TACIT was founded in the mid-1980's by a group of enthusiastic students and director Shirley Marneus. For many years Shirley provided strong artistic and practical leadership, and many of her students went on to careers in the arts, despite Caltech's focus on science and technology. After her retirement in 2007, Caltech appointed Brian Brophy as director of TACIT.

Since taking over in 2008 Brophy has directed 12 shows produced 15 and encouraged the formation of a student-driven group Explicit who have taken the last four summer shows and co-produced three musicals with Tacit. Along with receiving a Sloan Foundation/Ensemble Studio Theater Grant, Tacit has presented at Association for Theater Higher Education (ATHE) Conference and hosted several Indian artist-activists, co-producing Tesla, an original radio drama written by Dan Duling at the Pasadena Playhouse, plus performing at Descanso Gardens, and the Armory Center for the Arts.

For the past seven years he has served as the Director of Theater Arts Caltech and is a twenty-five year veteran actor in the film-tv-theater industry; a Fulbright Scholar; Scholar in Residence Indian Institute of Technology; Artist in Residence California Arts Council/Culture Affairs Department and recipient of a George Soros Foundation funding for a Theater Project in Bosnia. Prior to Caltech he taught college at UCRiverside, Pomona College, Benares Hindu University, IITGandhinagar and CSULA; Research Interests include: Theater for Social Change in India; International collaboration and partnership in the transformation of culture through dialogue, storytelling and friendship. Currently he is working with IIT in an experimental Global Narratives with Caltech/IIT students via Skype. His real passion is developing new work, encouraging new writers, teaching public speaking, writing skills, and non-verbal communication with voice and performance techniques. Most Recently assisted/advised Ken Pickar in the Caltech/Art Center and IITGn (ME 105 Product Design for Indian Market).