"Through her Howard Players Theatre History Archives and digital humanities research,

Professor Hart is one of the foremost anchors and documentarians of Howard's theatrical lineage."

~ Sholnn Freeman, Howard Magazine '25

Welcome

Hi there! I'm Denise Joy Hart, a highly sought after creative humanities scholar, dramaturge, consultant, Restorative Practices Facilitator & speaker. My work sits at the intersection of experiential arts, restorative pedagogy and wellbeing.

Throughout my career I've honed mastery expertise in restorative theatre training practices, theatre for social change, cultural transformation through the arts, community collaboration & leadership development.

A few of my notable projects include: Restorative Theatre Performance Project, a collaborative performing arts-based research initiative that employs restorative practices to build bridges between arts, culture and science to engender social change. Howard Players Theatre History Archive 1909-2019 and founder and dramaturg of the Play Development Lab, an arts and career incubator for Black women playwrights.

I'm experienced in creating transformational trainings that support arts leaders, educators and practitioners, helping them learn from the past, create meaningful change and elevate organizational narrative and image.

Please check out Student Success, a snapshot of how my former students are making an impact in the world!

For fun I enjoy family history. Check out my ancestry.com commercials One and Two !

Scroll down to see where I'll show up next in the world!

Article - Howard Magazine Fall 2025

Howard University and the Birth of a New Black Theatre Tradition

"Howard University’s impact on Black theatre."

by Sholnn Freeman (MA '12, PHD '21)

For decades before the 1920s, even at historically Black colleges and universities, theatrical training meant performing the works of European playwrights. Shakespeare, the Greeks, and other white authors of the Western canon were considered the gold standard for “serious” drama, even on campuses meant to nurture Black minds.

However, at Howard University, Alain Locke — a young philosophy professor who would later be called the “Father of the Harlem Renaissance” — and Thomas Montgomery Gregory, an English professor, envisioned a new kind of theatre. Instead of simply mirroring the white classics they had been trained in, they sought to create a stage that centered Black stories and expressed the realities and beauty of Black life. This vision set the stage for a pivotal moment in Howard’s theatre history and, by extension, Black theatre more broadly. It led to a national revolution in how Black people were presented on stage and the subject matter they addressed in their productions.

FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE

Upcoming Projects...

Auto-ethnography solo-play

How I Met My Cousin:

The Genealogical Saga of the Bailey Family Tree

Commissioned by the Museum of African American History in Boston, How I Met My Cousin: The Genealogical Saga of the Bailey Family Tree is an auto-ethnographic solo performance, curated, written and performed by Sue’s “family history” obsessed 3rd cousin, Professor Denise J. Hart, the play, a form of public scholarship, takes the audience on a journey through the highs and lows of African American genealogical research using documentary style narrative story telling. The piece will be presented during Juneteenth weekend in Boston along with a lecture in conversation with the museum director Dr. Noelle Trent.

Lecture: A Blueprint for Freedom & Justice: The life and legacy of Sue Bailey Thurman

Lecture Date: Friday June 19, 2026 from 3-4:30pm.

How I Met My Cousin: The Genealogical Saga of the Bailey Family Tree tells the story of the rich legacy of freedom and justice in the life of Sue Bailey Thurman, founder of the Boston Museum of African American History. Curated, written and performed by Sue’s “family history” obsessed 3rd cousin, Professor Denise J. Hart, the play takes the audience on a journey through the highs and lows of African American genealogical research using documentary, poetry and narrative. The world of the early 20th century and beyond come alive with a cornucopia of familiar and famous African Americans, friends and colleagues who stood alongside Sue Bailey as they fostered a pathway for African Americans to thrive.

Scholarly Research & Leadership

Denise J. Hart, an award winning playwright, dramaturge and director has created an incubator to help black women develop process, craft and career. Play Development Lab is an intensive development opportunity for professional black women playwrights to develop their work through one-on-one meetings, table work and rehearsals with a cast of actors and developmental readings.

"With “Young Griots,” Howard once again affirms its place as a cradle of creativity where young artists write, act, and imagine futures rooted in truth, culture, and joy." ~ Christin Hill, The Dig, Howard University

Student Playwrights & Cast

Two Sides to Black written by Eeoghene Rhonor, senior Musical Theatre major & playwriting minor
- Cast: Mahlet Gebreyesus, T. Lang, Niani Braxton, Kameron Outland
5 Minutes written by Essence Jackson, senior TV and Film major & playwriting minor
- Cast: Cody Holmes, Skylar Wilson
Echo Chamber written by Kevoy Sommerville, junior Acting major & playwriting minor:
- Cast: Mahlet Gebreyesus, T. Lang, Niani Braxton
Incline written by Joycelyn Jackson, senior TV and Film major & playwriting minor:
- Cast: Cody Holmes, Skylar Wilson

Restorative Theatre Performance Project & Young Griots: New Works for the Stage

Restorative Theatre Performance Project

Founded in 2024 by Professor Denise J. Hart, a full professor in the Dept. of Theatre Arts at Howard University, the Restorative Theatre Performance Project (RTPP), is a collaborative arts-based research initiative that employs restorative practices to build bridges between arts, culture and science to engender social change.

The arts have always been used to incite change, thus, RTPP develops arts centric multi-disciplinary programming that uses restorative practices to offer the community new paradigms for ways of thinking, knowing and being.

For theatre, RTPP seeks to establish baseline standards and optimal methods for wellbeing and harm reduction in performing arts training, audition, rehearsal and performance.

Young Griots: New Works for the Stage

Young Griots, a student play development program, celebrates the powerful voices of young emerging playwrights of color who address social change through their work.

Created by Professor Denise J. Hart, to serve as the vehicle to explore and develop the theory and methodology for her research initiative, Restorative Theatre Performance Project (RTPP), Young Griots had its inaugural launch at Howard University in fall 2025.

Throughout the audition, rehearsal and performance process the restorative values for Young Griots centered the expression and implementation of: Collaboration, Respect, Inclusivity, Insight, Individual Process, Agreement, Mutual Leadership, Creativity, Curiosity, Incubation, Discovery, Trust, Conduct, De-Role, Stress Reduction, Consent and Audience inclusion.

ATHE Governing Council

Kudos to me! I've been elected to serve on the Association of Theatre in Higher Education Governing Council as the Vice President of conference 2027! Looking forward to seeing colleague/old friends and meeting new colleagues over the next two years!

ACLS HBCU Fellowship Finalist!

I was honored as a finalist in the 2025 ACLS HBCU Fellowship for my "works in progress" article, Decolonizing the Curriculum Through Black Power: Howard Players Theatre History 1969-1979