Pictured Left to Right. PSC Founding Members: Co-Artistic Director Carl Forsman, Executive Director David McGraw, Co-Artistic Director Kim Shively, and Producing Associate Loren G. Brunson
The Piedmont Shakespeare Company is a 501(c)3 nonprofit with the goal to produce free, original productions of Shakespeare’s plays, starting in the summer of 2025. We are led by a trio of North Carolina theatre makers and teachers, with a history of making work across the country.
Piedmont Shakespeare is led by Executive Director David McGraw, Co-Artistic Directors Carl Forsman and Kim Shively, and Producing Associate Loren G. Brunson.
Our Team
Loren G. Brunson
Loren G. Brunson is a creative executive, producer, and arts leader with almost a decade of experience spanning film and television development, creative operations, and live entertainment. With a career rooted in both artistic storytelling and strategic leadership, she brings a unique perspective to developing creative projects, building collaborative teams, and transforming ideas into meaningful audience experiences. Brunson spent seven years at Sony Pictures Entertainment, where she worked across casting, scripted television development, and literary intellectual property. During her tenure, she contributed to the development of television projects from initial concept through production, collaborating with writers, directors, producers, executives, and creative partners. Her work included overseeing multimillion-dollar development budgets, evaluating hundreds of literary properties for adaptation, and developing operational systems that supported creative teams and production workflows. Her passion for live performance and arts leadership has also shaped her work with Piedmont Shakespeare Company, where she currently serves as Producing Director. In this capacity, she helps guide the company’s artistic and operational initiatives, supporting professional theatre productions, creative partnerships, and accessible arts programming for the community. A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ High School Drama Program, Brunson earned both a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and a Bachelor of Arts in Arts Administration from Elon University, with a minor in Business Administration. She later earned a Master of Arts in Creative Business Leadership from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Carl Forsman
Carl Forsman is a Professor at the Drama School at UNCSA, where his recent projects include THE ROVER and MOTHER COURAGE. He is the founding Artistic Director of New York’s Keen Company, which under his leadership won both the Obie Award and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Company. He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Director for his work on Keen’s revival of THE VOICE OF THE TURTLE. He also helmed the American premiere of Conor McPherson’s THE GOOD THIEF, which won an Obie for star Brian d’Arcy James. Other NY projects include PAINTING CHURCHES, BENEFACTORS, ALPHABETICAL ORDER, THE HAPPY JOURNEY (Drama Desk Nomination, Best Revival), THE CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR, David Auburn’s adaptation of THE JOURNALS OF MIHAIL SEBASTIAN (all for Keen), LOVE CHILD (New World Stages), THE BALD SOPRANO & THE LESSON (Atlantic Theater Company), and SIN (The New Group, Drama Desk nominee, Best New Play, Obie Award Winner, Outstanding Production). He spent three summers as the Artistic Director of the Dorset Theatre Festival in Vermont. Regional work includes Urbanite Theatre, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, The Asolo, and Long Wharf.
David McGraw
David McGraw is an Associate Professor at Elon University, where he leads the Arts Administration program. Prior to joining the Elon faculty, he oversaw 400+ theatrical and dance productions at venues such as the Perishable Theatre, White River Theatre Festival, Yale School of Drama, Oldcastle Theatre, StageWorks, Capital Repertory Theatre, Vilar Center for the Arts, Geva Theatre, Iowa Summer Rep, Chester Theatre Company, University of Arizona, University of Iowa, and Triad Stage. He has twice served on the national board of the Stage Manager’s Association and has received Special Recognition at the Del Hughes Awards for Lifetime Achievement for his 18-year research project The Stage Manager Survey. His articles have appeared in publications ranging from Stage Directions Magazine to Off Headset: Essays on Stage Management Work, Life, and Career to Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy. He has worked with the South African State Theatre on a Fulbright Specialist Grant on FREEDOM: THE MUSICAL, and looks forward to working with South African theatres on international tours. www.davidjmcgraw.com
Kim Shively
Kim Shively is an Associate Professor at Elon University where she teaches acting and directs. She is also Guiding Faculty with Theatrical Intimacy Education, a leading research and professional organization that trains and equips people in the best practices for staging intimacy for theatre, film, and TV. With over 40 professional and academic credits as an Intimacy Choreographer, Shively travels around the world working as a theatrical intimacy educator and practitioner. A member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, Shively spent 5 seasons as a member of Shakespeare Orange County in addition to her professional acting credits in theatre, film, television and over a dozen national commercials. Directing credits include Macbeth, Spring Awakening, Carrie: the Musical, The Wolves, and a world premiere workshop of The Inferior Sex, by Jacqueline Lawton. She is the co-author of Applied Meisner for the 21st Century Actor (Routledge), and her peer-reviewed articles have been included in journals including Theatre Topics, The Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, and The Journal of Consent Based Performance. Learn more at www.KimShivelyCreative.com and www.21CActor.com.
Special thanks to photographer Tony Spielberg.