Representative Speaking Engagements, Talk-backs & Presentations
Representative Speaking Engagements, Talk-backs & Presentations
Embedded Files
2024-2025 Projects
2024-2025 Projects
I'm contributing to this dope discussion on the STATE OF DC BLACK THEATRE, a series celebrating DC Black Theatre for Black Diaspora theatre practitioners.
We begin with The Convening on February 13th, 2025 from 6:30p to 8:30p at Eaton House, 1203 K Street NW, Washington, DC. Free. RSVP at dcblacktheatre.eventbrite.com.
Oct. 8, 2024 FREE
Writing a one-person show has its unique set of challenges and can take many forms. Inspired by our current production Mister Lincoln, this single session playwriting Master Class is designed for playwrights who desire to create unique narratives channeled through one performer.
Whether you are a seasoned writer looking to explore a new format or an emerging artist taking charge of their own power as a storyteller, this session will provide you with the tools and inspiration needed to bring your solo performance to life.
Dec. 7, 2024 FREE
Playwrights take inspiration from many sources including existing literary works as was Michael Wilson when he adapted A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, on stage at Ford’s Theatre from November 21, 2024 through December 31, 2024. With entire worlds and characters brought to life in our imaginations, how does the playwright transition the written text into spoken dialogue for a three-dimensional medium? In this 3-hour Master Class session, Playwright and Dramaturg Professor Denise Hart will take writers through techniques and prompts that transform chapters into acts and lift characters from the page to the stage. Prior playwriting experience is encouraged but not necessary. Participants are encouraged to select a novel to base their work on.
Jan. 11, 18 & 2/1, 2025 FREE
Join us for a three-part community playwriting workshop series where writers of all levels are invited to explore the art of building a narrative centered on a historical figure or event. Topics will include conducting historical research and using primary sources, balancing creative license with historical accuracy, developing storylines and characters, and connecting the past with the present. Each three-hour session will build on the last and culminate in an in-class sharing of an excerpt from each participant’s work. A commitment to all three sessions is strongly encouraged. Workshops will be held on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the following dates: January 11, January 18, and February 1, 2025. This workshop series is free and open to the public, but a one-time registration is required.
Ford's Theatre
Ford's Theatre
Dramaturge for "Written Then, Spoken Now: African American Letters to Lincoln"
CSpan - African American Letters to Lincoln
CSpan - African American Letters to Lincoln
Denise J. Hart - Interview, Play Development Lab
Denise J. Hart - Interview, Play Development Lab
Audience Talkback - "ZORA"
Audience Talkback - "ZORA"
'Guest Expert Scholar for "ZORA"
'Guest Expert Scholar for "ZORA"
ZORA, written by Laurence Holder and directed by me was produced by Studio W New Cultural Cafe in Washington DC.
On Saturday February 17th we held a robust audience talk back. We debated and discussed the themes of the play and the contemporary impact the play had on the audience.
Speakers: Denise J. Hart, Cris M. Dinwiddie, Lyn Dyson, moderator
photos to the right & below by Richard Montgomery
Keynote Speaker: DIVA Writers Scholarship Tea
Keynote Speaker: DIVA Writers Scholarship Tea
The Writers scholarship tea is held in honor of D.I.V.A., Inc Founder, Danette Austin Wills. A high schooler was the recipient of the scholarship in th amount of $2,000.
2023 Projects
2023 Projects
Prince George's Film Festival
Prince George's Film Festival
Workshop Facilitator
Actors Intensive
Learn the ins and outs to get started and navigate an actor's career, from auditions to casting. From scene study and table reads to production and reshoots, we will cover this celebrated career's good, bad and ugly.
Attendees learned audition techniques for on camera comfort, confidence and how to make meaningful character and story choices. Plus, how to analyze text to bring characters to life.
Speakers: Denise J. Hart & Mark McKinnon
photos below by James Hairston IV#pgff #filmfestival #actingworkshop
Dramaturgy Talk Back
Dramaturgy Talk Back
Talk back Facilitator with guests
Talk back Facilitator with guests
Nina A. Mercer and Dr. Greg Carr
Nina A. Mercer and Dr. Greg Carr
TV Scriptwriting Intensive
TV Scriptwriting Intensive
Summer 2023, in collaboration with Amazon Studios I taught a day long TV Scriptwriting intensive in Stone Mountain Georgia for students in the Def Creative Lab program!
2022 Projects
2022 Projects
Molly's Salon Guest Speaker
Molly's Salon Guest Speaker
2022, guest speaker on Molly's Salon with Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith. To watch the live recording CLICK HERE
Molly's Salon is a weekly Salon featuring artists and leaders of Arena Stage.
This week's guests:
Denise J. Hart, Howard University, professor, playwright, director and dramaturg
Jan Adams, President and CEO JMA Solutions
Thursday, January 21 at 7 p.m. EST.
Taking Center Stage: Under-told Stories in the American Theatre
Taking Center Stage: Under-told Stories in the American Theatre
Dramaturge Panelist for the Ford’s Theatre Legacy Commissions which will serve as an artistic incubator for stories about social justice and racial history and explore the varied experiences of underrepresented characters and lesser-known historical figures and their contributions to American life. This free, three-day public festival of readings provided a preview of new plays in development with members of our first cohort of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) playwrights in The Ford’s Theatre Legacy Commissions initiative.
2022 Prince George's Film Festival
2022 Prince George's Film Festival
Workshop Facilitator
Actors Study (Black Box)
So, you have decided that acting is your calling. What now? Join us as we navigate an actor's career, from auditions to casting. From scene study and table reads to production and reshoots, we will cover this celebrated career's good, bad and ugly.
Speakers: Denise J. Hart & Mark McKinnon
Previous Projects
Previous Projects
Denise J. Hart Actor Reel from HBO's, The Wire
August Wilson Society Colloquium
August Wilson Society Colloquium
Moderator for keynote speaker Michele Shay during the 2021 biennial AWS Colloquium March 2021
Moderator for Howard University Virtual Table Read
Moderator for Howard University Virtual Table Read
Penn State 30th Anniversary African American Read-In
Penn State 30th Anniversary African American Read-In
In 2020 Hart was selected as the featured author/playwright for the 30th anniversary of the African American Read-In. She shared her journey as a professional playwright and read from some of her works.
The focus of the Read-In are texts written by African American authors and also acts as an important act of reclamation of overlooked Black history and culture.
In 1999 the African American Read-In was founded by Jerrie Cobb Scott a member of the NCTW Black Caucus.
The Read-In is celebrated during the entirety f February at schools, community centers, churches and more around the nation. It's an invitation for people to gather together to celebrate Black authors. Presently there are over one million readers globally who participate each year.
August Wilson Society Lecture Series Co-Chair
August Wilson Society Lecture Series Co-Chair
August Wilson Society "August Wilson Ground" inaugural Lecture Series
An annual lecture series whose mission is to advance August Wilson Studies by introducing cutting edge and creative new critical treatments of his American Century Cycle plays and encouraging ongoing informed discussions on the enduring relevance of his life and his work. Guest speakers from multiple disciplines “ground” their talks in one of the multiple disciplines featured in Wilson’s work—art, activism, religion, music, African retentions, economics, gender dynamics.
Guest speaker: University of Maryland’s American Studies Chair and foodways scholar Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson speaking on—Cornbread, Biscuits, and Coca-Cola: Foods and Food Practices in August Wilson’s American Century Cycle Plays
Additional Speakers - Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick; Constanza Romero Wilson, August Wilson’s wife and the executor of his estate; Janis Burley Wilson, President and CEO of Pittsburgh’s August Wilson African American Cultural Center; and Paul Ellis, Executive Director and Legal Counsel for the August Wilson House Restoration Project.
Black Theatre Network Conference
Black Theatre Network Conference
Archival Research Presentation at the 2018 conference of my initial research for eventual lecture series and book focused on the Howard Players.
For the delivery of the presentation of my research at the 2018 Black Theatre Network Conference I utilized my expertise in public-focused dramaturgy. Public-focused dramaturgical efforts function to contextualize and offer frameworks for interpretation, critique and analysis.
I created and executed a slide presentation that moved the audience through select time periods in the 108 year production history oftentimes sharing information that had not been previously shared publicly.
I also posed questions to the audience inviting them to critique their perspectives on the evolution of black theatre, as well as shared the ongoing questions I seek to answer as I continue to conduct my research.
The Black Theatre Network conference is an annual conference which serve as a national forum for the exchange of ideas between professionals, educators and students of Black Theatre.
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