Welcome!
Hi there! I'm Denise J. Hart, a playwright|dramaturge|director, raised in the midwest, who's lived in the nation's capitol for 30 years. I'm a bit of a globe trotter, which means I'll work pretty much anywhere a story takes me!
For the past 23 years I've helped shape the lives of hundreds of young adults through my role as area coordinator for writing for stage and screen with a focus on playwriting and TV Drama writing at Howard University, where I'm a full professor in the Department of Theatre Arts.
Memory, history and the impact of systemic racism on family is a guiding force in my work as a playwright. Using story to create an entry point for self and community introspection and interrogation are the twin light bearers that fuel me to continue to craft plays that center the underrepresented African American experience on stage.
While you're here, please check out my work: current research, playwriting, TV Scriptwriting/Play Development and Production dramaturgy and directing.
Scroll down to learn about the projects I'm working on and where I'll show up next in the world. Hey, you never know, maybe we'll bump into each other!
Cheers,
Denise Joy, MFA
Advanced TV Pilot Lab (Drama)
From concept, idea to finished drama pilot, with Ali Griffin Vingiano, writer on The Morning Show on AppleTV
Black Theatre Network Conference
July 20 - 23, 2023
St. Louis MO
Shakespeare Theatre
Dramaturge Consultant for Staged reading of Paule Marshall’s 1960 Television Drama adaptation of her novel, Brown Girl Brownstone at Shakespeare Theatre Company. Working with Dr. Drew Lichtenberg (Shakespeare Theatre Company, Resident Dramaturg) and Dr. Soyica Colbert (Associate Director at STC, Lorraine Hansberry Radical Vision author, Georgetown University Professor of African American Studies and Performing Arts).