve had conversations about leadership, public safety, and athletics.Now we turn to something just as essential to the fabric of a city: arts, culture, and creativity. 🎭🎨
Join us at High Side on Monday, April 27 for an evening with Rick Davis, Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at George Mason University and Executive Director of the Hylton Performing Arts Center.
With decades of experience shaping theater and building one of the region’s most important cultural institutions, Rick brings a unique perspective on how the arts connect people, communities, and cities.
This conversation will explore how Fairfax continues to grow as a cultural hub and what the future of performing arts looks like right here in our backyard.
📍 High Side – Fairfax
📅 Monday, April 27, 2026
⏰ 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM
5:30–6:30 PM | Community Mingle
6:30–8:30 PM | AMA Session
8:30–9:30 PM | Post-AMA Mingle
Free to attend. Complimentary bites available. Drinks for purchase.
Space is limited, RSVP recommended.
No livestream. No recordings. Just real conversation, face to face.
Come with questions, or just come curious.
RSVP: https://forms.gle/jxaESMM3jKj6W6Qc6
About Rick Davis:
Rick Davis has served as Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at George Mason University since 2015. He was Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education from 2007-2011, and Executive Director of the Hylton Performing Arts Center from 2011 to right about now.
Rick came to Mason in 1991 as Artistic Director of Theater of the First Amendment (TFA) after six years at Baltimore Center Stage. In its twenty-plus seasons, TFA produced dozens of world premieres, many of which went on to further production, publication, NPR and PBS broadcast, and original cast albums. The company was honored with twelve Helen Hayes Awards and nearly forty nominations.
An active director of theater and opera on and off campus, Rick has staged productions for Center Stage, TFA, Kennedy Center, Opera Idaho, Delaware Theatre Company, Players Theatre Columbus, Unseam’d Shakespeare Company, American Ibsen Theater, IN Series, and others. He also teaches in the School of Theater and for the Honors College.
His four books include Calderón de la Barca: Four Great Plays of the Golden Age; co-translations of Ibsen with Brian Johnston (Ibsen: Four Major Plays, vol. I); Ibsen in an Hour (with Brian Johnston), and Writing About Theatre (with Christopher Thaiss).
At Mason he has been honored with the Teaching Excellence Award and as the Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty of the Year. He was educated at Lawrence University (BA) and the Yale School of Drama (MFA, DFA).
**This AMA session is organized by High Side as part of our ongoing effort to bring community leaders and neighbors together in a more personal and approachable setting. We believe meaningful conversations don’t have to happen in formal rooms—they can happen over food, drinks, and shared curiosity. By hosting these sessions, we hope to create space for open dialogue, strengthen connections, and give our community a chance to engage directly with the people shaping Fairfax.
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Event Venue
4009 Chain Bridge Rd, Fairfax, VA, United States, Virginia 22030
Tickets
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.
