Sock and Buskin is the faculty

Faculty (university)

A faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas...

-student

Student

A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...

 board that selects and produces theatrical productions at Brown University

Brown University

Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...

 in Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

. Founded in 1901 by Thomas Crosby

Thomas Crosby

The Rev. Thomas Crosby was an English Methodist missionary known for his work among the First Nations people of coastal British Columbia, Canada....

, a professor in the university's English department, it has maintained an unbroken string of performance seasons since being established. Originally founded as an all-male organization, Sock and Buskin became a co-educational group in 1927 when it merged with an all-female theatre troupe from nearby Pembroke College

Pembroke College (Brown University)

Pembroke College in Brown University was the coordinate women's college for Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1891 and closed in 1971.-Founding and early history:...

. Sock and Buskin performances are currently held in the Catherine Bryan Dill Center for the Performing Arts.

Each year, Sock and Buskin chooses four plays

Play (theatre)

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

 or musicals to be produced during the following academic year. The 2009-2010 season consisted of Moliere

Molière

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...

's Tartuffe

Tartuffe

Tartuffe is a comedy by Molière. It is one of his most famous plays.-History:Molière wrote Tartuffe in 1664...

, Leavittsburg, OH (an original musical co-produced with Brownbrokers

Brownbrokers

Brownbrokers is a student-run theater group at Brown University. Together with Brown's Theatre Arts and Performance Studies faculty, Brownbrokers develops and produces a full-length, student-written musical biyearly...

), Doris to Darlene (the senior director's slot production), Frank Wedekind

Frank Wedekind

Benjamin Franklin Wedekind , usually known as Frank Wedekind, was a German playwright...

's Lulu and Eduardo Machado

Eduardo Machado

Eduardo Oscar Machado is a Cuban playwright living in the United States. Notable plays include Broken Eggs and Havana is Waiting and The Cook. Many of his plays are autobiographical or deal with Cuba in some way. Machado teaches playwriting at New York University. He has served as the Artistic...

's The Cook.

Selection Process

Sock and Buskin has an open meeting every week where, along with other theatre-production duties, potential plays for the following season are discussed.

Each week, six works are selected to be read. The board members are divided into two groups, the socks and the buskins, each of which is responsible for reading three of the six pieces. After a work is summarized, it is discussed on several grounds including but not limited to timeliness, interest, student opportunities, and producibility. After a play has been sufficiently discussed, a vote is taken on whether or not a play should be "kept" for further consideration or struck for the year. All members of the Sock and Buskin board (except for the chairperson) are required to vote or abstain.

As the academic year comes to a close, all the "kept" plays are discussed in a major decision meeting, at which the next season is finalized.