Michael Stanley Kirby (1931 – February 24, 1997) was a professor of drama at New York University.
He wrote several groundbreaking books, including Happenings, Futurist Performance and The Art of Time.
Although he taught at NYU simultaneously with Richard Schechner and shared an interest in avant-garde performance, he disagreed with Schechner about what should appear in TDR and about the value of the field that was emerging at the time, performance studies.
Kirby believed theatrical events should be documented, not criticized or analyzed using the tools of social sciences.
He continued his education at Boston University College of Communication where he earned a MFA in directing and then a PhD from BU's drama department.