The Hartt School Welcomes New Theatre Faculty Member Brian Jennings

The Hartt School is thrilled to welcome new faculty member, Brian Jennings. Jennings will join the Hartt Theatre Division as assistant professor in the next academic year and offers his unique experience and broad background as an actor, director, and educator to the position.

Jennings is well known to the University, as he has served as adjunct faculty to The Hartt School’s Theatre Division since 2015. In addition to his directing and acting pursuits, he is a longtime educator. Jennings has held positions with the University’s College of Arts & Sciences from 1999-2015, has been a longtime member of the core faculty at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, and served as Theater Department head for the past 6 years.

As part of the Hartbeat Ensemble, Jennings has developed roles in Flipside, Comply, and most recently, Sleepover Stories. He directed multiple incarnations of Ebeneeza: A Hartford Holiday Carol and collaborated with musician Samite Mulondo to develop his autobiographical solo show, Resilience. He directed the world premiere of Talvin Wilks’ Jimmy and Lorraine: A Musing, as well as subsequent productions at the Ko Festival and Pillsbury House in Minneapolis. His adaptation, RAVE: The Bacchae of Euripides - Remixed was performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

As an actor, Jennings has performed on multiple tours with the National Theater of the Deaf as a voicing actor and playwright. He has played the roles of Oberon, Malvolio, and Macbeth as part of Artfarm’s Shakespeare in the Grove.

Jennings’ accolades include being named Teacher of the Year by the International Network of Performing and Visual Arts Schools in 2004. He has been the recipient of a Surdna Arts Teacher Fellowship and the Gordon Clark Ramsey Award for Sustained Creative Achievement. He has participated in teaching artist exchanges with colleagues in Cape Verde and South Africa. He holds degrees from Princeton University and the National Theatre Conservatory. He lives in Bolton, CT with his wife, Eileen.