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Chris Harder

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Chris Harder (AEA, SAG/AFTRA) is an actor, director and theatre maker dedicated to artistic risk and the creation of new work.

Chris is a Resident Artist with Artists Repertory Theatre, a two-time Drammy Award winner and twice Regional Arts and Culture Council grants recipient. Chris is a faculty member at the Portland Actors Conservatory,  an accredited two year actor training program, and he also leads private classes Monday nights at Artists Rep.  Chris is drawn to the primal roots and transformative power of live theatre.

He was an original member of the Sowelu Theater Ensemble (1998 – 2004) acting and working in all areas of production, training in weekly ensemble workshops, studying Meisner Technique with Bary Hunt (via William Esper,) Viewpoints (from Kim Weild & SITI Co.) and practicing physical awareness techniques.

Through Sowelu Prison Outreach Chris led residencies with adult inmates at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility and Columbia River Correctional Institution. He was an ongoing mentor with The Haven Project for five years where he guided young writers through the process of play writing. He continued this process with Playwrite Inc. and Sojourn Afield and has taught acting and developed original plays through Oregon Children’s Theatre, Portland Center Stage, The Young players and many Oregon / Washington Public Schools. At Artists Repertory Theatre Chris was an Actor To Go, and the Interim Director of Education (2007).  As a Resident Artist he is currently seeking to support new and innovative programs in the community.  Please feel free to reach out and contact Chris about possible collaborations HERE.

Chris has performed in numerous plays, readings and workshops. Local theaters include Portland Center Stage, Artists Repertory Theatre, Third Rail Rep, Portland Playhouse, Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble, Portland Shakespeare Project, Hand2Mouth, CoHo Productions, Shaking The Tree, Sojourn Theatre, Profile Theatre, Stark Raving, Eggshell Productions, Well Arts Institute and Portland Civic Theatre Guild. Chris developed and self produced two original solo shows (The Centering and Fishing For My Father) and has toured to the Edmonton and Boulder International Fringe Festivals.

In Film / TV Chris has worked with director Gus Van Sant and actors Harrison Ford and Timothy Hutton. Credits include; Grimm, Restless, Extraordinary Measures, Music Within, Rid of Me, Everyman’s War, Leverage, The Librarians, Recovery, Thieves, and Safe Inside.

For more than ten years he developed routines and performed as Comedy Magician, Clown and Emcee, performing at over a thousand parties and events. He is a certified Comedy Stage Hypnotist having trained in Las Vegas with Geof Ronning and performs at Fairs, Festivals, School Fundraisers, and Grad Night events.

Chris is originally from Racine, Wisconsin, he holds a BA in Dramatic Arts from the University of Wisconsin -Parkside and has also trained through the month long intensive at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, MA.

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MasterTEASE Theatre to Present QUEERING THE CANON At The Slipper Room


Strap on your 'magic if' and get ready to say, 'Yes, and' to a burlesque and drag infused journey through the theatrical canon! Chris Harder brings together the best and barest in New York nightlife for a striptease-inspired scene study of the plays you love, the conventions you loathe, and the textual analysis you never knew you lusted for.

The Actors Conservatory Announces One Act Festival Set For This Month


The Actors Conservatory announces its One Act Festival: Two programs of short plays featuring the graduating class of 2022 and the work of directors Beth Harper, Sarah Lucht, Chris Harder, and Andrea White.  

World Premiere EP THE FELLOWSHIP OF FIVEBORO, Out Digitally On April 22


The Fellowship of Fiveboro, a world premiere release of songs from the hit audio series, The World to Come, will be available digitally for both download and streaming on Friday, April 22nd, with presale available on iTunes and Amazon beginning on Friday, April 1st.

Adrienne Barbeau Joins The Cast Of Audio Series Musical THE WORLD TO COME


Tony and Golden Globe nominated stage and screen star Adrienne Barbeau has joined The World to Come, a fantasy audio series available on all podcast platforms. Ms. Barbeau joins a cast of veteran actors from the Broadway community (including Justin Sargent, Lana Gordon, and Marissa Rosen) and beyond for the series climax as Queen Gehenna.

BWW Feature: And The Nominees Are... BEST SPOKEN WORD CABARET


Poetry, comedy, monology, storytelling - they are all a growing part of the club and concert scene. It's not just about singing anymore.

New Musical Podcast THE WORLD TO COME is Released


 Iconoclast Theater Collective and David Treatman Creative today announced the release of THE WORLD TO COME, an epic new episodic musical saga available on all major podcasting platforms.

The Theatre Company Presents Re-Imagined 2020 Season


The Theatre Company will present a re-imagined cozy but revolutionary 2020 season featuring fully produced podcast recordings of The Moors by Jen Silverman and Vinegar Tom by Caryl Churchill October 9 - November 14. It's dangerous to be a woman and different.

BWW Review: FROM THESE STREETS I RISE, Live-streamed from CoHo Theatre


FROM THESE STREETS I RISE is a documentary theatre piece by Mikki Jordan about homelessness in Portland, now live-streaming from CoHo Theatre. In any climate, this show would be a powerful call to action. In the current one, it creates a moral imperative.

CoHo Productions Presents FROM THESE STREETS I RISE By Mikki Jordan


CoHo Productions with Mikki Jordan and Chris Harder present FROM THESE STREETS I RISE, created by Mikki Jordan. The event will be live-streaming the weekend of September 11 a?" 13, 2020.

CoHo Productions Presents FROM THESE STREETS I RISE By Mikki Jordan


CoHo Productions with Mikki Jordan and Chris Harder present, FROM THESE STREETS I RISE created by Mikki Jordan. Live-streaming the weekend of September 11, 2020.

Provincetown Theater Debuts Virtual OUR TOWNIE VARIETY SHOW Featuring Tom Hewitt, Dixie Longate and More


In the quest to continue creating new virtual entertainment programming, on Sunday, May 24 at 7pm, the Provincetown Theater will debut its online production of Our Townie Variety Show, via the thesater's streaming feature on provincetowntheater.org.

The Dirty Show Announces 21st Anniversary Lineup


2020 marks the biggest milestone in the history of The Dirty Show®, in February the erotic art exhibition will celebrate its 21rst anniversary. In two decades, the exhibition has grown from an underground anomaly to one of Detroit's largest and most popular art events. Today, The Dirty Show® is considered to be the best attended, longest running and largest exhibitions of erotic art in the world. Over the years fine art erotica has poured in from every continent, and thousands of artists and patrons have descended on Detroit to experience the legendary live immersive installations and intense stage revues; featuring burlesque, drag arts as well as performance art of the lascivious kind. This year's featured artist is Niagara, Named headliners this year include drag and burlesque from the likes of dDeAngela Show Shannon Dannie Diesel (of the History Channel's American Pickers), Burlesque Hall-of-Fame winner and Roxi D'lite and boylesque superstars Chris Harder and Jett Adore.

The Love Show Welcomes Chris Harder Into The Cast Of BROOKLYN BEERLESQUE


The world's only curated beer and burlesque pairing, The Love Show's 'Brooklyn Beerlesque', returns to Brooklyn Brewery, where it debuted in 2012!

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME Comes to Portland Actors Conservatory


The next play of Portland Actors Conservatory's season is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. The ensemble will be directed by Beth Harper (Founder and Producing Artistic Director) and Chris Harder (Instructor and Artists Repertory Theatre Resident Artist).

Provincetown Theater Begins New American Play Reading Series WINTER PLAY DATES


To start off the new year, the Provincetown Theater is proud to premiere Winter Play Dates, a three month reading series of new American full-length plays. Beginning January 15, Winter Play Dates performs every other Tuesday night at 7pm thru March 29, 2019 at the Provincetown Theater (238 Bradford Street, Provincetown, MA 02657).

BWW Review: Experience a Christmas Classic in a Whole New Way with Artists Rep's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY


IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY is a wonderful way to experience this time-honored classic -- great holiday fun for the whole family!

Photo Flash: First Look at Artist Rep's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY


This holiday season, Artists Repertory Theatre presents Joe Landry's It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, directed by Beth Harper. The limited engagement of It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is from December 6 through December 30 at Northwest Children's Theater and School.

The Wild Project Presents PORN TO BE A STAR This October


Recently featured on Fusion TV's New York Porn, get ready to literally get Harder with the new play that takes #adulting to a whole new level!

NYC's The Love Show Announces Guest Artists For THE LOVE GLOW


The Love Show, NYC's premier theatrical dance company, and special guests pay kick-ass homage to Liberty Belle, Zoya the Destroya, and all of the other heroes and heels of GLOW. Experience wrestling as you've never seen it before. Clotheslines and Kick lines! Suplexes and Soutenus! Boston Crabs and Bump 'n' Grind! Join us for one night only of piledriving dance, burlesque, comedy, and great, great music, as we turn back the clock to the '80s and transform LPR's stage into the squared circle of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling!

Chris Harder FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many shows has Chris Harder written?

Chris Harder has written 1 shows including Nasty Drew and That Harder Boy: The Mystery of the Family Jewels (Writer).

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