Mission and Vision

Our Mission

Uniting Greater Hartford through Innovative Theater

HartBeat Ensemble creates provocative theater that connects the people and communities of Greater Hartford across traditional barriers of race, gender, class and geography. 

Our Vision

HartBeat Ensemble:A Catalyst for Liberation.

Our vision for HartBeat Ensemble is that our work is in, with, for and through the community. Essential to this work is our shared sense of wonder with our participants. Wonder brings us together ready to engage. Through that curiosity, truths emerge that are specific to our community.

The uncovering of truths prompts an increase in activism throughout our community with the goal of yielding more and more justice. Through our work, we recognize that a community uplifted by the power of justice finds itself open to more wonder yielding more truth and again more justice in a virtuous circle until justice achieves its goal: liberation. The spirit of this cycle—the simple beauty and raw disruption of it—is at the heart of HartBeat’s ultimate vision for building the Beloved Community in Greater Hartford.

Land Acknowledgement

Recognizing Indigenous Heritage & Historic Injustices

This land on which we gather is the occupied/unceded/seized territory of the Mohegan, Mashantucket Pequot, Eastern Pequot, Golden Hill Paugussett, and Schaghticoke peoples, who have stewarded the land now known as Hartford and its surrounding areas through generations. We also acknowledge the tribes with us in spirit and ancestors: the Saukiag, the Podunk and the Tunixis.

We acknowledge the grave harm that colonialism brought to these lands, in particular the erasure of both indigenous and African identities not only under slavery, but via racist laws that segregated all peoples into binary classification of “white” and “black”. 

Learn More About our Land Acknowledgement

We honor the spirits and ancestors who have lived– and do live, now– at these intersections of identity and experience.

This acknowledgment is the very beginning of a process of learning our obligations as guests in this territory. We invite you to ask yourselves, as we are, these questions: What are the Indigenous protocols involved in being a guest, what are our responsibilities? What responsibilities do our hosts have towards us, and are we making space for those responsibilities to be exercised? How will we incorporate what we learn from our hosts? To what extent are our activities and events benefitting our hosts?”

Our Programs and Initiatives

HARTBEAT REPERTORY

A diverse program of contemporary, classic, and ensemble-created political plays that represent the multiplicity of cultures at the heart of Hartford.

HARTBEAT PRESENTS

 A curated performance series of contemporary and socially pertinent work by local, regional, national artists/companies

HARTBEAT FORUM

Often in partnership with civic or social organizations, HartBeat uses theater, performance and facilitated dialogue to engage the community about a specific topic and/or geographical location.

HARTBEAT LIFELONG LEARNING

A series of professional paid internships for youth ages 16-21 in play creation; new program of anti-racism training for K-12 and higher education teachers and administrators. (see under education)

OUR HISTORY

HartBeat: Bridging CommunitiesThrough Theater and Art

Founded in 2001 by Steven Raider-Ginsburg, Julia B. Rosenblatt and Gregory R. Tate (1952-2012), HartBeat is one of Hartford’s most important cultural institutions, dedicated to creating provocative theater that connects our community beyond the traditional barriers of class, race, geography and gender. HartBeat has supported hundreds of artists, collaborated with over 50 community organizations and created ten original, full-length works, including the award-winning Flipside and critically recognized Jimmy & Lorraine. We have trained thousands of young adults and continue to inspire the next generation of leaders to create change for a better world. HartBeat is an artist-led, artist-driven company dedicated to building community partnerships and helping to integrate the arts into our community’s civic agenda. We:

  • serve as an intersection for innovative contemporary art and community engagement, 
  • play a bold leadership role in positioning art as a catalyst for community change and collaborating with others to realize a shared vision for the community and the arts, 
  • provide youth-focused training opportunities that inspire and empower young people to make a difference in their lives and the world around them;  
  • serve as an incubator of non-traditional and contemporary art, and a home for a broad spectrum of CT and other artists; and 

Learn More About our History

HartBeat’s plays have been presented at festivals and theaters such as the NY International Fringe Festival (awarded 2012 Best Ensemble), Boston University, Charter Oak Cultural Center, Yale University, and the Autorino Center for the Arts. HartBeat’s educational workshops and residencies have been presented in area institutions, including public schools, universities, unions, correctional facilities and treatment centers

HartBeat has received recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Work program for our creative and youth work; from the Network of Ensemble Theater for our international collaborations; and we have been awarded Best Ensemble in the 2012 NY International Fringe Festival. In 2016, Jimmy & Lorraine was recommended for the American Theatre Critics Association’s annual ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award and chosen as “show of the year” by Frank Rizzo of the Hartford Courant. 

25Years Breaking Boundaries