About Hartbeat Ensemble

Founded in 2001 by Steven Raider-Ginsburg, Julia B. Rosenblatt and Gregory R. Tate (1952-2012), HartBeat Ensemble creates provocative theater that connects our community beyond the traditional barriers of class, race, geography and gender.

Drawn from styles ranging from commedia dell’arte to realism, HartBeat’s Mainstage plays are original full-length works that tell extraordinary stories of ordinary people. Previous work includes: Graves (2001), News to Me (2004); Ebeneeza– A Hartford Holiday Carol (2006); The Pueblo  (2007); Rich Clown, Poor Clown, Beggar Clown, Thief (2008); Flipside (2011); and Riding the Turnpike (2013).

HartBeat’s Education Programs, inspired by Augusto Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed, explore ways to alter situations, external or internal, which adversely affect our lives.  Through conflict resolution workshops and play-building residencies, participants learn to express their joy and air their grievances creatively. Core education programs are: Youth Play Institute (YPI), Startin’ Drama (Bullying Prevention), and Arts-Based Curriculum Integration (ABCi).

HartBeat recently moved into the 77-seat Carriage House Theater located on Farmington Avenue in Hartford. Our new home will provide an opportunity for HartBeat to produce a season of events that extends beyond our mainstage and education productions. The Carriage House will serve as a permanent home for artists and community to gather and experience live performance. Our goal is to offer our community consistently dynamic presentations by HartBeat Ensemble as well as other Connecticut-based artists and companies.

In 2009 HartBeat was recognized by the Theater Communications Group as part of the New Generations Program for our ability to cultivate new audiences for theater. HartBeat regularly appears in the Hartford Advocate’s “Best of” edition as one of the top three professional theaters in the area.