Brittney S. Harris, M.F.A., a native of Norfolk, VA, is an internationally recognized Assistant Professor of Applied Theatre and the newly appointed Co-Director of Research for the Center for Communicating Science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). With a wealth of experience spanning over a decade in Applied Theatre, her areas of expertise focus on Race and Performance, Performance as Activism, Devised Theatre, and Community-Engaged Theatre.
She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and Theatre Performance with a minor in Communications from Old Dominion University. She is a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Higher Education Faculty Fellow of 'Preserving and Transmitting American Ensemble-Based Devised Theatre'. In 2023, Brittney completed research abroad in Rwanda, Africa, working with the youth population of Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, showcasing the transformative power of theatre for community-based healing, creative wellness, and equity.
Her creative scholarship efforts are supported and documented by the practices of PaR (Performance as Research) and explore the detrimental effects of vicarious trauma from social media on the personal psyche. It also examines how narrative-based storytelling can be a means for social resilience and redemption. Brittney's research enables individuals or community organizations to create art representing a transformative journey toward revelation and resistance. Her work addresses a wide range of topics, including racial injustice, community and belonging development, mental health awareness, gender equality, and domestic violence awareness, among others.
Internationally and throughout the US Southeast region, Brittney has spearheaded numerous community engagement-based projects and conducted workshops rooted in the methodology of the Umbrella Method (original devised theatre technique for solo/ensemble narrative work), Augusto Boal's Theatre of Oppressed (Image Theatre and Forum Theatre), Michael Rohd's Theatre for Community, Conflict, and Dialogue, and Viewpoints work. Her contributions have been featured at several national interdisciplinary conferences and fringe festivals, including the Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference (ATHE), American Society of Theatre Research (ASTR), BorderLight Festival International Theatre Fringe, National Women's Theatre Festival, and Black Theatre Network. Brittney has created work and performed professionally at The Workshop Theater (NYC), Virginia Stage Company, Chrysler Museum of Art, Attucks Theater, Norfolk State University, and Hampton University.
Most recent featured directed performances/programming include international-based project AHAZAZA: Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village Project in Rwanda, Africa (The InHEIRitance Project), LOUD and CLEAR: 4-VA Collaborative Grant Project; Silhouettes: Cut to Black, The Kara Walker Project (ROUGE Productions and Virginia MOCA); Emmy-award winning 'Exodus: Homecoming VA' (The InHEIRitance Project); The Hidden History of the Banjo (Zeiders American Dream Theater); Blood at the Root and Intimate Apparel (ODURep Theatre) and created/devised TAG! You're It!, Symptomatic: IRL and Echoes: Transcending Through Story for the ODURep Theatre Mainstage season. Currently, she is workshopping and touring her three solo performance projects, Pedigree, The Intersection: The Sandra Bland Project, and Being B.A.D.; each project evaluates how embodied storytelling can be utilized to transform how stories of resilience are recorded, shared, preserved, and spark a conversation to advance social reform and change.
Beyond her extensive educational and performance credentials, Brittney has over fifteen years of experience in cultural enrichment, youth development/involvement, and grant writing.
Membership affiliations: ATHE (Association for Theatre in Higher Education), AATE (American Alliance for Theatre and Education), ATME (Association for Theatre Movement Educators), BTN (Black Theatre Network), WOCA (Women of Color in the Arts), Alpha Psi Omega (Theatre Fraternity), AEA (Actors Equity).
