Steve Raider-Gisburg

Co-Founder, Ensemble Member

Steven Raider-Ginsburg moved to Hartford, CT to co-found HartBeat Ensemble. Honors: American Theater Magazine, 25 young theater artists most likely to influence theater in the next 25 years, 2018 State of CT Performing Artist Fellow, 2014 CT’s 40 under 40, 2012 Lincoln Center Directors Lab. He holds an MFA in Directing from Boston University and a certificate in Curatorial Practice from Wesleyan University. Steven has worked with New WORLD Theater, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Anna Deveare-Smith, Shakespeare and Company, Augusto Boal, Sojourn Theater, The Civilians and others.  Steven serves as an advisor for the New England Foundation for the Arts National Theater Project and the Ann T. and Edward C. Roberts Foundation. He is the Director of the Autorino Center for the Arts and Humanities at the University of Saint Joseph.

Julia B. Rosenblatt

Co-Founder, Ensemble Member

Julia B. Rosenblatt, is a playwright, director, actor and theater professor at Capital Community College. She was a Co-Founding Artistic Director of HartBeat Ensemble for 16 years. During this time, she wrote and performed in numerous productions, including her acclaimed plays, Flipside and Gross Domestic Product. In 2018, Julia was a Graustein Memorial Fund Playwriting Fellow and a Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame “Women Center Stage” Honoree. Julia holds a BA from UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and an MFA in playwriting from Spalding University.

Godfrey L. Simmons Jr.

Artistic Director

Simmons is an award-winning actor, producer, director, and playwright who has spent thirty years amplifying the voices of marginalized people and communities. He brings with him an extensive background working with ensembles, as an actor (Off-Broadway and regional theaters), teacher, director, playwright and producer. In 2012, he co-founded Civic Ensemble, a regional theatre in Ithaca, NY. He was a Producing Artist for Off-Broadway’s Epic Theatre Ensemble for four years, appearing in a dozen productions. He won the 1999 Audelco Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance opposite Leslie Uggams in The Old Settler at Primary Stages. He is a lifetime member of Ensemble Studio Theatre and sits on the board of the Network of Ensemble Theaters.

godfrey.simmons@hartbeatensemble.org

Debra Walsh

Ensemble Member

Debra Walsh became a member of the Hartbeat Ensemble in 2006. She has performed and taught with the Ensemble since 2003. She has over 30 years of professional experience as an actor, producer and theatre arts educator. Since 1987, she has been at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts (a magnet Arts high school in Hartford) as a Core Artist /Instructor. She has worked with the Bated Breath Theatre in Hartford and New York, Hartford Stage, Capital Classics, Hartbeat Ensemble, and ArtFarm. She has a BFA Magna Cum Laude and an MA from the University of Connecticut.