First Name
Denise
Middle Name
J
Last Name
Hart
City
State or Province
Country
Job Title
Professor
Biography
Tenured Howard University Associate Professor and coordinator of the Playwriting minor, Denise J. Hart, is an accomplished and award winning actress, dramaturge, director and playwright.
In addition to teaching at Howard University, she has taught at American University and Duke Ellington School of the Arts. A graduate of Howard University’s BFA Acting program, she also holds an MFA in Playwriting from Sarah Lawrence College and has studied comedy writing at Second City and acting at Upright Citizens Brigade.
Hart’s dramaturgy credits include: Joe Turners Come and Gone, Day of Absence, Zooman and the Sign, Malcom, Martin & Medgar and Breath Boom. She is the author of the plays, Nothing to Lose (finalist 2012 Black and Latino Playwrights Conference) Sistah Girl, Masquerade Parade, Ring the Bell, My Soul is a Witness, The Last Day, In the Realm of Shadows, Chasing Forever, A Real Black Comedy and This Joy, (a former finalist in both The Lark and the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights competition.)
She has also authored 19 children's musicals and her directing credits include: Spunk, Zooman and the Sign, Day of Absence (finalist in the ‘08 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and recipient of the Outstanding Acting Ensemble Award), Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Quick Stop at the Florist, Bedlam in the Pulpit, Malcolm, Martin & Medgar, Secrets of the Mist of Blue, Uncanny Resemblance, and Melancholy of Barbarians.
She is the founder of the Playwrights in Process Visiting Playwrights Series at Howard University, and has helped shape the works of: Nikkole Salter (Repairing a Nation), Peter Harris (The Johnson Chronicles), A. Peter Baily (Malcom, Martin & Medgar), and in collaboration with The Lark Play Development Center, Kofi Kwahule’s Melancholy of Barbarians.
Her acting credits include the recurring role as the beloved character "Miss Anna" on HBO'S The Wire and she’s also worked with African Continuum Theatre (The Old Settler), Wolly Mammoth Theatre (The Day Room), Arena Stage (Holiday Heart), Howard University (Before it Hits Home) and The Theatre Alliance (Le Dispute) in WDC.
Ms. Hart is a founding member of the August Wilson Society and the founder and Executive Director of The Performing Arts Training Studio and The Children's Theatre Workshop located in Washington DC.
She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, The Dramatist Guild, The Playwrights Forum, Literary Managers and Dramaturges of the Americas, Black Theatre Network, Association of Theatre in Higher Education, Black Theatre Association, Theatre for Young Audiences and serves as the CoEditor for Continuum: The Journal of African Diaspora Drama, Theatre and Performance.
In her spare time, Hart likes her fair share of solitude to feed her voracious reading habit and spending time laughing and chatting about how to make the world a better place. She also finds time to paint and explore the world around her. Her son Julian is her pride and joy.
In addition to teaching at Howard University, she has taught at American University and Duke Ellington School of the Arts. A graduate of Howard University’s BFA Acting program, she also holds an MFA in Playwriting from Sarah Lawrence College and has studied comedy writing at Second City and acting at Upright Citizens Brigade.
Hart’s dramaturgy credits include: Joe Turners Come and Gone, Day of Absence, Zooman and the Sign, Malcom, Martin & Medgar and Breath Boom. She is the author of the plays, Nothing to Lose (finalist 2012 Black and Latino Playwrights Conference) Sistah Girl, Masquerade Parade, Ring the Bell, My Soul is a Witness, The Last Day, In the Realm of Shadows, Chasing Forever, A Real Black Comedy and This Joy, (a former finalist in both The Lark and the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights competition.)
She has also authored 19 children's musicals and her directing credits include: Spunk, Zooman and the Sign, Day of Absence (finalist in the ‘08 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and recipient of the Outstanding Acting Ensemble Award), Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Quick Stop at the Florist, Bedlam in the Pulpit, Malcolm, Martin & Medgar, Secrets of the Mist of Blue, Uncanny Resemblance, and Melancholy of Barbarians.
She is the founder of the Playwrights in Process Visiting Playwrights Series at Howard University, and has helped shape the works of: Nikkole Salter (Repairing a Nation), Peter Harris (The Johnson Chronicles), A. Peter Baily (Malcom, Martin & Medgar), and in collaboration with The Lark Play Development Center, Kofi Kwahule’s Melancholy of Barbarians.
Her acting credits include the recurring role as the beloved character "Miss Anna" on HBO'S The Wire and she’s also worked with African Continuum Theatre (The Old Settler), Wolly Mammoth Theatre (The Day Room), Arena Stage (Holiday Heart), Howard University (Before it Hits Home) and The Theatre Alliance (Le Dispute) in WDC.
Ms. Hart is a founding member of the August Wilson Society and the founder and Executive Director of The Performing Arts Training Studio and The Children's Theatre Workshop located in Washington DC.
She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, The Dramatist Guild, The Playwrights Forum, Literary Managers and Dramaturges of the Americas, Black Theatre Network, Association of Theatre in Higher Education, Black Theatre Association, Theatre for Young Audiences and serves as the CoEditor for Continuum: The Journal of African Diaspora Drama, Theatre and Performance.
In her spare time, Hart likes her fair share of solitude to feed her voracious reading habit and spending time laughing and chatting about how to make the world a better place. She also finds time to paint and explore the world around her. Her son Julian is her pride and joy.
Areas of Expertise
Interested in freelance opportunities
Languages spoken (New)
English