Play Development Lab

To say I'm stoked is an understatement! My one-on-one sessions with cohort members of the 2025/26 Play Development Lab cohort have begun and these women are on FIRE!

Play Development Lab (PDL) is a development incubator offering comprehensive play development support to professional Black women playwrights. I created PDL as part of my commitment to my academic creative research and to collaborate with the Howard University Department of Theatre Art's New Works Initiative.

Through this initiative my goal is to help professional Black women playwrights advance creative process, enhance craft, and foster long-term careers.

It's official! Announcing the Play Development Lab 2025/2026 cohort of Black women playwrights! The lab is an incubator to help Black women playwrights advance process, craft and career. Learn about their plays and careers here ->> https://sites.google.com/view/djharttheatrewebsite/play-development-lab/20252026-cohort?authuser=0

Learn more about my initiative Restorative Theatre Performance Project here 👇🏾

playwright|dramaturge|director - Restorative Theatre Performance Project Restorative Theatre Performance Project (RTPP), is an applied methodology intervention centric training model designed to work in tandem with existing collegiate theatre performance (playwriting, directing and actor) training philosophies. Academic theatre training programs play a critical role in

We are thrilled to announce Syracuse Stage as the 2025 recipient of the Lucille Lortel Foundation Indigenous Theatermaker Award for their work to showcase the importance of Indigenous storytelling and help develop a space for Native performers and theater artists at all levels in their careers.

Syracuse Stage has long championed and elevated stories from the Indigenous community. In 1994, the theatre premiered “The Indolent Boys” from Pulitzer Prize-winning Kiowa novelist N. Scott Momaday; in 2008, alongside celebrated theatre artist Ping Chong, Syracuse Stage created “Tales From the Salt City,” an interview-based examination of the history of Syracuse which included Jeanne Shenandoah, environmental leader of the Onondaga Nation; and in 2018, born of a desire to further learn from and engage with the Indigenous people of Central New York, Syracuse Stage launched “Our Words are Seeds,” a collaborative performance project under the creative guidance of lead artist Ty Defoe. “Our Words are Seeds” has evolved into a multi-year, multi-disciplinary experience encompassing a wide range of activities, including community-based educational programming, storytelling and, most recently, an evolving partnership among Indigenous artists. In the summer of 2025, Syracuse Stage and Netherlands-based choreographer Nicole Beutler collaborated with Oneida/Haudenosaunee thought leader Michelle Schenandoah on “A Room in Our House” — a dance piece that interrogates the relationship between Dutch colonists and the Indigenous peoples of North America — as a multi-year effort to further the theatre's commitment to telling the stories of the Indigenous community. Such projects not only enrich the local artistic landscape — they continue to inform and deepen the artistic vocabulary of Syracuse Stage as a people-first organization.

Such an important endeavor!

Born on the Water: A Theatrical Performance See the world premiere theatrical adaptation of Born on the Water during this special family event, sponsored by Beyond the Book.. Event starts at January 17, 2026 12:00 PM EST

Celebrate with me! Announcing the 2025/2026 Play Development Lab cohort of playwrights!

Check out the compelling stories these bold visionary women are developing to bring to a theatre near you soon. I am so blessed to be able to support Black women playwrights as they advance process, craft and career! ->> https://sites.google.com/view/djharttheatrewebsite/play-development-lab/20252026-cohort?authuser=0