PLEASE JOIN US FOR A TALKBACK WITH THE PLAYWRIGHT ON APRIL 21st & APRIL 23rd immediately following the performance.
About the Playwright: Steve Harper was born in Brooklyn, NY and currently lives in Los Angeles. He is a playwright, TV writer, producer and actor. He recently served as Co-Executive Producer for the CW series Stargirl, and has written for God Friended Me, Tell Me Your Secrets, American Crime and Covert Affairs. His web series SEND ME garnered a 2016 Emmy Nomination and honors include the Artistic Achievement Award from the Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale, the Millennium Telly Award, two grants from Lincoln Center’s Lecomte Du Nuoy Foundation, a MacDowell National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and two Yaddo fellowships. He is a graduate of Yale, the A.R.T. Institute at Harvard and the Juilliard playwriting program. He also coaches professional and aspiring writers.
Harper writes about what he calls the “invisible things” that people don’t normally talk about such as race, politics, sexuality, and religion. He believes that theaters act as an artistic “town hall” where communities can come together to engage with the issues of the day in a way that is conducive to reflection, connection, and empowerment. He is about to release an anthology of short plays called, A Few Short Plays to Save the World with Laughing Panda Press. which has been described as “an anthology of hope” by The Classical Theatre of Harlem. Harper, who is also an actor, wrote these plays after experiencing a lack of roles for Black actors in the theater and elsewhere. With a focus on inclusivity, humor, and insight, Harper brings current subjects to light in an enduring and entertaining way. The plays were originally produced and performed at theaters such as The American Airlines Theater on Broadway, The John Houseman Studio (NYC), New Jersey’s Vivid Stage, The American Theater Company (Chicago), Baltimore Playwrights Festival, Northwestern University’s Wirtz Center and The Falcon Theater in L.A. (NBC Universal), among others. A Few Short Plays to Save the World will be available May 1st on Amazon and elsewhere.